“Sorry. Going...tunnel...call...soon.”
We both high-five as I hang up on my sister, although we both know there will be hell to pay later. The only problem with having older siblings is their need to govern your life.
“You know we will both catch hell for that later, right?” I ask.
Teddy just grins at me. “Yeah, we can never set foot back in the U.S. I’m not even sure that Syria will be remote enough.”
“By the way. She knows we’ve slept together, or she’s guessed, anyway.”
“Fuck!” Teddy moans. “Grayson is going to kick my ass. I guess London it is then. Hope some of those offers are still good.” Teddy takes my hand as we walk into the pub, my stomach rumbling the second I smell food cooking. “Sounds like we made it just in time.” Teddy laughs, holding my chair out before he heads to the bar to order.
He knows me so well, he doesn’t even check to see what I want. Returning, he slumps down into a chair, handing me an ale.
“What time is your flight?” he asks, avoiding my eyes again.
I never noticed this tell before when he wants to avoid a painful subject.
“Teddy. This is why I told you we shouldn’t be together.”
His eyes cut to mine. Leaning over, he cups my face in both hands.
“I don’t think you believe that. I love every minute I get to spend with you, even if it is just forty-eight hours!”
Our food arrives with a second round of ale. Teddy has ordered me my favorite, grilled haddock with chips. He digs into a shepherd’s pie with gusto, changing the subject. “So have they told you where your base office will be?”
“They told me it will be a couple of days before they decide. I’ll let you know when I hear.”
We eat in silence for a while. I feel like time is speeding up as we sit here. Teddy keeps watching me as I push my food around my plate.
“Not hungry after all?” I jump when he cuts into my reverie.
“Oh, sorry. I guess not so much.”
“Soph, what’s on your mind?” Teddy sighs, putting down his fork. He leans back in his seat, crossing his arms. “Let’s hear it.”
“So how do we handle this?” I make a vague gesture between us. “I don’t know how often I’ll be in town, but I would like to see you when I can.”
Teddy rolls his eyes.
“I knew it. You just want me around as your fuck buddy. You know I’ll expect to be kept in the style in which I’m accustomed to living. But don’t expect me to be waiting in fancy lingerie when you show up.”
I laugh, catching the twinkle in his eye. “Damn it, Teddy. You know what I mean. Always a smart-ass.” I smirk.
“Soph, we’ll figure this shittin’ mess out.” He reaches over to take my hand as he sobers. “Do you trust me to make this right?” he asks me as he rubs his thumb over my knuckles.
“I really do, Teddy. I trust you with everything,” I whisper as he leans in for a kiss.
5
Teddy
I’m staring out at the London drizzle from my window with a cooling cup of tea in my hand. She’s gone. Just like she blew in so many times before, she blew out just as quickly. I put her in a cab outside my apartment to Gatwick last night.
I can still feel traces of her in the apartment, her outline in my bed and the smell of her shampoo in my bathroom. I have to go to class soon, but I’m having a hard time caring about school when I feel like a piece of my soul is gone. She said she trusted me to figure this out. How can I figure us out when I can’t even decide what direction to go in my own life?
I’m staring out at a city teeming with life and activity seeing nothing. All I can see is her smile in the back window as the cab took her away.
Shaking myself out of my reverie, I take a sip of tea. Blah, it’s grown cold. Tea can only be two ways, scalding hot or iced, not the lukewarm piss I’m holding. With a sigh, I take my cup back into the kitchen, placing it in the sink. Right now, there is at least one thing I can control, pulling in top marks on my exams.
