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It’s probably supposed to be a joke, but I don’t laugh. “I’m good, thanks.”
“Oh, come on,” he insists. “You look pretty lonely; we’ll show you a good time.”
I’m just about to tell him no again when a familiar voice speaks up.
“She said no.”
I turn around and find myself face-to-face with Tanner.
CHAPTER 16
“Hey, man. Take it easy!” the man shouts. “Is she your girlfriend or something?”
“Sophie, do you want to leave?” Tanner asks, ignoring the man. I nod. Idowant to leave.
“Just let me tell my friend,” I say quietly. Allie practically has the guy eating out of the palm of her hand when I find them. He’s hanging onto every word she says, and when I come over andinterrupt their conversation, it looks like he has woken up from a daze.
“I’m gonna go,” I say to her. “Are you okay to stay?”
Allie nods. “Of course.” She looks to my side, where Tanner has sidled up to me. “Um, hi, there.”
“Hello,” Tanner says, sounding more serious than he usually does.
“Yeah, so I’m going,” I repeat to Allie, not in the mood to explain who Tanner is and why I’m leaving with him. Allie is giving me a look. No doubt I will have to tell her everything on Monday.
“Okay, have fun!” she exclaims, and I smile at her.
“You, too.”
We walk away in silence, Tanner’s body right next to mine all the way out. I put on my coat, and my breath makes a cloud in front of me when I step outside. It’s really cold, and I rub my hands together.
“Don’t you have any gloves?” Tanner asks.
I shake my head. “I forgot them at home.”
“Here,” he says, and before I can register it, he’s holding both my hands in his. He’s deliciously warm, and I relax a little. “Better?”
“Yeah. Better.”
We just stand there for a moment, and it should probably feel strange. It doesn’t, though.
“What was up with those guys?” he asks.
I just shrug. “They were just being obnoxious. Thanks for sticking up for me.”
“I didn’t like the way they were looking at you.”
I smile. “Why do you care if someone’s looking at me?”
He doesn’t say anything. Just presses his lips together and looks down at me. “You haven’t posted in a while,” he says.
“Are you keeping tabs on me or something?” I ask. “I’ve just been busy. I’ve been working a lot.”
“That girl in there,” he says and nods over to the bar, “do you guys work together?”
“We do. Why?”
He shrugs. “It’s just nice to see that you’ve made some friends. You seem to really like your job.”
