Chapter 6 #2
I lean back, hip against the island, watching her potter around with the mugs and kettle. When it's done she pushes my mug towards me, handle facing towards me.
I wait until she picks up her own cup, cradling it in her hands, before I pick up mine.
She gives me a look as I lift the mug to my lips, then starts to walk away, out of the kitchen. Panic surges up my chest, and I almost choke on the sip of hot tea as I call out to her.
"Hey, um, you didn't tell me about your first day."
She stops, and I can tell she's debating whether to keep walking. I'm just wondering if she's also thinking about the last time she and I sat up late, each cradling a cup of tea.
Please stay, the voice in my own head calls out to her. Please. Just for one more minute.
She slowly turns back to me, takes a step forward and places her cup on the end of the bench. "It was... you know what? Except for one slight plot twist, it was actually a pretty good day."
And then she smiles.
It's soft, subtle, but it turns her lips upwards and travels all the way to her eyes, giving them a sparkle that brightens even the dim light of the kitchen.
And whatever I'd told Karl about being tired, whatever I'd tried to tell myself had been weighing on my mind all day, it all just melted away in the presence of that sweet contentment on her face.
"Yeah? That's great. What made it good? Did you not think it would be?"
The smile turns contemplative. But just as expressive. Just as beautiful.
"Honestly, I was nervous. I've been pretty much ensconced in the political science department in Sydney since my second year. I know the people, the campus, the bathrooms." A little chuckle, almost against her own will, then a sip of tea as if to stifle it.
"What?" I ask. Needing to be part of whatever in-joke she has with herself.
"It's nothing..."
"No, you can't laugh at something and not share with the class!"
She rolls her eyes, but her mouth is upturned again.
"It's just a very humbling experience never knowing where the restrooms are.
As an adult, when you have to ask, you're basically announcing to the world that you have to go to the toilet.
And I had to ask today. A lot. At one point I started carrying a water bottle around with me everywhere so they knew I was just really hydrated and not... you know..."
I put on a blank face. "Know... know what?"
She scowls. "You know!"
I shake my head. "That you were leaving to go home early?"
"Zachary!" she hisses, the little divot between her eyebrows making me want to burst out laughing, but somehow I hold it in. "You know what I'm talking about."
I sigh. "Look, if you don't want to tell me, that's fine."
"Ugh. So they don't think I'm running off every five minutes because I have... tummy troubles! The runs! Have to take a dump!"
I grin.
She stares at me, mouth slowly dropping open. "You jerk! You knew exactly what I meant!"
I lose control of my grin and it evolves into full-blown laughter. "You should see your face. You'd think you'd never talked about people having a bowel movement before."
"Well, I try not to on a regular basis! You just wanted me to say it out loud!"
"I did. And I succeeded." I laugh and take a big sip of my tea, forgetting that a minute ago it was boiling water. It burns my tongue, and I splutter, choking as half goes down the wrong pipe.
She immediately reaches out, grabbing my arm, worry etching over her face as she reaches for a paper towel.
"I'm okay," I say through a ragged breath.
If she knows she's still grabbing my arm, she doesn't show it. She just watches me, waiting for me to catch my breath, before taking a deep breath of her own.
"I'm good." I reassure her when I can. "Sorry I wasted some of your tea though. Best Sencha I've ever had." A wink, and she scoffs, her mouth twitching with a fight against a smile.
But then, as if coming back to herself, she lets go of my arm and takes three steps back. "Sorry."
My fingers tighten around the mug so I don't reach out and pull her hand back. "So, bathroom antics aside. What else was good about today?"
Taking a few seconds, she tilts her head. "I just think it's a place I can feel comfortable working for the next three months. The people are nice."
"Yeah? Any people in particular?"
She shrugs. "I went to lunch at the art gallery with a group of research associates. Then a group of us grabbed a coffee on Rundle Street. I do forget how early it gets dark in winter."
"It doesn't in Sydney?"
She huffs. "I have no idea! I wouldn't usually leave campus until nine or ten p.m. It's always dark when I leave."
I frown. "Alexia, that doesn't sound safe."
She waves my words away. "It's fine. I'm never alone. There's always a security escort to the train station. And there are always a million people around."
That doesn't reassure me. She still has to get home from the train station, right?
"Does Leon know..."
Her eyebrows shoot up. "Does Leon know what? That I'm an adult and can take care of myself? Yes. My brother knows."
And just like that, it's six years ago, with our whole lives ahead of us, and one very big factor between us.
"So, um, you were saying, it gets dark early here?"
A pause, as if she's shifting gears back into the current topic, then, "Oh, yeah, Craig walked me to my car. I'd parked all the way around the back of uni, so that was nice. I don't really know what it's like around the campus grounds at night here."
I feel my jaw harden. "Who's Craig?"
"Craig? Just another research associate I met today. He finished his doctorate last year and promised Professor Pollack he'd stay a year to finish a project before deciding where he's moving on to next. He helped me out a lot today. I like him."
And I fucking hate him.
She continues, oblivious to the thoughts in my head. "And he seemed super interested as well, so we talked until almost nine o'clock."
"Interested in your research or interested in you?" I say, before my brain can tell me it's a stupid question to ask.
She looks at me for a moment. Doesn't answer. Takes a long sip from her tea instead. I copy because, no matter what, I'm not ready for this conversation to be over.
"So, you were at work?" she asks.
"Tonight? Er, yeah, at Highwater in North Adelaide. I'm there Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. The other four days I rotate between the other bars, depending on the need."
Her eyes narrow. "You work seven days a week?"
"I guess," I shrug. "Most weeks. I can always take a day off if I feel like it. But I usually don't. Unless I'm out of town or there's an unmissable event."
"And these bars, you guys all own them, right?"
I nod. "Yup. The three of us and Leon. Two we also co-own with Hunter Monroe, they're axe throwing bars.
Less traditional, more entertainment venues.
They're doing really well, actually." I smile to myself, glad we'd branched out to include Hunter in that venture.
He's been a valuable member of the partnership.
She nods. "That's great. Though you won't blame me for being surprised that you guys haven't accidentally burned any of them to the ground yet."
She says it so matter-of-factly I can't help but let out a guffaw.
"Hey, not only would I not blame you — I'd be the first to admit every single one of us had the exact same fear.
Probably has something to do with the rule that Marcus is never in charge of making sure the stoves are turned off at the end of the night. "
She laughs at that. Actually laughs. "Ironic, since he's the only one of you who can cook."
"Hey." I put on an offended look. "I can make toast."
"Really? Better than Leon's?"
"You mean, can I make toast that doesn't require you to get dental work done?"
She snorts at that. "Yeah. Though I don't know why I'm laughing, I'm not much better."
"Oh, I remember."
She throws me a glare, but there's no real heat behind it. "Did you ever worry it would be hard to work with your friends?"