Page 79 of Toy Boy
“Anything with bacon? Come on, Megan, that’s not really special treatment, is it?”
“I can do you a BLT.”
“Sounds good. I’ll take that.”
She slides her pencil behind her ear and slips her pad into the back pocket of her skin-tight jeans. “Okay. I’ll go get that sorted for you.”
“Are you doing anything tonight?” I ask, because I need to see her again. I really need that.
“I was about to call you actually, to ask you if you wanted to come to a party tonight. It’s nothing too exciting, just Tim’s birthday party at The Swan, but if it’s too short notice…”
“I’d love to come.”
Her face breaks into another huge smile. “Oh, great! It’s been planned for ages but I’d forgotten all about it until I found the invitation shoved at the back of the cutlery drawer this morning. And you don’t need to get dressed up or anything, it’s a fairly casual affair.”
“Okay. Do you want to meet there, or are you feeling brave enough for us to turn up together?”
“I think the cat’s already out of the bag, don’t you? Come to mine around seven, we’ll have a quick drink out in the garden before we go. If the weather picks up, that is. Pretty dreary out there at the minute. Anyway, I’d better go get your sandwich and coffee.”
“Hey, Megan?”
She spins back around, her eyes still shining so brightly, her face a mask of pure happiness. Am I the reason for that happiness? Because, if I am, it’s only going to make the guilt hit harder.
“Yeah?”
“You look beautiful today.”
She rolls her eyes, but she’s secretly pleased with the compliment, I can tell. So she should be. I mean it, I’m not feeding her a line.
I watch her retreating figure head behind the counter as she shouts my order in to the kitchen through the serving hatch. And I feel like the biggest bastard, and the luckiest guy alive. But only one of those is going to come through this unscathed…
Scott
“Are you going to Tim’s party tonight?” Tania asks, handing me a coffee and leaning back against the window.
“He’s my best friend, and I’ve already missed too many of his birthdays so, yes. I’m going.”
“Alone?”
I look up and her eyes meet mine, the corners of her mouth inching up very slightly into what I’m interpreting as a knowing smirk.
“Would you like to come with me?” I ask, and her smile widens. We haven’t seen each other for almost a week, and I found myself missing her, a feeling that surprised me. Threw me, even, but I did, miss her. So, yeah, it’ll be nice to spend some time with her again.
“I would love to go with you.”
“Good. That’s settled then.”
I’ve spent the last few days immersed in work, and when I haven’t been here, at the hospital, I’ve been walking along the harbour, watching Megan from afar as her life goes on without me. And that was something I could deal with, when I wasn’t here, in Beachcastle, but now I’m back it’s becoming unbearable. Because I know, deep down, she still feels something for me. I just need to hear her admit it.
“Do you know what surprises me?”
Tania arches a perfectly shaped eyebrow, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly. “No. Tell me.”
“I find it hard to believe that someone like you has remained single for so long. I would’ve thought every man in Beachcastle Bay would be tripping over themselves to bag a date with you once they knew your marriage was over.”
“Every man in Beachcastle Bay isn’t exactly rich pickings,” she sighs, dipping her head to inspect her plum-coloured nails.
“I hope you’re not including me in that observation?”