Page 30 of The Escape Plan

She tilts her head at me. “Do you ever perform?”

“Ah, I used to,” I say with a dry smile. “There was a time I loved performing at the pub in my town. But not so much anymore.”

“Well, if you’re up for it, my friend Nori is hosting an Indie Music Night at Serendipi-Tea in a couple of weeks.”

“I remember seeing the poster for that in Ezra’s shop.”

“Yeah, he’s doing all the sound stuff for the night.”

“And it’s at Serendipi-Tea? Isn’t that the home of those famous breakfast sandwiches you’re always on about?”

“One and the same. Nori needs one more performer, and I’m sure she’d love to have you. It would be a huge favor to her to have the roster rounded out.”

Keeley’s leaning towards me eagerly, the expression on her face open and excited. And although I haven’t performed anywhere, for anyone, for a while now, I find myself saying, “I’ll think about it.”

As soon as the words leave my mouth, there’s a clicking noise, and the door to the laundry room swings open.

Andrew’s standing on the other side, a basket heaped high with laundry clutched in his hands.

“What’s going on here?” he sputters as he takes us in, sitting side-by-side on the dryers. Keeley goes a little pale.

“Just hanging out,” I reply coolly. “Waiting for Keeley’s washing to be done.”

“You’ll be here a while, in that case.” He snorts, casting an eye over the washing machine, which still has the lid up. The drum is full of clothes, and I guess that, distracted by our lock-in and our conversation, Keeley forgot to actually turn the thing on.

She begins to slide off the dryer, but I hold up a hand and smile at her.

“Allow me,friend,” I say grandly and, fully for Andrew’s benefit, I walk to the washing machine, pour in detergent and fabric softener, and start the cycle before turning to wink at Andrew conspiratorially. “Guess Keeley here was so charmed by my scintillating conversational skills that the task at hand was temporarily forgotten.”

“Becks! Enough with the charm thing,” Keeley groans, but she’s laughing, and I’m happy to note that the color has returned to her cheeks.

Andrew studies me like he’s trying to work me out. Almost as if he’s evaluating if I’m a worthy opponent…

Eejit.

In turn, I look at him like he’s a bug that I’m deciding whether or not to flick out of the way.

Apparently, Keeley brings out my protective side.

“I don’t think we’ve officially met,” Andrew says coldly. “I’m Andrew. Becks, was it?”

“You can call me Beckett,” I say pleasantly, and Keeley snorts with sudden laughter. She claps a hand over her mouth, like she’s trying to force the outburst back in.

Andrew’s mouth falls open momentarily before he regains his composure. “I’ll leave you two to yourwashing. I have a date to get ready for.” He shoots Keeley a pointed look, then turns around and flounces off, full basket of dirty laundry in hand.

We watch his retreating back through the now-open door. But instead of feeling relieved that we are now free from our imprisonment in the laundry room, I just feel irrationally irritated that Andrew interrupted our conversation.

“What an absolute dose,” I say plainly.

Keeley raises a brow. “Dose?”

“A popular term of non-endearment.”

“How delightful.”

“Glad to be of service.”

“Boy, does he seem tohateyou, though.”

---