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Swiping a hand over my mouth, I debate whether I’m going to turn around and head out of the store or moveforward and greet Tegan. There’s no way walking past her won’t draw attention. It’s not that I want to avoid her completely. It’s just that my past is my past, and telling someone like Tegan about it was hard for me. A little embarrassing, even. The entire town doesn’t even know everything she now does. I’ve harbored it for so long that it’d become a scar, and I cut it open today and showed her the wound. I don’t like to show weakness, and today I did just that.
I lower my hand, knowing that I can’t avoid her for long anyway. I stride forward, and as soon as I do, Tegan looks over. A smile graces her full lips when she spots me, and I breathe a sigh of relief that she wasn’t going to make this awkward after what I told her.
“Hey, you,” she says. At the sound of her greeting, Tori looks up from sliding her card through the machine.
“Hey,” I say, stopping just beside them. Tegan leans in and wraps one arm around my waist in a hug. I squeeze her for a second, and then we pull apart. It’s hard not to miss how Tori studies it, the interaction. It makes me wonder what all she knows. How close are Tegan and Tori? Are they close enough to swap stories?
“What are you here for?” Tegan asks.
“Paint,” I answer with a flick of my thumb north, the direction of Derek’s rental.
“Oh,” she says with a frown. “You could wait for me for that. Painting is actually the one thing I like to do.”
I shrug. “Sure. I could work on landscaping today until you get home.”
She smiles again and is about to say something else, but Tori clears her throat and gives us an expectant look. Tegan cringes through her smile. “Right. Tori, this is Cole. Cole, this is Tori, my best friend.”
Tori holds out her hand, and I shake it, masking mysurprise that it’s a firm grip for such a dainty woman. I suppose it must come with the territory of a businesswoman.
If I had any illusions about what Tori knew about Tegan and me, they vanished as soon as Tori said, “You must be the boyfriend.”
A shocked look wipes the smile right off Tegan’s face. “He isnotmy boyfriend.”
By this time, the cashier is glancing between us, clearly eavesdropping. I shift uncomfortably, both at the implication that Tegan is my girlfriend and the fact that we have a listener. I don’t want anyone to think Tegan and I are together because the last thing she needs is for rumors to spread that she’s saddled with a murderer. It’s not that I don’t want Tegan. In fact, the idea of it thrills me. But, surprisingly, I care too much about her to have her labeled.
“Could have fooled me,” Tori says with a dramatic lift and fall of her shoulders. “You’re making googly eyes at each other.”
I scowl. Was I? I mean, I’m not oblivious to Tegan. I’ve seen her naked, and for a brief second, my eyes undressed her. Was it obvious? I must be losing my touch at hiding my expressions, and that thought only makes my scowl deepen.
“Am not!” Tegan hisses.
Tori looks over her shoulder at the cashier. “Am I wrong?” she asks of her.
The cashier only smirks, picks up a thick book from the counter, and pretends to be really interested in it.
“Tegan doesn’t want me,” I grunt.
Tegan turns a frown in my direction. “I don’t?”
I shift uncomfortably again. “I’m not boyfriend material.”
For a second, I see a hurt expression on her face, butshe covers it quickly and nudges Tori’s shoulder. “See? Not dating.”
“Right. Only fucking,” Tori mentions with a roll of her eyes.
Color splashes across Tegan’s cheeks. “You’re going to be the death of me.”
“Right,” I murmur, ready to bolt away from this conversation and the best friend that reads too much into things. “Well, I’ll see you when you get off, Tegan.”
And with that, I leave the girls. As I walk away, I can hear them bickering until their hushed voices cut off as they leave the store.
After I grab the paint and an employee to mix the color, I stretch out my tight shoulders.Boyfriend.Am I giving Tegan the wrong impression? How much is she telling Tori? How much does the town know? What do they think is going on?
The cashier heard everything. Although this is Mount Pleasant, it’s only a matter of time before it spreads like wildfire into Fairview. What will they call Tegan? How will she fair with the rumors? Will she care? Will she be pissed? Will she demand that I stay away from her?
I grunt my thanks to the cashier as soon as I’m done charging the paint to Derek’s account. The entire time, she gives me a knowing look, and it’s then I know that the rumor has already begun. Everyone in this store knows me, and now they know Tegan. And thanks to Tori, they know Tegan and my business.
This entire thing is fucked.
