AllFreeNovel
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It puts a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. I think for a minute it’s jealousy:thisis more like the guy I spent the night with, so maybe it just hurts to share him. I sit with it for a little while before realizing it’s something worse, more corrosive than any green-eyed monster.
I resent him, for proving heisthe guy I met after all. For showing me that I wasn’t special, to have been around him like this. For making me hate his charisma and the smile on his kiss-me lips.
I resent that I’mstillhurt over it, too. I should never have left the bar with him. I should never have indulged myself, thinking I deserved to have a little fun for once.
I need to be more careful than that. Smarter.
‘Did you get in trouble?’ Elaine asks Lloyd, agog at the vivid imagery of his story, and there’s a beat where I know we’re all picturing that: a slightly younger Lloyd, maybe one a bit more reckless and rougher around the edges, facing off against the good-humoured CEO we met last week.
Lloyd scoffs. He rolls his eyes, but somehow it turnsinto a full-bodied move: his shoulders arc with his eyes, chest rising, head tipping back for the moment. ‘Nah. I mean, it didn’t exactly make for a solid first impression, but they all found it pretty funny. At least I didn’t break theactualprototype. Now that might’ve been a different story!’
Everyone laughs again, voices overlapping as there are more Oh my God’s and That’s so funny’s. Lloyd grins, but it turns rigid at the edges as he reaches for his bottle of Sprite, his shoulders settling into a hard line as his relaxed posture, the way he lounged so comfortably in his chair only a moment ago, is pulled taut.
And I’m back in the starless night-time under the lights of the city, and he’s asking me,Tell me something true.
Like he can sense me staring, he lifts his eyes directly to meet mine.
He must be able to tell I don’t believe him, because the tension in his jaw eases and this time, his smile is small and soft, truer than the last one; and he shrugs, a minute movement that’s miles away from the wild gestures that accompanied his story just seconds ago.
But then, just like that, he slings an arm over the back of his chair, takes a swig of his Sprite, and is laughing at Burnley’s story about the time he was a kidand rode a skateboard right into a lamp post, breaking his nose.
The change in Lloyd is so drastic, the moment our eyes met so fleeting, I almost wonder if I imagined it.
Almost.
By the time the minibus drops us all back at the office in Victoria, it’s gone six o’clock and everyone is ready to head home. Tasha and a couple of others decide to go get dinner, and Elaine is meeting a friend.
‘See you guys,’ Lloyd calls to the group, and makes to go inside.
‘Don’t you want to come for dinner?’ Tasha asks him. ‘You’re more than welcome.’
‘Ah, thanks, but I’ve got plans.’
Shouldering my bag, I head for the doors as well. ‘See you all later. Have a good night, everyone!’ I call, mostly aiming the comment at Elaine, since she’s my flatmate.
‘You’re not going to worknow, are you?’ Izzy asks me, aghast at the mere idea – and I realize very quickly that she’s not the only one: Burnley wrinkles his face and Dylan almost shudders in revulsion. Monty and the other intern in Nadja’s team, Cambridge student Verity, exchange a glance, both peeking at Nadja as if she’ll expect them to go inside and do a full day’s work at thistime of the evening, but she’s busy on her phone while looking through her bag for her pass, not listening.
Um … yes?
I’ll check through my emails in case I missed anything today, and I should probably take another crack at that automated spreadsheet I promised Michaela I’d get finished for Monday; I’m not even halfway done with that yet.
‘No!’ I tell Izzy and the others, too quickly, too loudly, and pray they don’t look hard enough to see right through me. ‘No, no, I’ve just – I left something upstairs I need to go pick up.’
‘We can wait for you,’ Dylan offers, even though Tasha’s already making her way down the street and everyone is starting to disperse before the idea of getting any work done now becomes too serious a notion, one they’re all collectively guilted into.
‘Nah, don’t worry about it – I should probably get home anyway, I’ve got a few things to do.’
‘Okay, if you’re sure …’ But he doesn’t need any more convincing, and jogs off after the others.
Nadja, having found her pass now, holds the door open for me. She pins me with a fierce look, one eyebrow raised sharply. ‘Let me guess – need something finished by tomorrow morning and haven’t started it yet? Rookie error, Anna.’
‘Oh! No. It’s just – I wanted to check my emails and stuff, you know? Just get a head start for tomorrow.’
She nods, but says, ‘Don’t stay too late. We don’t want you guys burning yourselves out on week two. At least let us get a little more mileage out of you before you break down.’ She laughs at her own joke, and I join in – although I’m not exactly sure justhowmuch she’s joking.
Lloyd, not that far ahead of us, sees us coming and holds the lift. At this time of the evening, the ground floor is mostly empty: plenty of people are leaving, but we’re the only three going up. In the lift, he’s busy on his phone, AirPods in.
‘Thanks for organizing today for us, by the way,’ I tell Nadja. ‘It was really interesting.’
