Somewhere To Be (5 page)

“Oh God,” Jamie groaned around a yawn, sitting upright and massaging his neck. “Never let anyone fool you,” he warned Nick. “King of fruits,” he mimicked. “Smells like vomit and tastes like weirdly mushy slime.” Jamie shuddered.

“Ai, Jamie!” replied Mimi. “You are too Western,” she scolded with a smile.

“If being Western means having fully functioning taste buds, then I’ll take it.”

He grinned, twisting in his seat. Mimi reached over and pinched his cheek, earning a yelp from him.

Nick was sitting in his seat grinning, steering them into the city. “So no to durian, huh?”

“Big no-no,” replied Jamie. He directed Nick toward the house, and it was nearing 9:00 a.m. when Nick pulled up into the driveway. Jamie realized he hadn’t called his parents to let them know they’d been on their way, but his mum soon opened the door in her dressing gown with a happy little skip and hugged them all in turn, Nick included.

“This is my friend, Nick.” Jamie introduced them all once his dad had joined them. “He came to collect us.” He smiled, bumping his shoulder into Nick’s.

“Bloody hell, you absolute star!” Jamie’s mum replied. “Well, then, you definitely need tea and breakfast. I’m Jane, by the way, and that there is Weng.” She waved a hand at Jamie’s dad, who, after hugging his mum, was now talking animatedly in rapid-fire Hokkien and heaving their bags from the back. “The rest of them are all hunched around the table stuffing their faces, so if you want feeding you better make it quick.” She grinned.

Jamie’s dad disengaged himself from his mother and sister, leaving Jane to usher them into the house, and came over to shake Nick’s hand. “Thank you,” he said, clapping Nick on the arm. “You’re coming in for breakfast?”

“I—” Nick began, starting a protest that was immediately cut short by Jamie’s dad.

“Yes, you come in for breakfast. And stay. Have dinner with us if you have no plans?”

“I couldn’t intrude,” Nick replied, shooting a glance at Jamie. They hadn’t exactly talked things out yet, but Jamie could tell Nick didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable or awkward by staying.

Baba threw a pointed look at Jamie and turned to Nick once more. “You’re welcome to stay,” he said, inclining his head and walking in to the house as Jamie’s mum called for him.

Nick walked over to lean against his car, looking a bit overwhelmed, and part of Jamie felt sorry for him. His family was big and loud, and this was only a tiny bit of it, but mostly he couldn’t care less. He just didn’t want Nick to go.

“You can stay,” he said, moving to stand next to Nick, shoulder to shoulder.

They both eyed the house, the Christmas lights unlit in the window, the big decorated tree peeking through the curtains, the fake snow sprayed in patterns on the glass, offset by the real snow outside. It looked quiet and sleepy and just like a family home should on Christmas morning.

Nick looked wistful, and Jamie remembered Nick had no family left. It made his chest and throat ache for him. He reached out and took Nick’s hand, their fingers cold as they entwined together. “Stay?” he asked quietly.

Nick looked down at their hands and turned to face Jamie, stepping a little closer. “Is this okay?” he asked.

He could have been asking a million different things: if the closeness was okay, if the implied intimacy was okay, if it really was okay for him to stay…. It was yes to all as far as Jamie was concerned.

He reached up and brushed his fingertips over Nick’s mouth, and followed the soft touch with his lips. Nick groaned and took control of it, pressing back harder and wrapping Jamie up in his arms to keep him warm, driving it home that not every guy was self-serving like Steve. Some of them, a rare few, were like Nick, and Jamie felt beyond grateful to even know someone like that, let alone be in his arms.

His chest felt light and bubbly when he finally pulled back to look into Nick’s hazel eyes, soft, muddy green in the morning light. “Thank you,” Jamie said. The “for everything” went unspoken.

“Thank you for giving me somewhere to be for Christmas.” Nick smiled a slow smile and turned to look at the house again, chuffing out a laugh as Jamie’s mum’s voice came hollering out, calling them both in for breakfast. Jamie rolled his eyes at her fondly, and grabbed Nick by the hand, staying right by him as they made their way into both the chaos and the warmth waiting for them inside.

31 stories of holiday love!

www.dreamspinnerpress.com

A
MY
Y
IP
is an avid reader who finally decided to take the plunge and write down the stories of the characters that live inside of her head. She is one of those English people who prefers coffee to tea and never quite got on board with fish and chips in spite of living by the sea.

She has a soft spot for flawed characters that aren’t always extraordinary, but who make the best out of their lot, even though they stumble along the way. Those are the stories she wants to tell and the people she finds most fascinating.

When not writing, Amy can be found reluctantly working, running around with her dog, cooking up a storm, and trying her hardest to see as much of the world as she can.

Published by

D
REAMSPINNER
P
RESS

5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886  USA

www.dreamspinnerpress.com/

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Somewhere To Be

© 2015 Amy Yip.

Cover Art

© 2015 Paul Richmond.

http://www.paulrichmondstudio.com

Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.

All rights reserved. This book is licensed to the original purchaser only. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to criminal prosecution and upon conviction, fines, and/or imprisonment. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the Publisher, except where permitted by law. To request permission and all other inquiries, contact Dreamspinner Press, 5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886, USA, or www.dreamspinnerpress.com/.

Digital ISBN: 978-1-63476-954-9

First Edition December 2015

Printed in the United States of America