Operation Fake Relationship

“Oh, shit. Sorry,” Nick said to Maria and Adrian, and then he clapped his hand over his mouth in horror. “Sorry again!” He grimaced. “Wow. Not swearing is really hard.”

“Don’t worry. He’s heard worse from his car seat,” Adrian said. “Especially when his mum’s driving.”

“Yeah.” Maria gave a rueful smile. “I need to work on that. At this rate his first proper word is going to be wanker.”

Everyone laughed at that, including Seth.

A little later, Maria and Adrian announced they were going out for a walk. “Anyone fancy joining us?”

It was dry today, and sun had just broken through the clouds outside. Nick wasn’t feeling very energetic, but given that he’d be sitting in a car all afternoon it would probably be nice to get out for a while. “Yeah. I’ll come.”

“Me too,” Jackson said.

“Yes, I’ll come,” Nick’s mum said. “I could do with some fresh air. Reg, what about you?”

“No. There’s something I need to get on with this morning.”

“Can’t it wait? It’s lovely outside now.”

“No. I want to get it finished.”

“Oh. Okay.” Her brow furrowed but she didn’t press him.

It was muddy after the rain, but the crisp clear air and the scent of wet leaves and earth woke Nick’s senses and lifted his spirits a little.

Adrian and Maria led the way. They were holding hands, and Seth was on Adrian’s back in a baby carrier. The sight of the three of them opened up an old familiar longing in Nick’s heart. During his string of dating disasters, Nick had kept hoping that he’d finally meet the right guy. Someone he could share his life with, someone to grow old with, someone to have a family with. But eventually he’d given up. Being single had seemed a better option than giving pieces of his soul away with every failed relationship.

He glanced at Jackson who was walking beside him, gaze fixed down on the muddy path. Maybe the right guy had been under his nose all along and Nick had been too blind to recognise him. Now he’d broken his addiction to dating wankers, he could imagine being in a relationship with Jackson. If Jackson wanted it too, then Nick really believed it could work. But Jackson had been so distant this morning, it didn’t seem likely they were on the same page.

His foot caught on a tree root and he slipped, lurching sideways and grabbing hold of Jackson as he flailed, trying to stay on his feet.

“Whoa. Careful!” Jackson said, clapping an arm around him to keep him upright.

“Sorry.” Nick flushed. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

“That was close,” his mum said from behind them. “I thought you were going to end up on your back in the mud! Good catch, Jackson.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” Nick smiled.

“Any time.” Jackson lips curved in a faint echo of a smile as he drew his arm away.

Nick felt the loss of contact like a blow. His palm tingled with the urge to take Jackson’s hand, but Nick was afraid to risk it. He didn’t know what the boundaries were now and was afraid of inadvertently crossing some invisible line he couldn’t sense. If only they’d had a chance to talk this morning. He wanted to know what was going on in Jackson’s head.

Distracted, he slipped again on a patch of leaves, his heel skidding away from him.

This time Jackson caught his arm. “Blimey, what’s going on with you? You’re a dancer, you’re supposed to be coordinated.” His tone was teasing.

“We all have our off days,” Nick replied. “I think it may be a sign I need some new walking boots too. The grips on these have worn right down.” He tried to take his arm back, but Jackson kept hold of him.

“Lucky you’ve got me to help you stay on your feet then.” He took Nick’s hand and they carried on walking.

“Yeah. Thanks,” Nick said, squeezing his hand.

Jackson gave him a quick grin. Bittersweet feelings swirled in Nick’s chest, but he did his best to smile back and hide the turmoil inside.

When they got back to the house, Pete was in the kitchen eating a bowl of cornflakes.

“Hello,” he said. “I wondered where everyone had got to. I thought you’d all been abducted by aliens or something.”

“Your father’s in,” their mum said. “He’s busy with something in his study.”

“Who wants tea or coffee?” Maria asked as she filled the kettle.

“Good idea. Tea please.” Nick’s mum’s eyes lit up. “Ooh, I’ve just remembered there’s a lovely tin of biscuits we haven’t even started on yet. Let me go and fetch them.”

Once they’d made a pot of tea and a pot of coffee, they sat around the kitchen table eating their way through the biscuits. Nick was halfway down his second cup of tea when his dad came in to join them.

“There’s tea in the pot if you want some, love,” Nick’s mum said.