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"Like I said," he said, placing them on the desk, "smart girl. Now go out there to your not-boyfriend, go back to your safe little life and forget all about the Third Street guys. And me," he added as he brushed past me, unlocked the front door, and pulled it open to reveal Roman.
Now, just because he was my not-boyfriend didn't mean I couldn't appreciate how good looking he was. Roman was a good six foot- maybe six-one. He was thin, but strong in a non-aggressive sort of way. Maybe it was fair to call it a swimmer's body. His chestnut-colored hair was slightly long on top, and brushed back then cropped close at the sides which only succeeded in making his classically handsome face even more striking. He had a straight nose, strong brow ridge, and very endearing brown eyes framed in thick lashes. He kept his face clean-shaven and he dressed well. Even after being woken up in the middle of the night, he was put together. He had on dark wash jeans that fit well and a white, thick-knit sweater with two buttons near the throat, which he left undone.
"Christ, Else, you scared me," he said, gesturing with his phone in his hand.
"I'm sorry. I didn't hear the ding," I shrugged, brushing it off. Though, in general, I was hyper aware of my cell. It was completely out of character of me to not answer right away, let alone at all.
"Are you alright, you look a little..." he trailed off, giving me a smile I always found myself smiling back at, warm, teasing. "You're a mess, Else."
"It's a long story."
"That ends in a tattoo shop," he commented, jerking his chin toward the building I was standing in the doorway of. "Planning on getting some work done? Or have you already? Somewhere naughty? If so, can I see?" he teased and I found myself laughing as I stepped out into the street. I wasn't aware Paine had followed behind until Roman's eyes went behind me and almost... darkened. "Who is this?" he asked me, giving me a look I can only describe as probing before turning his attention back to Paine.
"Oh, um... Roman... this is Paine. Paine, Roman. Paine is..."
"A friend," Paine supplied, offering his hand which Roman took and shook hard before dropping like it burned him.
"Well, Paine... thanks for keeping an eye on Else for me," Roman said, reaching for my hand and tugging a bit roughly as he turned toward his car parked right by the sidewalk, opening the door for me.
When I chanced a look back at Paine, his lip twitching said a hundred different things at once. Not the least of which was: it sure doesn't look like he knows he's not your boyfriend. But then I was pressed into Roman's car and the door slammed, the blackout windows making it hard to see him anymore at all.
Then Roman was in his seat and the car turned over and he shot off.TwoElsie"Whoa, slow down," I said, pressing hard into my seat with one of my hands on the dash. He had to be going sixty on the main drag, thirty above the speed limit. My stomach felt like it took up residence on the floor. "Roman, slow down!" I shouted when he didn't immediately take his foot off the pedal.
"Else, what the fuck?" he asked, glancing over at me, his features looking tight like he was... angry? Why would he be angry?
"I know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called. I should have gotten a cab. You have work in the..."
"No, Else. Always, always call if you need a ride. That wasn't what I meant."
"Then what did you mean?"
Roman pulled the car off onto a side street, throwing it into park while somehow simultaneously un-belting and turning to face me fully. "I'm not being a snob..." he started.
"Okay," I said, head tilting to the side a little.
"You want to be in this part of town on a Friday or Saturday night, having drinks with the girls, having fun. No problem. All for it. But what the fuck are you doing at this hour in that part of town... alone?"
I forced my lips to tip upward. "Not being a snob, huh?" I teased.
"Elsie," he said, his tone firmer.
"Don't dad-voice me, Rome," I scolded. We'd never had that kind of friendship. If anything, we always encouraged each other to do wild things, to push the boundaries, to do things that would cause raised eyebrows. But, then again, we generally did those things together. I couldn't think of anything, aside from losing my virginity at the tender age of fifteen, that I had ever done without him at my side. Maybe that was what this was about. He was feeling left out, excluded.
And, in a weird kind of way, I was pushing the boundaries without him. But I wasn't doing it for the raised eyebrows or even the rush of adrenaline. I was doing it because I had to. And I was keeping it from him because I had to do that to. So, for the first time in probably our entire friendship, I had to lie to him too.
