There was no harm in keeping all options open.
‘Heard the news?’ Paul said cagily. Nate waited for him to continue. ‘Have you read the recent email Jess sent round? You know how she likes to be super organised?’
‘No, it’s on my list of things to read.’ Once he’d fished it out of his ‘Social’ folder in his gmail account.
Paul paused dramatically.
‘Lucia’s coming.’
‘Oh right, I didn’t know she was even in Britain,’ Nate said.
Why Paul, and everyone else for that matter, felt they had to pussy foot around him when Lucia’s name came up he would never know. They’d broken up years ago, there had been other women for him and he wasn’t as naive to think that there hadn’t been other men and women for her. It’s not like he was pining after her, waiting for her to drop everything and realise that she wanted a settled life with Nate.
No, he had gotten over her a long, long time ago.
‘Yeah, she’s coming back from Egypt for a whirlwind tour, which includes Jess and Owen’s barbecue,’ Paul said. Nate rolled his eyes.
‘Good, well, it will be nice to see her.’
It was the truth, it would be nice to see how her life was going, even if she was going to behave like she was gracing them with her presence.
‘Oh, and…’ Paul hesitated.
‘Yeah?’ Nate prompted.
‘I’m bringing Angeline.’ Nate could hear the smile on Paul’s face. ‘She’s French.’
Nate grinned. ‘Angeline, eh? How long have you been seeing her then? Must be serious to bring her all this way.’
‘A few months. Nate, man, she’s amazing,’ Paul gushed. ‘I can’t wait for you to meet her, she’s perfect. You’ll love her.’
‘I’m sure I will. You deserve it, Paul. I’m chuffed for you.’
It had been way too long since Paul had a girlfriend. He was such a nice guy, sweet, kind and absolutely adoring of any girl he was seeing. Which often meant that he got his soft little heart squashed and shredded. Hopefully, this Angeline would be better.
‘Yeah, me too.’
Nate caught a stream of French from a female voice at the other end of the line.
‘Look mate, I’ve got to go. Look out for that email, yeah?’
‘Will do. See you, Paul,’ Nate said, hanging up the phone.
Nate stuffed his phone back into his arm pouch and started up a slow run again, not bothering to put his top back on.
He had a vague idea of what Paul was working on from the email updates he’d glanced through. It wasn’t that he wasn’t interested in his friends’ lives. He really was. If Nate really analysed why he didn’t want to pore over Jess’s emails with photos of smiling family games, their boy, Benji, on horseback, paddling in the sea on holiday, then he wouldn’t like himself very much. It was hard not to give in to the jealousy that swelled in his stomach. Nate adored Benji and every time he called him Uncle Nate, his tough little heart melted. He adored seeing his friends as well, but he didn’t need his inability to settle down and start a family rubbed in his face with every single email. He knew that wasn’t their intention, of course. But still.
He pushed on, pumping his legs harder as the hill took a steeper curve upwards. The burn in his thighs was a welcome punishment for being a jealous fuck.
Nate crested the top of the slope and looked over Lower Houghton. It was pretty, with its small winding streets, lazy rambling roses and beautiful old buildings. Yeah, it was a bit ramshackle and could use some love, but what place wasn’t in need of some attention? That’s what Laurel was trying to do, wasn’t it? To not exactly gentrify the place, but to just make it nicer. Keep it the same, just a bit better.
‘Oh, hey Nate.’
He whipped his head around at the female voice. People didn’t know him here. Not people who would be on the top of Lower Houghton hill, anyway.
‘Oh,’ he said. ‘Hey Rebecca, Laurel.’
They were sitting on the bench, Laurel’s arm around Rebecca’s shoulders. Rebecca’s face was puffy and red, like she’d been crying. Oh god. What had he walked into?
