“How did you even know I wanted to come here?” I ask, staring dumbly at Ayden, squeezing his hand in excitement. Raleigh laughs, nudging my shoulder playfully as we stare at the sign for the restaurant and apparently, it’s been there since 1784. Which is so odd to me, that there are literal buildings here in London that have been here for centuries.

It makes my brain want to melt, actually.

Ayden leads us inside to plush, red velvet booths where Mr. And Mrs. Stone are already seated, sharing a glass of wine, talking to each other in low murmurs, the both of them looking at the three of us with smiles on their faces.

Who knows why I’m so nervous? Who knows?

Ayden sits on one end of the round booth, right next to his dad, while he indicates with a hand for me to sit next to his mom, and therefore not letting Raleigh sit next to a stranger.

Raleigh’s already introduced herself without any prompting or formal introduction needed, and it looks like she has to force herself to stick her hand out for a shake, and I wonder again if they don’t really do that in Seoul, or South Korea in general. I even catch her bowing her head, eyes to the floor as she introduces herself, and I can tell that Ayden’s parents are charmed before I take my seat next to Mrs. Stone, and Raleigh slides in next to me.

The restaurant inside is kind of dark. It always throws me for a loop when an expensive restaurant is so dark inside that you can hardly see the food you’re eating, but apparently that’s all a part of the ambiance.

Our waiter is dressed immaculately in what I think is a tuxedo, white gloves on his hands as he greets the table, and then he launches into the specials of the day. Ayden glances over at me while I try to give the guy my full attention, even though the walk felt like it was more than twenty minutes and Raleigh, and I are starving now.

While the jet lag is a lot better today, I feel odd with how tired I’m getting even though it’s barely lunch time.

Jumping time zones—it’s not all that good for your internal clock, apparently.

We order our food with me trying to keep a straight face with the price of certain menu items, but fuck it, we’re here in London, and I’m seeing my friends after all this time, and this is how it’s going to go. I shouldn’t be worrying over every little thing. I’m on adventure, and I’ll be home soon enough.

It feels almost like I’m running out of time, now that I only have another five days left with Raleigh and Maddie where we’re together and able to hug each other and hold each other’s hands just because we’re able to.

“So how long have the two of you been friends?” Mrs. Stone asks, and my entire consciousness jumps right back into the conversation, attention snapping back to the present moment.

“Oh, Raleigh and I used to live together, back when I lived in Montreal, before my move to Toronto. Before I even met Ayden,” I explain, pointing to Raleigh as if we all don’t know who I’m talking about. “We shared a three-bedroom apartment and lived in the city. But last year we all went our separate ways; I went to Toronto for work, Raleigh went to Seoul to teach English, and Maddie came here to play soccer, ah, excuse me—football.”

Ayden laughs at my use of the Canadian word.

“Oh, is she part of the U21s?” Mr. Stone asks, leaning his elbows onto the table and looking at me with all of his attention, and I get a glimpse into the future, seeing exactly how Ayden’s going to age, looking forward to the decades that are going to pass (hopefully, hopefully).

“Oh, no,” Raleigh says. “She plays for the Prime League.”

Mrs. Stone gapes. “The Prime League? She plays professionally?”

We both nod as the Stones look between each other, grinning.

“Who does she play for?” Ayden asks, rubbing at his mouth, licking his lips, looking handsome and everything, and it’s distracting, utterly and completely distracting. He’s using his powers for evil; I know it.

I glance over at Raleigh, shaking myself out of the fleeting moment where I admire my boyfriend and marvel at the fact that he’s a part of my life, and we both look over at the Stones and utter at the same time, “Southgate FC.”

“No shit,” Ayden says, placing his hands on the table, frowning up at the ceiling, trying to pluck an answer out of thin air. “Wait, Madelyn Chase. That’s your friend? The best-scoring striker?”

I nod slowly because that is, in fact, true. “Yeah, that’s her.”

“You used to live with Madelyn Chase?” Mr. Stone thumps the table with his fist, nodding towards Raleigh and me, and I think, I think, both Raleigh and I have received the seal of approval.

Sweet.

“Yes. She’s one of my best friends. We’re going to her game in a couple of nights, actually—”

Ayden’s shaking his head, but I’ve gone and stepped in it, Mr. Stone rounding on his son and demanding answers, making Mrs. Stone laugh. “How did I not know this?”

“Dad, I also just found out. How could I not know about this? Aria?”

I shrug, hiking my shoulders almost all the way up to my ears. “I’m sorry? How was I supposed to know you even knew who Maddie was? We talked about soccer, but I didn’t know you were such a fanboy.”

Ayden sputters, then moves his head from side to side, as if getting used to the idea that he indeed is a fanboy. “All right, all right. I’ll give you that. I can’t believe it.”

“She’s dating the boy,” Mrs. Stone says, waving her hand around as if she can pluck the name into existence, snapping her fingers until it finally comes to her. “Yes, that’s right, Jesse Windmeier.” Three pairs of eyes swing towards Raleigh and me, and we both collectively rear back and press our backs up against the booth, putting distance between us, like the Stones are sharks that have scented blood.

Shit.

“Yikes,” Raleigh murmurs, looking over at me, grimacing. “Did we just out Maddie in some way?”

