--fast forward--
--fast forward--
--fast forward--
"Oh my god, what the heck was that thing that you did up there??"
"It was a kiss."
--fast forward--
"You tilted your head and I got carried away. Um.. sorry."
"Bro, that was a close one.. you lingered too long, man."
"I know, sorry. I got a bit carried away."
It's been a week since Eddy went sky-diving. Eddy kept playing the video of his sky-dive that he had downloaded from Brett's website. He only watched the actual jump once. The remainder views were just going over the dialogue between himself and Brett, with one interjection by Brett's twin brother Brad. Eddy played it over and over so many times, he was able to pick up on the subtle differences between the twin's voices, he was almost confident he could tell them apart if they had called him.
If Brett actually ever called him.
Eddy also replayed the unrecorded conversation that took place between himself and Brett over and over in his head.
"... I'm saying you were open to the idea, which is probably why you subconsciously matched my head tilt."
"Hmm... interesting.. I think I learnt something about myself quite profound."
"So.. can I call you?"
"Sure. I'm open to that idea..."
"So.. can I call you?"
"Sure. I'm open to that idea..."
Brett said he wanted to call him. Eddy said he was open to the idea. Could he have made it any clearer?
Why hasn't he called?
He must say it to lots of guys who become his customers.
Eddy sighed.
It was too good to be true.
It was at that very moment when Eddy's phone rang with a call from an unidentified number.
Eddy nearly dropped his phone. Trying to grab it in haste, he touched the answer button as he flung the phone onto the sofa and saw it bounce away from his reach. It took a few extra seconds to get hold of it again to answer the call.
"...Hello?"
"...Hi, is this Eddy?"
"Yeah. ...Is this... Brad?"
"Holly f*ck how'd you tell?"
Eddy smiled. He hoped Brett was nearby Brad.
"I think you sound a bit calmer than your brother."
"Yeah, he's one hyperactive idiot, isn't he? OW!! Hey, I'm doing you a favour here, OW!!! Oh, for f*ck sake Brett, I swear I will hang up this call if you don't quit it."
He IS nearby Brad!!
Eddy struggled to suppress a grin.
"Hey Brad, are you okay?"
"Yeah, just my stupid brother, wants to talk to you. Lemme put him on before he kills me."
"Um.. okay."
"..Hi Eddy."
"Hey Brett, how's it going."
"Good. Um, Brad and I are in Brisbane visiting our parents at the moment. Wanna catch up ?"
"Oh, yeah, sure."
They decided to meet up in a café in the city in the afternoon.
"Hey, Eddy."
"....Brett?"
"Yeah, can't you tell ?"
Eddy raised an eyebrow as he smirked.
"Well, after all, it was Brad that called me."
Brett shifted uncomfortably.
"Are you disappointed that he's not here? That the wrong twin turned up ?"
Eddy smiled.
"Oh don't be silly. Of course not."
Brett sighed in relief and pulled himself a chair to sit down.
"So how have you been ?"
Eddy smiled.
"Better now."
Brett blushed.
"Geez Eddy, you're really in your element aren't you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean that you look nice and relaxed."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. You're... dressed nice and you look comfortable sitting in this fancy café."
Eddy looked at himself. So he wasn't in his tracksuit pants and T-shirt like when he went sky-diving, but it's not like he was dressed particularly fancy either. He was wearing a button-down shirt and a pair of jeans.
"You think so? Um, thanks. Brett, are you uncomfortable being here ?"
"Oh, it's okay.."
Eddy smiled and got up from his seat.
"Let's grab our coffees to take away instead."
"Better?"
"Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah"
It was windy near the harbour but Brett seemed happier with the wind blowing his hair in all directions as he clutched onto the fence put up to prevent people from falling into the water. Brett was in the "I'm the king of the world" pose, from the movie "Titanic", holding his arms out like his whole body was a cross.
"You definitely look much more in your element now Brett."
Brett grinned.
"Yeah, I like the wind on my face. I'm like a cattle dog in a car. Brad and I used to get into so much trouble as kids cos we kept sticking our faces out the window."
Eddy laughed out loud.
"I bet that would've been cute to look at."
Brett then said shyly;
"Eddy, I was jealous you recognised Brad's voice."
Eddy widened his eyes, then raised an eyebrow.
"Well if you had called me, I would've recognised your voice first!"
"Dammit. I was too chicken."
Eddy chuckled.
"I was listening to my video."
"Listening ?"
"Um.. yeah, the last bit."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, I played it over a lot and learnt how you guys sounded different."
"Really?"
"Well, kinda. Don't try to prank me though. Maybe it was a lucky guess. The first voice of the call today didn't sound particularly excited to speak to me. I would've been a bit disappointed if it was you."
Brett smiled.
"Really?"
"Yeah. And when you were finally on the phone, you sounded nervous AF. That was ... sweet."
Brett scratched his head.
"Eddy"
"Yes?"
"...Do ya think fun is at the edge of fear ?"
Eddy was taken aback by Brett's statement.
"That is.. and I mean this in the nicest possible way Brett, I think it's such an adrenaline junkie thing to say ."
Brett grinned.
"You recogn'??"
Eddy grinned back.
"Yeah, I recogn'."
"I was more scared of calling you, than jumping out an aeroplane flying at 14,000 feet. Go figure."
Eddy smiled awkwardly.
"Now, that, I struggle to understand."
"Humph."
"I struggle to understand, but I appreciate you even more, because jumping out of that aeroplane willingly, would be one of the hardest things I could ever do. I'm not even sure if I could do it."
"But it's when you inch out to the cusp of your fears is where you find fun, Eddy. Where things are the most exhilarating. The way my heart squeezed so hard till I found out that you were okay with me calling you and meeting up with me."
The wind started to pick up even more as the evening was approaching.
"I'm way braver under strong windy conditions."
And Brett cupped Eddy's cheeks.
And Eddy knew already which way to tilt his head without any guidance by Brett's hold.
And they felt like they were almost alone in the sky again like last week.