Chapter Text
Colin stretched his legs as the seatbelt sign dinged on above him. He was desperate to get off this plane, even though he sat in business class. He smiled at the flight attendants as they moved through the cabin, doing their final checks before landing. One of the younger ones giggled at his attention and he dropped his gaze with a smirk.
It had been a long month, spending it island-hopping in Greece to celebrate his girlfriend's birthday. He was getting too old to be living out of a suitcase, he decided about two weeks into the trip.
After finishing university, he had started travelling voraciously, starting a travel blog to put his thoughts and recommendations. It had originally just been an online travel diary and he did not expect it to go viral the way it did. Although, putting that picture of himself topless on a beach in Croatia definitely helped. He had his youngest sister, Hyacinth, who was chronically online as a social media specialist to thank for that particular idea. She had set up a PowerPoint presentation when he returned from one trip with suggestions on how to grow his following, using his blog as a university assignment. He had been skeptical, until he saw the pages for his sibling's work or hobbies that she had put her skills to. So he'd done a few thirst traps, put her SEO skills to task and got her a high distinction in that particular class with how much his blog grew.
That was also how he had met his girlfriend. Marina was a beauty influencer who had been invited to some of the same social media parties as him. She was always surrounded by groups of men so he hadn't paid her much attention. That seemed to have made him interesting to her and she started seeking him out when they were at the same place. He enjoyed her banter and how passionate she was about what she did. Occasionally, she would say something snarky about her girlfriends or business associates but that was the nature of the industry she was in so he brushed it aside. Once they started hanging out, she made it online official by tagging them in her posts and videos. That was their first fight. She seemed to have forgotten to check if Colin was ready for them to be public, especially as between them they had millions of followers who cared about their every move. She told him she was excited to show him off. He felt flattered and left it at that.
That had been 6 months ago and they had been travelling together off and on during that time. He had arranged his scheduled trips around where she needed to be for work so they could spend time together. Sometimes, she would be too busy at an event to do more than walk in and leave with him but he was a social guy and made some great connections at these events so it all came out in the wash.
Now he was coming home for the first time in almost a year. As the plane bumped down onto the runway, Colin wondered which of his sibling's would be at the gate to pick him up. Anthony had vaguely said someone would be there but had been in the middle of a nappy change with his youngest and was particularly distracted. As the seatbelt sign flicked off, he stood and stretched his arms up to the roof before grabbing his travel bag and joining the line to leave the plane. He went through customs easily (that was one of his particular favourites on his blog about how to make the customs system work for you) and meandered out to the arrivals gate. He looked around before seeing a waving hand and a sign that said, “Travel Bitch”. He laughed and made his way over to Eloise, who was smirking.
“Who's idea was the sign?” he said with a smile.
“The idea came from Gregory and Hyacinth but Francesca did the design.”
He huffed out a laugh. Of course his youngest siblings were involved. Francesca was a surprise as Benedict was the artsy one in the family but he was probably not at the house when they had the idea.
They made their way outside to the parking lot, finding Eloise's car and he climbed in.
“Good flight?” she asked.
“Bit bumpy out of Athens but nothing too bad. Just felt long so I'm desperate to lie in my own bed.”
“We just need to make a quick stop on the way to your flat and then you'll be able to lie down as long as you want…..until tonight obviously.” Eloise added, flicking her indicator on as they moved into traffic.
“Is that why you're the one who picked me up? So you could run errands in the city?” he said, feigning insult. Eloise laughed.
“Maybe.”
He smiled and leaned his head back against the headrest, closing his eyes. Marina had kept him out later than he'd wanted the previous night, partying at some club in Athens before he went to the airport, telling him she was distraught that she wouldn't see him for a few weeks and needed as much time with him as possible.
He must have dozed off because he heard Eloise put the handbrake on and his eyes flew open. He looked around and saw that they were in the centre of town.
“I'll just be a sec,” she said unbuckling her seatbelt. He nodded and lay his head back again, wondering what they were doing out here. Eloise worked remotely for an environmental advocacy organisation but their office was in Switzerland last he remembered so it wasn't related to work. None of his sibling's worked in town, unless something had changed and he hadn't realised. He then heard Eloise yell out,
“Pen!”
His head shot up as he looked in the direction that Eloise was running. There she was, Eloise's childhood friend. She had also been Colin's but one night before he left on a trip a few years ago, he had ruined that. There she was, standing outside a particular fancy looking building, phone in one hand, garment bag in another and a big smile on her face as her friend ran towards her. She looked great, her red hair was flowing down her back in waves, her blue eyes were sparkling in the sun. She was wearing a flowy green dress that hung off her shoulders and platform shoes and Colin's mouth suddenly felt dry. He remembered how those shoulders felt under his hands, how her body had moulded to his as they danced. He suddenly realised he was pressing his face against the window and shook himself, sitting back. Eloise had reached her and they were speaking quickly. Eloise gestured back to her car and Penelope's head snapped in his direction. She looked for only a moment before handing Eloise the garment bag, then gestured up to the building behind her. She gave her friend a quick hug and then turned and retreated into the building. Eloise made her way back to the car, gently placing the garment bag in the boot and climbing back into the driver's seat.
