Close As Strangers

Chapter 5

It was a week later that Ashton finally found the time to log into his instant messaging account and spend more than five minutes online. He had spent the week working on an essay and had had to make apologies to Aurelia more times than he would have liked, which left him feeling bad for ignoring her when she had told him she needed to talk.

He had borrowed Luke's acoustic guitar for the evening, letting his fingers wander over the strings as he waited for her to get home and sign in, more than ready to listen to her problems and do what he could to help. He soon lost track of time as he played, not realising it had gone ten o'clock until his laptop beeped to tell him a message had come through.

'sub-arbore-sedeo: How's the essay going?

drummerboy94: Handed in at last. I am yours for the night and I'm here to listen to you as I should have been the past week.

sub-arbore-sedeo: Your studies come first; I get that. How was your week?

drummerboy94: More relaxed, despite the essay. A friend of mine got rid of my ex for me, so I haven't been fielding calls from her. I owe that girl a huge favour.

sub-arbore-sedeo: I'm glad you don't have her stressing you out anymore. Your love life is looking up then?

drummerboy94: I wouldn't go that far, but I guess so. What about yours? How's Adam?

sub-arbore-sedeo: I'm going to have to try to get over him.

drummerboy94: What happened, Aurelia?

sub-arbore-sedeo: I went to see him after work on Saturday because my flatmates were out. He was home alone too so we watched movies 'til I fell asleep. But between the two, we were talking about him and his love life and he said he wouldn't date again until he met the right woman.

drummerboy94: Don't take it to heart, love. He just might not have realised that he's actually crazy about you.

sub-arbore-sedeo: I don't know that I want to wait around for him, Adair. He means the world to me, but obviously I'm not as important to him, friend or not.

drummerboy94: Then he's an idiot. Scared of love or not, any man would be lucky to have a woman like you.

sub-arbore-sedeo: How would you know? We've never spoken outside of messenger.

drummerboy94: We don't have to – I know you're an amazing woman just by talking with you and I'm sure your friends will agree with me. And if you're half as kind to him as you are to me, he should be snapping you up before someone else does.

sub-arbore-sedeo: Tell that to him. My friends keep telling me I'm perfect for him, but in the end it's really only his opinion that matters. I just wasn't exactly expecting him to shut me down so harshly, even if he didn't know he was doing it. Especially when he'd have been so overpoweringly sweet if I'd told him how I feel.

drummerboy94: I still say you should tell him before you graduate. Even if you never see him again, at least you'll stop wondering what might have happened.

sub-arbore-sedeo: I suppose. It just sucks that he's so affectionate with me all the time. He's the same with everyone else, but it still makes me feel special; he'll curl up with me on movie nights and waking up with him feels so right. He's playing with me and he doesn't even know it.

drummerboy94: Please tell me you aren't sleeping with him when he's not committed to you.

sub-arbore-sedeo: No! God, no! We share a bed when the seven of us stay the night together so everyone gets somewhere to sleep. I'm not stupid, Adair – I wouldn't let that happen.