I know why Raleigh’s being almost over-cautious. She has someone she loves that she needs to protect that isn’t just Jaeyong and being confronted by a couple of fans feels…weird. Not terrible, but still weird.

“Dad, please. Ah, the food’s here,” Ayden says, sounding exasperated, his cheeks blooming with a harsh flush that might just be more than embarrassment.

“No, honestly, do you think we can get an autograph of the two of them together? Could you do that for us, Aria?” Mr. Stone asks of me, and I’m stuck in between a rock and a hard place, obviously.

On the one hand I want to appease them, they’re Ayden’s parents and I want them to like me, but on the other hand, that’s my best friend we’re talking about, and while I don’t think it’s a huge deal to ask (since Maddie can always say no) the Stones are both looking at me like I’ve promised them each a pot of gold, guaranteed.

“Uh…” is all I say, but Ayden steps in.

“Dad come on. Go to a signing like everyone else.”

“I bloody would if I could,” Mr. Stone says, rounding on his son.

The food is delicately placed on the table before us, the waiter placing our plates in front of each respective person, and Raleigh and I both say a collective “bon appétit” to the table, and we’re all digging in. Raleigh and I keep eye contact with our plates and not much else.

“I’m sorry, that was rude. I was being rude,” Mr. Stone sighs, and I lift my head to look at him. “Seems like these days those poor children are fighting for their lives on that pitch, and the papers tear them apart,” Mr. Stone sighs, wiping at his mouth delicately with his linen napkin.

“Well, we did come here to visit with her,” I say. “Both Raleigh and I missed her a lot. We haven’t met Jesse, either so we’re in the same boat there,” I say, trying to make a joke, but it falls super flat, and I feel my cheeks start to burn in embarrassment. Ayden looks at me, staring at me intently, his mouth tight.

“I can’t make any promises, Mr. Stone, but if Maddie is willing to autograph a picture or something like that, I would love to get that for you. Except we don’t even know when we’re going to see her tomorrow, if we’re going to see her tomorrow,” I lie.

Raleigh coughs into her fist, then wipes at her mouth, apologizing to the table. “Yeah, we don’t know. Aria and I are here on a mini-vacation, but Raleigh’s still working, training hard.”

“Right, that is, they’re still in pre-season friendly games and there’s already speculation that Southgate FC is going to be toppled as the reigning league champions.” Mr. Stone sighs, shaking his head. “Have you not been to a fixture then?” he asks, looking at the pair of us, and we both shake our heads.

“I think it’s going to be special, being here in London. We’ve only ever been to hockey games back home, and I have a feeling this is going to be a lot more energetic than that.”

Raleigh nods along with my words, eating her fish and chips and grinning at the taste, sipping at her beer. “Totally. I’m ready for it.”

“You’re going to the game too, son?”

Ayden looks sheepishly away, wiping at his mouth delicately in that way of his that endeared me to him way before my heart got involved with him and not the character he used to play, Chrisander Gage.

Conversation picks up after that, and the Stones find out really quick that Raleigh and I don’t really follow English football, other than sometimes catching games in our respective time zones to cheer Maddie on, and that’s it. It becomes clear that Maddie is our friend first and professional football player here in London second.

We move on to safer topics—tourist attractions that we should hit before the end of the week before we have to leave and go back to our homes (except Maddie, who’s clearly staying here). I get the recommendation to visit Stonehenge, which is on my list, but it kills me that it’s a day trip outside of London, and I’ve been waiting forever to see Raleigh and Maddie again, and I want to stick close— we’re going to be apart far sooner than I’d like after all.

I can visit Stonehenge another time, right? Right?!

We finish up lunch, then have a coffee because both Raleigh and I are flagging now after going hard with the tourist game, and the jet lag is still hanging around like a ghost that’s haunting me.

“So how bad did I mess up?” I ask Ayden when we head back out, his parents taking their time and are going to find their way back home without their son doing the driving, and while I feel bad, it’s super nice to have my boyfriend around and showing me a portion of London that he knows or wants to discover with me.

“You didn’t mess up, Aria. Don’t worry about that.”

“You kind of messed up, though,” Raleigh says, pinching air between her finger and thumb, squinting through the space and looking at me through it.

“Great, just great,” I sigh, shoving my hair out of my face, wishing I had the forethought to bring a hair elastic, but Raleigh’s taking one off her wrist and handing it to me. I shove my hair up and out of my face, blinking at Ayden.

“I’m not going to throw Maddie under the bus like that. I’m sure she gets shit all the time, people wanting her to do favours for them. Like, I don’t even know if Maddie has any more tickets to the game, honestly. But I’ll ask, and that’s all I can promise, Ayden. I’m not going to force my friend, all right?”

“Darling, that you’re even willing to ask your friend is enough, I promise.”

“I just…I don’t want to seem like a bitch, but I have to watch Maddie’s back,” I say, nodding at him, willing him to understand. Ayden just gives me the smile that seems like it’s only for me and kisses my mouth lightly, as if he can’t help himself.

“Well, all right, you both have made me miss the shit out of my boyfriend and I’m going to call a time out between the two of you right now.” Raleigh makes a T with her hand, and I laugh.

“Look, all we can do is ask Maddie, and that’s it, right?” Raleigh nods, trying to convince me. “Come on. What else do you want to see? We have to work off that lunch.”