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Was I revealing too much? It was hard to tell. All my life, I’d gone out of my way to keep my past to myself, yet there was something about Shay that had me rambling. The same part of me where the hole of yearning resided contained a section that wanted to be known and accepted by another person. But to be fully known and accepted, I needed to reveal things I wasn’t always comfortable revealing.
I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and noticed Shay’s eyes tracking the movement before I asked, “What about you? Any other siblings besides Ross?”
He shook his head.
“And you’re close to your cousin, Rhys? Your dad said you two work together?”
Shay nodded once again, and I noted the glimmer of frustration in his eyes. I suspected he wanted to say more, but because the sign language he’d taught me was extremely limited he was restricted. More than once when I asked him a question, I noticed his hands rise as if to answer, then he’d catch himself and lower them again.
“I’m sorry,” I told him. “I’m asking you all these questions, and you can’t—”
Before I could finish, he placed his hand on mine, a look in his eyes like he didn’t need me to apologise. My breath caught, and I stared at him, fixated by the way his pupils dilated as he gazed at me. A long silence fell before he finally withdrew his hand. He picked up his cup, drank the last of his tea, then rose and motioned to Daniel. The dog readily stood and waited for his leash to be clipped in.
“Oh, you’re going?” I asked, a tendril of disappointment in my belly. I didn’t want him to leave, not yet at least.
Shay nodded and put on his coat. “Well, thanks for having me to dinner and for walking me home. Oh, and for fixing my drippy tap.” I gave a self-conscious chuckle.
Shay tapped out a message on his phone, then handed it to me. Again, it took a while to read as I pieced together the letters and words. I hated how inept I was because I knew I could do a little better if I put the effort in. I really needed to face my fears and start attending that literacy class.
Thank you for inviting me in and for the tea. And I’d like you to come to dinner on Sundays whenever you can.
My breath caught. He was giving me an open invitation to dinner at this house every week? It sounded too good to be true. Apart from Nigel, Shay’s family had been so kind and welcoming. I didn’t normally get to spend time around people like them.
I glanced at him, a little hesitant. “Are you sure your dad would be okay with that?”
Shay bobbed his head, and a small fizzle of happiness shot through me. “Okay, well, I might not be able to make it every Sunday, but I’ll try my best.”
Who was I kidding? I’d eat dinner at Shay’s house every single day if I could. But I didn’t want to come across too eager. That might scare him off.
He seemed happy enough with my response as he took his phone back. I stepped by him to open the door, then went out into the entryway to open the main door. Shay moved past me, Daniel at his heel, and I almost had a heart attack when he bent down and pressed a soft kiss to my forehead in farewell. His hand gently cupped my cheek, and his lips lingered a moment while my stomach did a somersault. Finally, he drew away, and I instantly missed the connection.
I stood there, my insides dancing around like crazy, as he and his dog walked away down the street.
***
Over the next two days, Shay and I fell into an easy rhythm. We sat next to each other on the bus, he’d teach me some sign language, while typing the things out on his phone too difficult to explain merely by nodding or shaking his head. A new aspect of our friendship was him walking me to my flat after we got off the bus in the evenings. I offered for him to come inside on both occasions, but he declined.
I couldn’t tell if it was because my flat was grotty, and he didn’t want to spend time there, or merely because he had to get home to his dad. I hoped it was the latter. And besides, my flat might’ve been worse for wear, but it was spotlessly clean. It wasn’t like it was a messy dump or anything.
On the third day, Wednesday, I just arrived at work when I noticed something small and rectangular in my coat pocket. I pulled it out and realised it was Shay’s phone. Oh, crap. He’d been typing me more and more messages using his notes app lately, and with practice, I’d been getting better at reading them. I’d been so engrossed in our conversation that morning I must’ve slipped his phone in my pocket by mistake before we left the bus.
