Stayed.
But he didn’t.
Which means he could have a girlfriend.
I drop my head again so he doesn’t see me watching him, doesn’t see me gawking. I’m quite certain my eyes are wide and my mouth is slightly ajar, because I have no chill.
If my mouth doesn’t say it, my eyebrows will.
“Yes, Mum,” he is saying. “I don’t know. Probably the holidays—Christmas. I’ve only been here a few weeks, I have a whole semester ahead of me before I can…” His voice trails off as his mother speaks. “No, it definitely will not be before Christmas.”
His pause is only a few seconds.
“You could come here.” Pause. “Yes, I know you’re not a fan of the States.” Another eye roll. “Undignified, I know.” Pause. “What am I doing now?” Jack lifts his eyes and they meet mine. “Having a cuppa with a friend.”
A friend.
My mouth almost drops open at that pronouncement.
A friend?
Since when are we friends?!
“Yes, Mum, she’s a girl.” He raises his brows and wiggles them at me. “No, just a friend.” Pause. “I’ve only been in the States a few weeks—I do not have a girlfriend.”
Double wink.
He needs to stop doing that—being fun and playful and cute. It’s disconcerting and…
Rude.
Yes, rude!
I’m creating boundaries and distance and…and…
Before I can even think about it, my omelet is gone. Jack has eaten the entire thing without me noticing, even while on the phone with his mother.
I’ve been too lost in thought wondering what his life is like, wondering what is going to become of him and Kaylee, wondering why he is subjecting himself to rugby when he clearly cannot stand the sport.
I screw up my face, irritated that he has yet again eaten my meal and left me sitting here hungry.
“Gosh darn it, Jack, I’m still hungry!” I tell him when he says goodbye to his mom and sets his phone down on the table.
“You’ve got to be quick when I’m around.” He is not the least bit abashed.
It bothers him not one iota that I’m clearly agitated. In fact, he seems to be relishing the fact that I’m irritated, proving it by leaning over to pluck a menu from the end of the table like I did earlier.
Scans it, ignoring the cross look on my face.
“What should we order next?” he asks out loud, as if this behavior is normal. As if I can budget three meals in one morning when I came for one. “I’m in the mood for…” His eyes rake over the menu from top to bottom, then bottom to top, finger trailing along. He stabs the plastic menu with the tip of his index finger twice. “This bake sounds pretty good. Or what about a hamburger? It’s almost lunchtime.”
He glances up, questioning me.
“Are you crazy? It’s ten o’clock in the morning. They’re probably not serving lunch yet.”
Why am I bothering to tell him this?
Ugh!
Jack does not care.
Still, even if they were serving lunch, I wouldn’t eat it, especially not with him. This entire morning has dragged on long enough, and I have gotten absolutely nothing done.
Thank goodness I’m not on a deadline.
“All right,” he says. “How do you feel about quiche? The spinach and artichoke quiche looks delightful.”
Delightful?
I can’t tell if he’s being serious right now, but he’s not pulling a face, and his expression looks neutral enough.
“Do you want quiche?” I find myself saying. “That hardly seems like it’s going to fill you up. I just don’t think eggs are the way to go.”
What am I even saying! I just decided I wasn’t eating any more food with this guy and here I am debating about what to eat.
“Point taken,” he says. “What if I just order us some danishes? And maybe a cuppa.”
“A cuppa what?”
“A cuppa means tea.” Jack laughs, placing the menu back in its rightful spot at the end of the table, sandwiched between the napkin dispenser and the salt and pepper. “Tea always makes me feel like I’m not missing home as much,” he tells me, eyes scanning the room for the server.
When he finds her, he raises an arm and does a signal with his hand that says, Please come over.
“Can she and I both get a cup of tea? I will do the breakfast tea, and she will have…” He looks at me. “You might like the chamomile?” he suggests helpfully.
That does sound lovely.
I nod, giving in to his ridiculous cuteness.
Oh, why does he have to be so freaking adorable? Kaylee is so lucky. For a brief moment I’m actually feeling a certain kind of way… Is it jealousy? I have no right to be jealous, but on the other hand, it’s not like this is her boyfriend. Still, if they keep seeing each other, he could very well end up being her boyfriend.
I don’t know what Jack’s intentions are, and I don’t feel it’s within my right to ask, so I just nod along, let him order the tea and whatever else he plans on ordering.