Page 57 of Toy Boy
Tim’s voice causes me to skid to a halt outside the small grocery store he’s just come out of, clutching a take-out coffee and a newspaper.
“Do I?” I hurriedly try to rid my mind of all thoughts of Xander, but it’s hard. He’s a difficult man to forget. The back of my mind isn’t a place he’s meant to be, especially not today… Jesus! He really has got me feeling like a lovesick teenager and, again, I’m not totally against that.
“Something must’ve put you in a good mood.” Tim tucks his newspaper under his arm while I try not to smile too widely.
“It’s another beautiful day, why wouldn’t I be in a good mood?”
“Because it’s Monday?” Tim arches an eyebrow, and I shrug.
“What can I say? I had a good weekend.”
“I’m glad.”
“Anyway, I should be going. I’m running late this morning.”
“Of course. I might see you around lunch time, in the café. Is the spinach and bacon quiche still on the menu?”
“It is. I’ll be sure to put a slice aside, just for you.”
“Thank you. You have a good morning, now.”
“You too, Tim.”
I reach the café just a few minutes later, to find everything ticking along as normal. The kitchen is already prepped and ready to go as soon as we open, which should be any minute now, actually, and Iona has already set all the tables, both inside and out.
“Sorry I’m late, guys. Slept through my alarm this morning.”
The oldest excuse in the book, or one of them, anyway, it’s just that this time it happens to be true. And what else am I going to tell them? That I spent the night with a hot Swede, having copious amounts of incredible sex? That I left his place at two-thirty in the morning, in the hope I wouldn’t be seen? That I slept so soundly after finally getting home that I didn’t hear my alarm; didn’t have time for a shower, and I’m more than aware that I can still smell Xander’s cologne on me. A dark, almost sandy smell, and I’m suddenly caught out by another shiver as it courses through me. This is bad. Or good. Depending on which way you want to look at it.
“We’ve all done it.” Iona casts a smile in my direction as she lays out the last of the menus. “Alright. That’s everything done. Shall I open up now?”
I nod and head out into the back room, catching sight of Hanna in the kitchen as I pass, and I feel my stomach dip so low it takes a second to catch my breath. But I need a cup of tea before I face her… Face her? What’s happening here? Xander’s right, I haven’t done anything wrong. Okay, it still feels a little odd that he prefers to be with me rather than a much hotter, much younger woman, but what can I do? I can’t tell him who to spend time with. I tried – rather unsuccessfully – to push them together, but it was never going to happen. And it had been a bad idea in the first place, the worst kind.
“Megan? Can I – can I talk to you?”
Hanna’s voice causes me to spin around so fast I almost topple over, and I reach out and grab the counter top to steady myself. “Yes, of course.”
She pushes the door to the break room to, leaving it slightly ajar.
“Is something wrong?”
She leans back against the counter and crosses her arms. “No, I just… Look, Megan, the reason I didn’t go to Jed’s party…” She turns her head away, and I frown.
“Hanna? Are you alright?”
“I saw him – Xander – going into your house. The other night.”
Okay. Well, that certainly explainssomething, anyway.
“And I just – I over-reacted.”
“Over-reacted?” I’m a little confused, but the look on her face… she’s embarrassed, and she shouldn’t be. She has no reason to be.
“Deep down, I knew Xander didn’t want anything other than friendship, but I still had this – I don’t know – this hope that he’d change his mind. He’s such a nice guy, and he wasn’t horrible or rude to me, he didn’t make me feel like an idiot…” She stops talking, and her eyes bore into mine, and I feel a stab of guilt that I think I truly deserve to feel pierce my heart.
“Hanna, I’m so sorry.”
“Why didn’t you tell me, Megan? I mean, why tell me to keep talking to him, keep trying to win him round when you knew he was only interested in you?”