AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"Doug said that you're new to town," Veronica said. "Have you been here long?"
"A few weeks," Jason told her. "It's a nice place. There's a lot to do, if you know where to look."
"Is there? I wouldn't know," Veronica said.
Jason faced her. "What do you usually do?" he asked.
"Do?" Veronica repeated. "Oh, you know. Cook, clean, go shopping. Living the dream, right?"
Veronica had meant to say that last bit light-heartedly but ended up sounding sarcastic. Jason's expression never changed, though. He kept his eyes on hers.
"Sounds like you've got your life in order," he said.
"Well," Veronica said, not sure how to respond. "What do you do?"
"Depends," he said. "For work, I fix up old cars. And for fun," he paused. "Well, I guess it depends on what's around."
"What ... things are around?" she asked, noticing the subtle changes of green in his eyes.
"Not things," he said. "People."
Veronica saw his face, the faint scars, the stubble on his cheeks. She didn't respond, and his eyes never left hers as she unconsciously licked her lips. Slowly, imperceptibly, her head began to lean toward his.
"Okay everybody, let's keep going!" Doug yelled out to the crowd.
Veronica felt a shiver run through her body as she dropped her gaze, taking a step back. Her heart was racing again and she felt her cheeks rise in colour.
"I'm sorry," she said to the ground. "I have to go."
She turned and walked toward the moving mass of people, leaving Jason behind. She caught up with Nancy, still talking with her other friends. As she walked Veronica took a tentative look back and saw Jason near the back of the crowd. He was walking on his own, his eyes focused on something in the distance. Facing ahead, Veronica felt her cheeks rise with colour again and made it a point not to look back again for the rest of the walk.
~~~
When the walk was finished and the group arrived at the parking lot again, Veronica was feeling much more at ease. She said goodbye to Nancy and walked to her car, the other members starting up their own cars around her. When she reached hers she began searching through her purse for the keys. Before she found them, though, a black car drove up beside her and stopped. Veronica lifted her head to see Jason sitting behind the wheel, looking up at her.
"I'm going to the water tower tonight at nine," he said. "The view there is incredible. You should come with me."
"W-what?" Veronica asked. He had spoken too quickly. She hadn't heard him properly.
"The water tower," he repeated. "Nine o'clock."
And he drove off without another word, leaving Veronica to stare after him. She blinked as she watched him turn the corner and speed off out of sight. After a couple of seconds she felt the car key in her hand, so she turned back and unlocked the door, letting herself in.
The water tower? Is he serious? she thought to herself. We hardly know each other. I can't go with him.
And yet as she turned out of the parking lot and drove home, she wondered if it would be cold enough tonight to need a jacket.
Chapter 6
Veronica arrived home and immediately began doing the chores she needed to do before she got dinner started. She went up to the bedroom and stripped the sheets off the bed, putting them in the laundry. While those were being washed she set to work vacuuming the carpets.
As she made her way from room to room her mind kept wandering back to the conversation she and Jason had. And to him approaching her in the parking lot after the walk. It felt like a dream, like it didn't actually happen and the walk had just turned out like any other walk.
She imagined the water tower. He said the view there was incredible. Did he mean from the ground, or … from the top? Is that what he meant? Was he planning on breaking into the water tower tonight? What if they were caught?
The vacuum cleaner bumped into the couch, interrupting her thoughts. She moved around it and kept going around the room.
Besides, even if she did go, what would she tell Greg? He would be suspicious about her going out with some guy she'd just met, and rightly so. And she wasn't going to lie to him about it. There just wasn't any way she could go, plain and simple.
