Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
SAM
Day One
‘Here, take this.’
I hand him a tissue. He hesitates, before taking it and dabbing at his arm.
As I drive towards Athens, my gaze keeps lingering on the guy sitting next to me.
This can’t be Will Cooper. His floppy brown hair hasn’t changed: unruly, sticking up at odd angles.
It’s like it’s averse to a brush. I recognise the way he rakes his fingers through it with a self-conscious edge I remember from when we were boys.
His jaw is peppered with a bit of morning shadow, his nose is as small as it always was.
He’s taller, naturally, and wider. All barrel chested and thick limbs.
He sits on his hands, taking in the changing scenery, like he’s trying to make himself look smaller.
I spot a bit of his chest hair and look away, and I realise I’m not wearing a T-shirt.
I try not to think about it.
‘I can’t believe out of all the people I see, it’s your arse sticking out of a bush.’
‘Let’s not dwell,’ Will says.
‘Oh, no, I want to. You looked like you were having a great time in there. Was there someone else in there with you?’
‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘Some lover you couldn’t wait to get back to your room.’
He hits my arm, playfully, and I feign injury.
‘Oh God, did I hurt you?’ Will’s mortified expression is comical.
‘No, that felt like a punch from a cat.’
Will gives an indignant gasp. ‘There wasn’t anyone else in the bush, I can assure you of that.’ Will huffs. ‘What do you take me for?’
‘A lot has changed since we last met.’
He looks me up and down. ‘Yes, it has.’
Yes, I hit the gym from my early teens. Yes, I pack my meals full of protein. But I take my change for granted, I suppose. ‘I’m into my health.’
‘Save some for the rest of us,’ Will says, and he pats his stomach.
I chuckle. ‘You’ve still got your sense of humour, then.
’ It’s why I was drawn to him so much when we were kids.
He always needed someone to look after him, though I couldn’t do much.
I was a lanky kid who would snap if I tried to lift anything heavy, but I changed that after a boy punched me when I was twelve.
‘Do taxis regularly break down around here?’ he asks me.
‘Can’t say I’ve ever used one.’ I tap the steering wheel.
‘Well, my driver said his engine keeps breaking. You think I should tell the airport about him? Surely he’s not safe to drive.’
‘He was being glib,’ I say.
‘Glib?’
‘Yeah.’ Did I use that word right? I’m not sure why I said it.
‘Glib. Okay,’ Will says. ‘Sure, maybe he was. He does have a family, too. I don’t want him to lose his job or anything.’
‘Lucky I was there to save the day, then, wasn’t it?’ He gives me a sarcastic smile. ‘Just like I used to do.’
‘Only because you’d never let me be Spider-man.’
‘Because you always wanted to be Mary Jane,’ I protest.
Will gawps at me, shaking his head. ‘I didn’t always want to be Mary Jane. Sometimes I was Lois Lane.’
As we drive through Athens, he points at the Presidential Mansion. ‘That was in the guidebook, and that.’
He stares at the changing of the guard ceremony, almost pressing his face against the window.
‘Oh, I’m glad I came,’ he says, bouncing in his seat. ‘This place looks amazing. I bet you take it all for granted.’
‘Yeah, a little.’ There are only so many times you can see museums, gardens or the Parthenon and not get bored.
‘I’m sorry if I stain your van with blood.’
‘It’s fine. I’ll invoice you.’