Colin continued to look at the building that he now knew Penelope was in.
“Pen says hi,” Eloise says with a smirk.
“No she doesn't,” he grumbled, tearing his eyes away as they took off into the traffic. Eloise laughed and punched his arm. Clearly, Eloise was over the betrayal of her brother hitting on her best friend, especially considering everyone believed she had turned him down.
“What's in the bag?” he asked eventually as the silence in the car stretched. Eloise loved awkward silences. She had briefly considered going into teaching and had learnt about the teacher pause while waiting for student responses and loved to use that in everyday life.
“My outfit for tonight's party,” she replied. “Pen made this friend when she was in Paris who is an incredible designer. She lives in England now, working with some big fashion house but she loves to do her own designs in her off time. I think Pen may have even modelled some of the outfits for her online. She designed Pen an outfit for tonight and when Pen mentioned that it was a joint party for the both of us, she demanded to make me something as well.”
Colin was rolling that information around in his head. Pen had gone to Paris without him? They had always talked about travelling together after she graduated and Paris had been at the top of her list. He wondered if she had looked at his blog for inspiration and then mentally shook himself. That was incredibly big-headed of him, he could almost see Eloise rolling her eyes at him if he said that out loud.
“Modelling you say?” he asked. Eloise glanced at him and shook her head.
“No, Colin.”
“What?” he answered, trying to sound innocent.
“You have a girlfriend. Leave my best friend alone.”
“I'm just curious,” he said defensively. “Can't I be curious about what my friend has been doing for the last few years?”
“You aren't friends anymore. You took advantage of her crush on you and she was devastated,” Eloise said, shaking her head aggressively as she pulled into the street parking outside his flat. “She has moved on. So have you. Don't be stirring anything up while you are here. Tonight is about celebrating birthdays, not a chance for you to upset her again.”
Colin slumped back, feeling chastised. He knew it was silly to hope they could be friends like before. Before, they had a closeness that rivalled the one she had with Eloise. She always had time for him and listened raptly to all his adventures, asking thought-provoking questions and providing insights that seemed too mature for the young girl that she was. But that was Penelope. Smart and funny, often making him lose it laughing with some observation she had made at a party so that they both received withering looks from either of their mothers. He missed it but Eloise was right. He had ruined things and then had been too ashamed to reach out so they hadn't spoken in a couple of years.
He thanked Eloise for the ride and climbed out. As he grabbed his travel bag, she reminded him to be on time tonight. He nodded absently and made his way up to his flat. It was a modest two bedroom space but it lacked any personality as he was rarely home. He had a business manager who would rent it out as a holiday home on some of Colin's lengthier trips so it didn't truly feel like his, just another place to rest his head. He threw his bag down and toed off his boots before removing his coat. He collapsed onto the bed before retrieving his phone from his pocket.
He still followed Penelope on social media and often scrolled through her account to see what had been happening. She had graduated with a double degree in communication and English literature, started a job at one of the fancy publishing houses in the city and moved into her own flat. He had been trying to avoid doom scrolling through her life since he got with Marina and as such, had missed a lot. He saw pictures of her in Paris, sipping hot chocolate at a cafe or standing in front of the Eiffel Tower. A dark-haired woman made a few appearances in those photos. Colin clicked on a particular photo of them at the Moulin Rouge and saw the tag for @gendelacroix. He clicked on her tag and followed to her page and realised she must be the designer Eloise mentioned. Scrolling through, he realised that the blonde featured in most of the recent posts was Penelope. She must be wearing a wig as her red tresses were generally very identifiable. She looked stunning. There was a blush pink sequined dress and veil that made her look like a wedding Barbie, then there was the two piece black outfit that was incredibly low cut and hugged her curves tightly. He realised he was starting to breathe harder and put his phone down. He needed to stop. He picked his phone up again, planning to click out of the page but instead he clicked on the designer's stories. There was a couple of sneak peeks of new designs as he clicked through but then there was a picture of her on a balcony hugging Penelope. Penelope was all smiles in a blue dress, holding a glass of champagne. The next click took him to a video that looked to be from the same event. The camera moved around the party and Colin was about to click ahead when he saw the blue dress that Penelope had worn in the previous slide. He looked closer to see her in the embrace of a tall, blonde man, looking up at him with rapt attention as he talked about something. The camera slid away as the man leaned down towards her lips while she smiled, closing her eyes.
Colin locked his phone and dropped it on the bed, running his hands over his face. This was ridiculous. He needed to listen to Eloise's advice and stop creeping on her. He also needed a nap. He grabbed his charger out of his bag, picked his phone up off the bed and plugged them both in, setting an alarm and shooting off a quick text to Marina to let her know he'd landed safely. She hadn't contacted him since he'd left for the airport but she was probably still asleep. He pulled his shirt off and lay back against the pillows, almost immediately falling into a deep sleep.