I stick out a hand and we shake. I try to look away. I don’t want to encourage her. The only way this can go is badly.
“Hey. I’m sorry about what happened down there.”
“Why? You didn’t do it.”
She shakes her head. “I think it was just a big misunderstanding.”
“I don’t care.”
“Don’t be like that. I’m sure I could talk to Rachel and get you back in.”
“Why would I want to go back in?”
“Hey, come on now. The Nook is a great spot. You guys just got off on the wrong foot.”
I look out into the street. “It doesn’t matter.”
Silence stretches between us and I don’t look up at her again. I can’t. It just hurts to know what I’ll never have. I should get out of here.
She’s still beside me and it’s starting to get a bit weird. Neither one of says anything but I feel like she’s full of urgency. She’s got something inside her, something that needs to get out. Yes, she’s got something to ask me or say to me. I can sense that and it’s why she’s not walking away.
But there’s something else. Something under the skin. I turn my head slowly and look back up at her and even though her face is still a smooth mask of calm I can sense a river turning beneath it.
We look into each others’ eyes for a moment and time stretches between us. I don’t feel awkward anymore. I feel like I could sit here forever.
“I, ah…” For the briefest of seconds, she seems to lose her cool. That sense of calm assurance doesn’t waver, but she does look anxious. I turn towards her slightly, suddenly wondering where this is going.
Because this is going somewhere. I thought she might be one of those goody two shoes types that just needed to apologize to me so she could feel better about her friends roughing me up. But she’s done that and she’s still here.
“Roxy, how about I buy you some dinner?”
My stomach growls immediately, competing with the cars roaring past nearby. I haven’t eaten a good meal in a really long time. Helen looks like she won’t skimp on the luxuries either.
“We aren’t going back into the Nook, are we?”
She shakes her head. “No. They don’t really do dinner in there. I want to… Make it up to you. I guess.”
I frown at her, just a little. I’m pretty sure that’s not what she was going to say.
“I don’t know.”
“Come on, it’ll be fun. I just need some company and I feel bad about those guys throwing you out. Seriously I’ve never seen them do that before.”
“I tend to have that affect on people.”
Silence falls between us again as we look at each other. Helen frowns but she doesn’t answer me, not directly anyway.
“Come on.” She holds out her hand and I swear, it’s trembling. “Let me buy you some dinner and we can talk.”
I don’t know what we could possibly have to talk about. I have no clue why this gorgeous creature would want to pull me out of the gutter. At this point I’ve just had so much stress I don’t even care. I’m tired and still wondering where I’m going to sleep tonight. Given the circumstances, I can’t turn down free dinner.
“Okay.” I say softly. She looks surprised but hides it well. I pick myself up and grab my bag, wondering what kind of woman she must be to literally pick someone up out of the gutter.
Seven
Helen
There is a fierce, icy twist in my guts. It’s like a frozen fist has ahold of my intestines and is gripping them hard, trying to pull them out through my belly button. I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous.