“Yeah….” He chewed on the shrimp, his expression thoughtful. “What’s worse is the fact that we work at the same hospital. I get to see her pretty much every day.”
“That must be hard.”
He nodded again.
“I hope you are not thinking of using me to get a rise out of her?”
He laughed at her bluntness. “Definitely not. She is with some other guy.”
“Another doctor….?”
“An accountant….!”
“Sounds boring….!”
“He is some rich accountant with his own firm.”
“Are you saying that she is materialistic?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, and I don’t want to assume anything. She told me she is in love with the guy, so I am going to take her word for it.”
“What about you?”
“What about me?” She hedged.
“Is your guy with someone else?”
“I have no idea.” She said honestly.
“You cut him off?”
“We cut each other off.” She looked at her watch. “I am afraid it is that time.”
“You are leaving.” The disappointment was obvious in his tone.
“Yes.” She looked around for Joel and could not find him. “I am going to call an Uber….”
“Let me take you home.”
“I don’t to take you out of your way.”
“I am crashing as we speak.” He acknowledged as he got to his feet. “I don’t mind, and it gives me a chance to get your number.”
“Okay.”
*****
Chad let himself inside the apartment and keyed in the code for the alarm. He was realistic enough to know that he was a famous face living in an apartment located in a neighborhood that was not exactly known for its security. The alarm system was the only thing he had splurged on and never regretted it. He could try and hide from the fact that he was Chad Gilroy, but it was already out there. He avoided social media and the press and drove a car that was almost ten years old. The boy’s home he ran was in an obscure area downtown and he made sure that it was not his name that was shown on the lease. Morgan Barker ran the place with him, and he was the face of the place. He hung his keys on the ring and walked into the living room to pour out a glass of scotch. The electronic fire warmed the place and lent it a cozy feel to it. Walking over the mantel, he braced his hand against it and rested a booted foot against the rail. He had been running away from his feelings for ten years and they were finally catching up to him. He had spent years in Europe, hopping from one country to the other, spending four weeks in Costa Rico and had even considered setting down roots there but had changed his mind. His mind flickered to the day he had first met her and this time he did not allow the memory to dissolve. He had been particularly angry at his parents, a constant for him. They had just gotten back from some exotic location in Egypt and had announced that they would be leaving again in the next two days. The argument had been blistering and he had stormed out of the house and took his bike, leaving the exclusive neighborhood he lived and gone downtown into a seedy area. He had been passing the small library and decided to stop there. He had sauntered in, his helmet under his arm, ignoring the curious stares and the recognition as he looked around. She had caught his eyes because she was the only one who seemed oblivious of his presence, something he was not accustomed to. So he had walked over to her table and sat down. “What are you reading?”
She had ignored him as if he had not spoken and it had pissed him off. He had dragged at the book rudely, forcing her to look at him. He remembered being staggered by the dark brown eyes and the flash of annoyance there. Her thick dark hair had been piled on top of her head and the silver hoops were dangling at her cheeks. “Do you mind?”
“I asked you a question.” He looked at the cover and lifted a brow. “It looks boring.”
“Can you even read?” She had asked him as she dragged the book from him.
“I assure you I can.” He had looked at her insulting. “I am assuming that you cannot get a date, so you spend your time in this stuffy library buried in the written word.”
Instead of being angry, she had stared at him contemptuously. “Poor little rich boy.” She had said caustically. “Did someone steal the golden spoon from your mouth?”
His green eyes had flashed at that. “Do you know who I am?” He had asked the very words he despised hearing.
She had laughed softly, one hand covering her mouth. “People still use that? What? Am I supposed to be impressed by you? Are you offended that I am not kissing your entitled ass?”
He had been so angry that he had felt as if his heartbeat was suffocating him. “Why are you such a bitch?” He had taunted her. “Is it because you are such a big girl….?”
“Why are you such an asshole? Is it because Mommy and Daddy don’t have time for you?”
The truth had cut so close that he had sucked in a breath. “How dare ….”
“Go away, you are taking up a lot of my time and trust me when I say that conversation with someone like you is the last thing I want.” She had told him coolly.
He had left after that, but he had kept coming back until she had finally accepted him. But she had done more than that. They had become friends who looked forward to seeing each other. When they had gotten closer, she had stopped going to the library for fear that people would start to notice that they had gotten to be more than friends. They were different in so many ways and reporters were always looking for stories about him. Her mother was hardly ever home, always off on some drunken binge at the bar where she worked, so they had the place to themselves. At first it had been just friendship. He would confide in her and she would tell him what she was going through. The messes she had to clean up each time her mother got drunk and the fact that she never knew who her dad was. He would tell her about growing up with his parents and how alone he had always been. She would tease him and call him ‘poor little rich boy’ and he would always tell her to stop. He stepped back from the mantle and tossed back the drink as he shied away from the memory that was coming next.
*****
“This is me.” She indicated the apartment buildings to the right, and he turned the indicator on. They had kept the conversation light as they journeyed with her calling to let Joel know that she was going.
“You taking an Uber?”