A frown, at my question.And then he sighed.“I guess it’s sinking in, finally.”
I nodded slowly.“It probably takes a while.”
Flynn looked up, leaning on the handle of the brush.“Have your relationships been so hard to get over?”
Laughing felt out of place; I stopped, when I saw his frown.“That would require a relationship in the first place, remember.”
I wasn’t sure if his sheepish look was genuine, or feigned for my benefit.There was no damn way I was going to ask.
“I know you said you’d never dated, but there must’ve been someone...”
I shrugged.“Back there?”
His pinched expression said he understood.
I crouched down, with the dustpan.Waited for Flynn to fill it with detritus, then dumped it in the trash can.
“What do you think your parents would say?If they knew, I mean.”
It wasn’t like I hadn’t wondered the same thing.“I’d like to think they’d be okay with it.”
Flynn made a face.“There’s a difference between what we’d like to think, and what we actually think would happen.”
I stood, brushing my hands down my jeans.“Yeah, I know.”
He sighed.“I think mine would be disappointed.”
“Have you not given them enough to be proud of already?”
I’d been so careful to keep any trace of resentment out of my tone.Even so, Flynn gave me a pointed glance.
“That particular beast is insatiable, I think.”
It was funny, thinking of his parents’ endless boasting from Flynn’s point of view.I’d always assumed he was as cocky, as much a braggart, as they were.That he’d see their crowing as his rightful due.Suddenly though, it didn’t so much seem like pride that they had for him, as excruciatingly high expectations.
“Maybe you’ll meet ‘the one’ and simply have to tell them everything,” I suggested.
Flynn gestured with the broom.“I think I’m pretty far from that, don’t you?”
That was something I didn’t feel qualified - or safe - to answer.
“Take me for lunch,” I told him, instead.
He grinned as he set the broom back in a cupboard.“It wouldn’t be a proper Oli visit, if I didn’t get to see your incredible appetite at work.”He reached for his phone on the counter; checked, briefly, the screen before shoving it into his pocket.The angle hadn’t been ideal, and the glass was still fractured, but I’d seen enough to know that there were no messages or other notifications waiting there.
I wondered to myself whether he was disappointed or relieved not to have heard from William.
“What do you want to eat?”
I waved him away, into the hallway.“Surprise me.”
“A dangerous invitation,” Flynn teased, leaning down to pull on his shoes.
“Surprise me, with pants on,” I clarified.“Pervert.”
He reached out, to grab my arm as I went to walk out the door.“Just remember our deal, okay?”
I nodded, as he winked and slipped out ahead of me.
