London Boy | Jamie Flatters

Twenty-five

    Wiping off the last remnants of mascara, I stare at my reflection in the mirror. I just don't get him... one minute, I'm sure he's about to kiss me, the feeling of his lips now a faint memory on my jaw, so close to my lips, but not at all close enough. The next, he's disappearing halfway through the afterparty, practically disappearing into thin air.

I'd looked everywhere for him; called, texted, and asked around the entire party, asking if anyone had seen where he went. He just left with no word, not even bothering to see if I wanted to go along, which I obviously did. I'd spent the entire movie sneaking glances at him, longing to be bold enough to reach over and hold his hand; purposely letting my hand linger on the armrest between us, letting him know that if he wanted to, he could.

We'd hardly spoken at the after party before he disappeared, sometimes on the dance floor, when everyone else ambushed us and started dancing too. One minute, Jack is twirling me around, singing Taylor Swift off-key, so terrible it made me laugh, and the next, Jamie's gone, like a magic act gone wrong.

"You okay, E?" Trinity asks, already changed out of her dress into a pair of PJ shorts and a sweater, one she'd stolen from me back in Toronto before I left. It's long on her, falling past the shorts slightly, "I'm sure there's an explanation for it. Maybe he just wasn't feeling well?"

"Yeah, maybe." I nod, doubt creeping through me as I pull my hair up into a messy lopsided ponytail. It was far past midnight now, and all I'd wanted to do as soon as we got in was change out of the suit and heels I'd had on into my comfiest PJs, which consisted of faded plaid PJs pants from Christmas ages ago, and an oversized shirt I'd stolen from Jamie ages ago.

"Talk to him in the morning," Trin reaches over, squeezing my wrist lightly in her hand, "goodnight, E." Much like the other hotel rooms, we're in a suite with two individual rooms and a living room, the bathroom shared between us.

"Night, Trin," I return the smile as she exits the shared space, heading into her private room. I take my time applying my skincare routine tonight, gently rubbing all my favourite moisturizers and serums into my skin, trying my best not to think about Jamie and wherever he might have gone off to. Taylor Swift blares into my air pods, a playlist that Trinity and I had curated ages ago, filled with the songs of hers that always pumps us up.

When someone knocks on the door, I almost miss it; only turning the music down once the current song stops playing, brief silence in between long enough to confirm that the knocking isn't just a figment of my imagination. Placing my EarPods in the case, I sigh, slipper-clad feet moving across the suite. I have to prop myself on my toes to see through the peephole, startled when I find a familiar pair of blue eyes looking straight back at me, almost as if he can sense I'm standing here right now.

"Jamie?" I open the door, confusion taking over my features. I'm not sure whether to feel annoyed or relieved. He's still in his suit from earlier, but his jacket has been discarded, his button-up partially untucked, with more buttons undone at the top. "What are you doing here?"

He stumbles when he moves to take a step toward me, "Eden!" He cheers so loudly I'm sure everyone on this floor can hear him. When he pulls me into a hug, I immediately smell the alcohol on his breath. He's drunk. "I missed you."

"How much have you drunk tonight?" I ask, pulling away from the hug, which was crushing me, him putting all his weight on me, "you smell like you drank the entire hotel minibar." When Jamie's face flushes, a playful smirk on his lips, mine widen, "you did not drink the entire hotel minibar? Jamie, you're drunk."

Jamie laughs as if I've just said the most hilarious joke he's ever heard, "No, I'm not silly," he boops my nose, moving to grab my hand, "I'm perfectly alive, see." He places my hand right over his chest on the opposite side of where his heart is, placing his on top, so I can feel his heartbeat.