I’m not angry.” I took a step back and leaned against the elevator wall. “I’m just...confused.”
With a sigh, he joined me against the back wall. “So, you didn’t go home with Abbot?”
“What? No. And frankly, I’m pissed that that’s what you thought I’d do.”
He shrugged. “You seemed to like him.”
“Yeah. Like. He’s a nice guy, he gave me a ride home. End of story.”
Nodding slowly, he seemed to chew on his lip in thought as we rode the elevator to the lobby in a tension filled silence.
“So I guess that leaves the long-term relationship girl, or the doesn’t want a relationship at all kind of girl,” André stated as the doors opened and we exited.
I gave him a sidelong glance and almost laughed as I realized he’d just ruled out ‘the kind of girl who sleeps around’ – at least he listened when I spoke. I struggled to stay angry with him, even though I really wanted to.
“Let me make it really easy for you,” I said as I reached into my bag and pulled out my sunglasses. “I’m not either of those.”
He stopped walking for a beat and frowned before quickly catching up to me as we exited the building. “That doesn’t make it easy,” he said, amusement in his accented voice. “That’s just incredibly confusing.”
I slipped my glasses on and smiled as I stepped out into the daylight. “Now you know how I feel.”
***
S urprisingly, we managed to share a fairly pleasant meal together without anymore talk of the night before, or even the night before that. We stuck to friendly topics of conversation like work, travel and college. He had gone quiet when I asked him where he grew up and went to high school and had given a really vague answer then changed the subject. So I added that to the list of things we didn’t talk about – no family, and nothing before college. That suited me fine. Besides Dave, I didn’t want to talk about family either, and high school wasn’t much of a picnic once I became the girl who lost her parents in the local disgruntled employee shooting. It’s funny how people feel they can’t mention their own parents around someone who doesn’t have any. They treated me as though I was made of glass. Then they just stopped talking to me at all.
“When is your next assignment?” I asked when the waitress set a slice of apple pie and ice cream in front of me and gave André a coffee and a small folded piece of paper.
He picked up the paper and looked at it as he answered me. “I’ll set up a meeting when we get to LA to go over the shots from Afghanistan then they’ll let me know when I fly out next. I’m rarely ever back for more than a month or two.” He looked at it and smiled politely at the girl before slipping it under the saucer from his coffee cup as she walked away.
“Did she seriously just give you her number?”
The expression on his face answered for him, and I began to laugh. “Wow. How audacious. Are you going to keep it?”
He shrugged and shook his head. “There would be no point. We’re leaving tomorrow.”
“But if you weren’t, would you call?”
He lifted his coffee to his mouth and took a sip. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Maybe...” I repeated, eyeing him carefully and noting the way his cheeks had brightened slightly. I found it incredibly amusing that he could even be slightly embarrassed over the attention he received from women. Surely he was used to it, and it didn’t seem to bother him the night before. “Does this happen to you a lot?”
He tilted his head as he placed his cup back on the saucer and the way his lips curved, I knew it did, and I laughed openly. “What? It doesn’t happen to you?” he said flippantly, his lips continuing their upward curve until he was chuckling along with me.
“It’s absurd,” I said, spooning a mouthful of pie into my mouth and trying to chew around my mirth.
“Want to do something fun?” he suggested, his eyes twinkling a little as he smiled across
With a sigh, he joined me against the back wall. “So, you didn’t go home with Abbot?”
“What? No. And frankly, I’m pissed that that’s what you thought I’d do.”
He shrugged. “You seemed to like him.”
“Yeah. Like. He’s a nice guy, he gave me a ride home. End of story.”
Nodding slowly, he seemed to chew on his lip in thought as we rode the elevator to the lobby in a tension filled silence.
“So I guess that leaves the long-term relationship girl, or the doesn’t want a relationship at all kind of girl,” André stated as the doors opened and we exited.
I gave him a sidelong glance and almost laughed as I realized he’d just ruled out ‘the kind of girl who sleeps around’ – at least he listened when I spoke. I struggled to stay angry with him, even though I really wanted to.
“Let me make it really easy for you,” I said as I reached into my bag and pulled out my sunglasses. “I’m not either of those.”
He stopped walking for a beat and frowned before quickly catching up to me as we exited the building. “That doesn’t make it easy,” he said, amusement in his accented voice. “That’s just incredibly confusing.”
I slipped my glasses on and smiled as I stepped out into the daylight. “Now you know how I feel.”
***
S urprisingly, we managed to share a fairly pleasant meal together without anymore talk of the night before, or even the night before that. We stuck to friendly topics of conversation like work, travel and college. He had gone quiet when I asked him where he grew up and went to high school and had given a really vague answer then changed the subject. So I added that to the list of things we didn’t talk about – no family, and nothing before college. That suited me fine. Besides Dave, I didn’t want to talk about family either, and high school wasn’t much of a picnic once I became the girl who lost her parents in the local disgruntled employee shooting. It’s funny how people feel they can’t mention their own parents around someone who doesn’t have any. They treated me as though I was made of glass. Then they just stopped talking to me at all.
“When is your next assignment?” I asked when the waitress set a slice of apple pie and ice cream in front of me and gave André a coffee and a small folded piece of paper.
He picked up the paper and looked at it as he answered me. “I’ll set up a meeting when we get to LA to go over the shots from Afghanistan then they’ll let me know when I fly out next. I’m rarely ever back for more than a month or two.” He looked at it and smiled politely at the girl before slipping it under the saucer from his coffee cup as she walked away.
“Did she seriously just give you her number?”
The expression on his face answered for him, and I began to laugh. “Wow. How audacious. Are you going to keep it?”
He shrugged and shook his head. “There would be no point. We’re leaving tomorrow.”
“But if you weren’t, would you call?”
He lifted his coffee to his mouth and took a sip. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Maybe...” I repeated, eyeing him carefully and noting the way his cheeks had brightened slightly. I found it incredibly amusing that he could even be slightly embarrassed over the attention he received from women. Surely he was used to it, and it didn’t seem to bother him the night before. “Does this happen to you a lot?”
He tilted his head as he placed his cup back on the saucer and the way his lips curved, I knew it did, and I laughed openly. “What? It doesn’t happen to you?” he said flippantly, his lips continuing their upward curve until he was chuckling along with me.
“It’s absurd,” I said, spooning a mouthful of pie into my mouth and trying to chew around my mirth.
“Want to do something fun?” he suggested, his eyes twinkling a little as he smiled across
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