Jake

It’s been four days since I ran into Bishop and his mates. Four agonisingly long days without a word from him. Every time my phone makes a sound I lunge for it, thinking it’s him, finally calling. It never is. Maybe I made a mistake leaving the way I did. Maybe I never should have pushed him to make things right with Jonah. Maybe the damage I created when I left was too much for us to overcome, or maybe he doesn’t want me anymore. I wouldn’t blame him if that were the case. It’s okay though, I’ve made it without Bishop Royal before, I can do it again, no matter how much I don’t want to.

Putting aside my disappointment at the lack of contact from Bishop, I throw myself into work.

“Hey,” Rhys says, walking over to my desk. “I’ve got a client who’s wanting to branch out to New Zealand but I’m not really up to date with all the laws and requirements over there, do you think you could give me a hand?”

“Sure, what do you need?”

He gives a small laugh. “Everything basically. I’ve commandeered a meeting room, do you think you could join me and we can work out what the hell is going on?”

Returning his laugh, I give him a small smile as well. “Sure.”

Five hours later, Rhys and I have finally got everything worked out.

“You’re okay with the rest of it?” I ask him.

“Yeah, I think so. If not, I can always come to you for more help, right?”

“Right,” I say, nodding.

“Thanks, man,” he says, “I really appreciate it.”

“That’s what workmates are for, aren’t they?”

He smiles. “Yeah, still, thanks.”

With a wave, I head back to my desk where I find a ton of emails all needing my urgent attention. Wading in, that’s what I do.

When I next look up, I’m surprised to find it’s dark and the office is empty.

Picking up my phone, I realise it’s almost seven o’clock. But that’s not the most shocking thing. The most shocking thing is the missed call from Bishop, almost eight hours ago.

“Fuck,” I mutter, quickly dialling my voicemail to hear the message he left.

“Um, hey Jake,” he says, his voice sounding like caramel and honey.

“I just, ah, wanted to call and see, um, if you wanted to catch up for a, um, coffee or something sometime. I totally get if you’re busy and you can’t or you don’t want to, and if that’s the case, then it’s totally fine, but if not, I’d really love to, um, sit down and, um, maybe talk? Or not, it’s totally fine, I just thought I’d um, see,” he says. His nervousness is adorable, and in my chest, my heart is beating against my ribs.

“So anyway, this is my number, you can call anytime, it doesn’t matter if it’s day or night, or you can text if you want, or hit me up on Facebook, or Twitter, or even Instagram, whatever way you want to contact me you can, okay? That is, if you want to.”

I chuckle. This uncertainty he has is so endearing, and truthfully, it turns me on a little. Bishop when he’s his usual cocky self is hot, but when he’s opening up to me, making himself completely vulnerable to someone else… there’s nothing more precious to me than that. Well, except for being in his arms, but I’ll take this for the time being.

“So, ah, call me back, or don’t, whatever you want,” he continues. “Yeah, so I’m gonna go now before I make an even bigger fool of myself, but I really hope you call me back, I’ve missed you. So um, yeah, bye.”

Leaning back in my chair, I can’t hide the smile that comes over my face, maybe I haven’t stuffed up things after all.

Or maybe I have. When I called Bishop back, he suggested we meet at a local coffee shop, something I was more than willing to do. I’d be willing to meet in the depths of hell if it meant I got to see him, talk to him, touch him.

Our greeting is awkward, so I suggest we order drinks and get a table.

Since then the only words we uttered were “thanks” to the waitress when she delivered our coffees.

Glancing around, I see the café is full of families. One in particular captures my attention. The mother and father are both engrossed in their cell phones, while the little boy has managed to grab a hold of the sugar shaker and is proceeding to pour the sweetener all over the table.

“Look,” I say, nudging Bish with my elbow.

He turns to what I’m pointing at, chuckling silently. “That’s funny as shit,” he says.

“Right? That’s something you would’ve done when you were that age.”

“That’s something I’d still do now.”

Turning back to me, there’s a smile on his face.

“I’m so sorry, Bish,” I say. “I never wanted to put you in a position where you had to choose between me and Jonah.”

He shakes his head. “I’m not going to lie and say it was okay, but I get it. I didn’t like it and I went on a bit of a bender afterwards, but I think everything turned out well in the end.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. Jonah and I… we’re never going to be best buds but we’ve cleared the air. We’re in a good space. I’m happy where I left things with him.”

Reaching across the table, I grab his hand. When my fingers close around his, he freezes.

“Sorry, I ah, I didn’t…sorry,” I say, letting go and retreating back to my side of the table. Taking a sip of my coffee, I try to regroup. “Sorry,” I apologise again. “I know there’s a lot of water under the bridge, probably too much.”

“I um, I—” he starts.

“It’s okay,” I say, cutting him off. “We can just be friends.” I give him what I hope is a reassuring smile. “So how are you liking Aussie?” I ask. “And working with Jax? That must be interesting.”

He gives me a short laugh. “Working, and living, with Jax is definitely interesting. It’s also kinda cool to see how he goes about things, you know? He’s so focused on the bike, but off it, he’s this laid-back guy.”

“And the other guy?” I ask, even the mention of someone else gets stuck in my throat.

The smile that crosses his face when I mention him is like a dagger to the heart.

“Kyle? He’s hungry. He wants to do well, be a name in the sport and I really think he can be. I’m pretty sure he rivals Jax with his level of focus. Being around the two of them, it’s been good for me.”

“I’m glad,” I say and I am. More than anything, that’s all I wanted for Bishop, for him to find himself, to feel that it’s okay to be the person he wants to be, the person I know he can be.

We sit and chat for a while after that, and it’s almost like old times. Actually, it’s exactly like old times. Bishop is back riding and living the life of an elite athlete, while I’m at home, pining for him, wondering if we’ll ever be.