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I pour myself a Pepsi, and then, after a moment of thought, I pour him one, too. ‘What are you doing after you graduate?’
He looks at me as he takes a sip from his drink. ‘You’re asking the questions now?’
‘Look, if you secretly want to be a ballerina, I won’t judge.’
Archer licks his lips, seeming to consider me for a moment. And then he says, ‘I want to be a game developer.’
‘Will you be going to university, then?’
‘That’s what I’m aspiring to do, anyway.’ I like people who have small, consistent goals instead of one single, major ambition. I think about what Kai once said, about looking at your feet instead of up at the mountain. It’s a bit like reading a book; if I dwell on the thickness of what I have to read, I won’t enjoy the story, because I’m just trying to finish it. ‘They offer a course at Southampton, but I sort of want to get out of London. What about you, Frankie Johnson? What do you aspire to become?’
He knows my full name. He’s done his research, which explains why he knew where to locate me. I don’t think I’m upset about him stalking me.
‘If you asked me six months ago, I would have said a zoologist. But now? I’m not entirely sure. I really like vertebrates and invertebrates.’
‘What the hell is that?’
He can probably tell how excited I am to talk about this. ‘Vertebrates are animals with backbones, andinvertebrates are animals without backbones.’
‘What about jellyfish?’
‘Invertebrates.’
‘Really?’
I nod. ‘Yup. They don’t have bones, or a heart, or even eyes. They’re just soft tissue.’
‘What makes you so passionate about verta-inverta-whatever?’
‘Everyone forgets about them. Maybe it’s because people have different ideas of what is truly alive. I mean, what defines being alive? A heartbeat? Blood? Feelings? Plants have none of those things, and they’re living. Vertebrates and invertebrates are no different, and they’re so vital to the planet’s survival. Take bees, for example—they pollinate flowers, flowers we use for food or medicinal purposes, and yet, we kill them with crop fertilisers, or we cut down wildflowers because they’re unsightly. Even moths—they provide food for such a multitude of wildlife that without them, the world wouldn’t thrive. It’s just…’ I shake my head. I’ve made myself angry talking about it. ‘It infuriates me.’
I realise I’ve been babbling. When I look up at Archer, he’s staring at me. His lips are slightly parted. I’ve never seen him look so speechless.
When he speaks, his voice is hoarse. ‘Frankie Johnson,’ he says. ‘I am unapologetically crazy about you. I’d let you talk my ear off about spiders and worms, even if we’re fucking. I want to hear all about the butterflies and woodlice.’
I laugh.
Traffic flows relentlessly for the next two hours. Kai doesn’t text at all, but that’s okay, because Archer fills the abyss of his absence. As I serve, he sits on a table. He doesn’t occupy himself with his phone; his eyes never leave me, and I catch myself glancing over at him occasionally. He’ll smile and I’ll roll my eyes, or sometimes he makes faces behind a particularly difficult customer, and I’ll laugh.
I’m surprised how easy it is to be around him. But a quiet, consistent voice whispers in the back of my mind,An ambitious Archer never ends well.Could this be too good to be true? Is Archer Toban truly this goofy and sincere, or is it merely a front to sleep with me?
He insists on walking me home. The fact he doesn’t order me a taxi makes me think he wants to spend more time with me. And despite my protests, he buys me food, even if he is disgusted with my vegetable burger.
‘Oh God. You’re not vegetarian, are you?’
‘No,’ I answer with a laugh. ‘I just reduce my meat consumption.’
As soon as I say it, I glance at him. I can see he’s fighting the urge to retort with something filthy.
I shake my head.
Typical Archer.
This is my favourite time of the day, when it’s so late that cars are scarce. The occasional drunk staggers by, but they don’t bother me. It’s so quiet, I feel like this pocket of universe is mine. There’s a certain moment during the night where anything seems possible, and this is it.
Archer waits until I’ve licked every last bit of sauce from my fingers before he speaks.
‘Are you cold?’
