Page 22 of Tomorrow Belongs to Us
I stay silent.
“Who’s the guy? The one you were talking to?”
“Someone from work. Why?”
“No reason.”
“Thanks for the coffee.” I move my hand away. “I really must go.”
“Don’t be like that, Megan.”
“Don’t be like what?” My cheeks heat up at the way he stares at me, and deep down inside my body turns fluttery.
“Cold and distant, like I can’t reach you.”
“Reach me?” I ask, curious, then jump at the sound of a beep from my cell phone. It’s a text from Preston. “Drinks,” I groan. I’d forgotten.
“Drinks?”
“Work drinks.”
“You said you had a late night at the office.”
I notice the tightness around his eyes, the crinkly wrinkles that fan out from the corners. “I do, but there are work drinks later. I was going to grab a sandwich. I haven’t had lunch, unless you count a bar of chocolate as lunch.”
“You shouldn’t skip lunch,” he tells me. Something of the old Mr. Turner returns with those words.
“You always used to tell me,” I reply, remembering.
“That’s because it annoyed me, the sight of so many pencil thin schoolgirls going without meals. ‘Not hungry, don’t want to eat,’” he bleats, making a pathetic attempt to mimic a young girl’s don’t-care-attitude.
I stand up. “I’m grateful for your …” The exact word eludes me. Honesty? Advice? Guidance? What? I hold out my hand for him to shake.
“Shaking hands? Is this what we do now?” He expresses surprise but takes my hand anyway and gives it a firm shake. “Can we meet again?”
Anticipation thrums through my body. He wants to meet again. So, naturally, I shut it down. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“You’re very cautious.”
“I’m not a risk-taker.” I want my life to be safe and secure.
“It must be part of the job.”
I shrug. It’s better to leave things where they are. My cell phone beeps again and it’s another text from Preston. “Thanks for the coffee.”
“Is he your boyfriend?”
It’s a direct question, asking something so personal. “Would that bother you?”
His eyes glitter like hard granite. “What do you think?”
Chapter 10
LANCE
If I’m not careful, Megan's going to get me in trouble. It's bad enough Fielding has his eyes on me.
I shouldn't be doing this. I should tell her to leave, but I can't. Her mother just took an overdose, and her father left home months ago. This girl is broken, fragile, and she's come to me.
