When she uncovers his plan to lead an entirely uneventful life, Mia Evian is determined to teach Preston Maddox how to stop living like a ghost, but Mia and Preston have history, tension, and a lot of complicated feelings.
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At the beginning of the academic year's second reading week, Aiden hits us with the best idea. A trip.
He initially demands somewhere in mainland Europe, which everyone immediately shuts down because we're all skint, but a compromise quickly develops and we agree on the less glamorous Brighton. It's super easy to get to from London, and with it being the LGBTQ+ capital of the UK, Aiden is willing to compromise.
Over the course of three days, we organise trains and book an Airbnb big enough to house eight–Preston, Dana, Margot, Joe, Aiden, Aiden's self-declared love of his life, Nick, and me. I'm optimistic but don't get carried away at the prospect of Aiden's companion, Caleb, because Aiden claims every guy he meets to be the love of his life at least once. The only person to maintain the title for longer than a few weeks is Preston, which on balance, isn't working out too great given he and Dana are still going strong.
Preston, to no great surprise, had to be convinced into joining us on the trip–no doubt due to his I'm not allowed to enjoy life policy. I called him out on exactly that–albeit via a private chat–when he responded with a pass to Aiden's group chat message. It took a nearly two hour phone call to persuade him to agree, but I wouldn't have come close to convincing him at the start of the academic year. Progress is progress.
We meet Aiden and Caleb, who are both travelling from Cardiff, when we switch trains at East Croyden, and within an hour and a half we're bursting through our Airbnb's front door and claiming our rooms as if it's an Olympic sport. It's through the ensuing chaos that I discover Nick was a literal track star at school because he singlehandedly nabs us the biggest room in the place.
The bed is at least a queen size, and there's an impressive dressing table propped against the room's window overlooking the coastal city. If you sit at the right angle, maybe crane your neck a little, you can even catch a glimpse of the distant ocean. There's more than enough wardrobe space at the other side of the room, so much that we should probably offer it as spare storage for the others.
'I should've guessed,' I say through laughter as Nick stands on our bed with his fists in the air, triumphant. 'You've got popular-boy-next-door-star-athlete written all over you.'
Nick halts his celebration to frown. 'Is that an insult? Why does that feel like an insult?'
I lift my hands up defensively. 'I'm saying nothing.'
He jumps off the bed, his dark eyebrows raised, and I have no more than a split second to try and evade his hands as he darts towards me. I'm laughing again as he pulls me into him, and we collapse onto the plush bed in an entangled mess.
'Thanks for inviting me here,' he murmurs, then kisses the top of my head. 'It's going to be fun.'
I smile into the duvet with closed eyes. 'Thanks for snatching the best room.'
I'm glad I've got my back to him because moments after speaking, I cringe. Probably not the best thing to say to a guy after he expresses enthusiasm over spending a weekend with you. I shuffle myself around to face him on the bed, then press my mouth against his, my lips lingering as an implicit apology for being such a loser.
