Marry Him by Marina Ford

Author:Marina Ford [Ford, Marina]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Gay Romance Contemporary
Publisher: Riptide Publishing
Published: 2020-03-01T16:00:00+00:00

I saw a missed call from him when I came out of the Tube at Heathrow. Making my way along the enormous, bright corridors towards the main hall of the airport and dragging my bag behind me, I rang him back.

“Hey! I just arrived, where are you?” I looked around for him. People with massive luggage on trolleys hurried past me. One family with three very loud children was testing out the echo in the corridor, so I moved towards the wall to hear Harry better.

“Joe.” His voice was low, heavy.

“Are you in Heathrow yet?”

“I’m really sorry, but I’m afraid I won’t be able to come with you this weekend.”

A moment of pregnant silence.

“Oh. Are you all right? Is it work? Is Malcolm being a little bitch again?”

“No, no, it’s not Malcolm, it’s—” he paused. “I wish we didn’t have to talk about this over the phone. It’s really not right. Listen, Kieran came over last evening . . .”

My heart plunged to the bottom of my stomach.

“Uh-huh?” I made myself say, because the expression on my face had made the cleaning lady, who’d just come out of the loos on the opposite side of me, frown in worry.

“He wants to give it another go,” Harry said. There was a pause, during which a wave of nausea overcame me and made me dizzy. I put my hand over my mouth.

“We talked all night,” he said, “and . . . I don’t know, he wore me down. After all these years, I suppose I owe him another go. Owe us another go.” I heard some noise on the other side, a rustling. Then his voice came back: “God, this is fucked up. I know you don’t want to hear this right now. You want to go and enjoy your friend’s wedding . . . I hope I didn’t spoil it for you. Can we talk when you get back, maybe? I’m really sorry.”

I wanted to say something, anything, but my jaw wouldn’t open. Pain was shooting through my chest, my hand was clenched around the phone, and I knew I was hyperventilating when Harry asked, concerned, “Joe? Are you there?”

“Yes,” I responded, more sharply than I’d intended. Like it was torn out of me. “Yeah, all right, well, I—I have to run now, so . . . say hi to Kieran, I suppose.”

“I’m sorry, Joe. I really am. I can’t express how—”

“Never mind now,” I interrupted tersely. “Have a great weekend. Bye.”

I hung up before he could say anything more. I wanted to throw my phone against the wall.

“Are you all right?” The cleaning lady, a broad cockney woman, with her hair pulled tightly back in a thin ponytail, examined me with concern. I’d gone down on my haunches and covered my face with my hands.

“Yeah, thanks,” I choked out.

Harry and Kieran. Harry making fish and chips for him. Harry smiling up at Kieran from his phone. Harry falling asleep on him. Harry laughing at his jokes. Harry and Kieran moving back in together.

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