'Til There Was You - Jerry Cole Page 0,96

didn’t even want you anymore? Have you thought about that?”

Austin had thought about it, and truly that was the only thing stopping him from going. Well, that and the logistics of the whole thing. And the fact that he was never one for large romantic gestures and again, the idea that he might arrive only for Finn to not want him.

But that just seemed so unlikely. Austin had never felt this way about someone before. This wasn’t what he’d had with Freddy. This was... this was real. This was worth fighting for.

“So, what now?” Cassidy asked once he’d finished eating. “And don’t say going to India.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t.”

But the idea didn’t end with breakfast. It became a seed, buried within Austin, slowly growing and morphing into something very real. By the end of the day, Austin was seriously considering it. By the end of the night, it was as good as a plan, and by the next day he’d need to be talked out of it to stop him from going. And even then, it seemed unlikely.

The old Austin would have never even considered such a thing. It would have been laughable to put oneself on the line like that. Preposterous even! But that was the old Austin. This new Austin existed in a world outside of rejection. This new Austin existed because of Finn.

It was exactly three days and one night after his call with Finn that Austin made a resounding decision: he was going to India to track down Finn and confess his love. He didn’t care if people thought he was crazy. He didn’t care if it was ‘too much.’ All he cared about was Finn, and he had to let Finn know this.

“I think it’s a good idea,” Michael had said when Austin called to tell him.

“You do?” Austin had blinked back his surprise. He thought that Michael, like everyone else, would try and talk him out of it.

“Why not?” he continued coolly. “You can write from anywhere. You clearly need the inspiration. And fuck, you might even find something to write about.”

“Wow... thanks.” If there had been any doubt in Austin’s mind as to what to do, it was now gone.

“Mate, all I want is for you to be happy. As you manager and your friend. And truth be told, I always thought that break-up was fucking dumb. Couples fight. The good and bad ones. The great ones though... they come back even stronger than before.”

“You think Finn and I are one of the great ones?”

There was a pause on the other end of the line. Then, “I’ll tell you what. Call me when you get there and let me know how it goes. Then I’ll answer the question.”

Austin and Finn were one of the great ones. Austin had no doubt. And so, following a few hasty goodbyes, Austin went online, bought the first ticket he could to Mumbai, packed his bags and left for India. What was going to happen next... he had no idea.

***

Cassidy was right. India was hot. India was smelly. India was loud. India was so many things that Sydney, Australia wasn’t. And truly, Austin did not care.

The only person he’d spoken to face to face before leaving the country was Angela, and that was on the way to the airport, and just to get the address that Finn was staying at. She sounded surprised when Austin asked, even skeptical as if he was trying to trick her into something. But he assured her it was for hers and Zac’s own good, as well as his own. So, she handed it over to him with a resigned ‘good luck.’

Fate intervened the moment that Austin stepped out of the Mumbai airport and into the heat. Desperate to find a taxi, one pulled up right where he was standing. And when Austin tried to pronounce the name of the hotel, the driver waved him down and said he knew it too well, and in perfect English. Apparently, he knew the owner and went there all the time. And even better, he knew a shortcut!

Now, all Austin had to worry about was whether Finn was actually going to be at this hotel in the first place. If he wasn’t there, then this trip would be over as soon as it begun. But for some reason, Austin just didn’t think that would be the case. For some reason, Austin just knew Finn would be there waiting.

In fact, the flight to India was perhaps the