Page 43 of Breaking Vincent

And I want that, I want a group of people to shoot the shit with, to rely on when I’m having a hard time.

“Shit, I’ve gotta go,” Nate says and turns to kiss Jude goodbye. “I’ve got a late finish tonight, a client booked at the last minute and 7pm is the only time I have free.”

Jude kisses him back before whispering something in his boyfriend's ear. They share heated looks and I take that as my que to ask the waiter for the bill.

Nate pulls his wallet out, but before he can slap the money down, I interrupt. “No, please, this ones on me. Thank you both for coming. I appreciate it more than you can know.”

Nate shrugs, “I’m not going to say no to a free meal. Also, If anything happens with Vincent, I’ll keep you updated.”

“Thank you.”

When Nate has gone, Jude turns to me and says, “So, do you want to talk about what happened between you guys?”

My instincts tell me to keep my mouth shut, but if I’m serious about wanting to build a friendship then I need to let myself trust him. “I guess I should start from the beginning.” I tell Jude about how we met, and then how things progressed. I explain that our kinks match up and how I fucked up our last scene together.”

Thankfully Jude stays quiet through my story, nodding his head, oohing and ahhing at the right times.

“Want to know what I think about this whole situation?”

I nod my head and wait for him to continue.

“You guys are perfect for each other. That first night you met at the club, Vincent couldn’t stop talking about you. He literally had hearts in his eyes whenever you walked past us. In the time that I've known him, he has never shown an interest in another guy. I know he does these things online, but nothing compares to sharing that moment with someone in the flesh.”

He taps his fingers on the table, looking like he wants to say more, so I let him gather his thoughts.

“I know you weren't around when Nate and I first met and I know you don’t know all the details about what happened with my mum. Things were really messed up for a while and I believed I never deserved to be happy. If I never put my trust in Nate, I wouldn’t be who I am today. Fuck, I wouldn’t even be alive to tell you all of this. Things got better, and our group of friends expanded. Anyways, the point of me telling you all of this is because I want you to know that we're all here for you, no matter what happens between you and Vincent, you have us.”

Chapter 19 –

Vincent

I’ve been thinking hard these past couple of days. Keeping myself locked away in my apartment, only leaving when I’ve got to go to work. I’ve even been avoiding going to the cafe, which means making my coffees at home, and let me tell you instant coffee is shit.

Tonight is the night of the party and as much as I want to bury my head in the sand, I know I need to be there to support Jude and Nate. The shop is closed today, so I have the day off until I need to start getting ready for tonight.

I texted the group chat this morning to tell the boys that I won’t be joining them in getting ready, and they are yet to respond.

Mr Mittens jumps up onto the sofa, sticking his ass right in my face. “Dammit cat, I’m sad, why can’t you just love me?”

He just meows at me, jumps off the sofa and struts towards his food bowl before screaming at the empty dish.

“Ughh, fine.” I pull myself up and walk to the kitchen and pull out a pouch of Posh Pussy. Not even the funny name can make me crack a smile.

“Bang, bang, bang,” Someone pounds at my front door.

I check the time on my phone as I walk over to the door. It’s just after 4, so I don’t know who would be here.

Pulling the door open I find Jude and Jamie holding bags of takeout and a few other things. “Hey, what are you doing here? Didn’t you get my text?”

“Yup and we chose to ignore you. Now, let us in and tell us why you’ve got your head up your ass, while we stuff ourselves full of Chinese food.”

I barely register their words before Jamie is pushing his way past me.

“Uh yeah sure, come on in.”

Jude smiles sheepishly as he walks past me.

As we walk into the living room, Jamie is busy unpacking all the food. The salty and sweet aroma of Chinese food makes my empty stomach grumble.