Unintended

&nb

sp; “Okay, look,” I said, “You seem like a nice person, and not someone who’s looking to cheat on his girlfriend, but I’ve been cheated on and it’s no fun. So, please don’t lie to her. Maybe she’s been hurt before too. Don’t be like so many others. Tell her the truth. She has no reason to be worried about me. I am entirely too old for you.” When he returned his gaze to me, there was still way too much apprehension in his eyes, and I added, “If you need to go, you should go. I was just saying I don’t want to be the cause of any problems between you and your girlfriend.”

And this was precisely why I’d been worried at the beginning. Jealousy could happen at any age, but this kind of ‘don’t tell my girlfriend I was with you’ shit was something I didn’t need. Like I’d said, I was no threat to their relationship. She was probably some cool chick who loved music as much as he did, and was substantially hotter than me. Although, I had to re-think the first part of that equation. If she did love music, she would have been there with him.

“You’re not the problem,” he said quietly. “But I should go.” His eyes lingered on mine for a second longer than seemed right. Still with apprehension. But it vanished and he sighed. “I’ll sort everything out with my girlfriend. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

I thought I’d made him uncomfortable when I’d touched him. Geez. I could file this under: this was all a Very. Bad. Idea.

“It’s okay,” I said. “Thank you for getting me the ticket tonight.”

“You’re welcome. Get home safe, okay?”

I nodded. “I will. I’ll call a cab when I get outside.”

“Okay. See ya.”

He slipped through the crowd, leaving me wondering what the hell had just happened. One minute I’d been high on life, and the next, my companion was disappearing to meet his girlfriend and apologising for making me uncomfortable.

My confused thoughts helped me stay calm as the throng of people filed slowly out of the doors. When I got out, I immediately wrapped my arms around myself to keep warm. There was always such a harsh difference between the inside of the club and the biting chill outside. I knew it might take a while before I could get a taxi, and I was in no rush to get back home, so I sat down on a bench, looking around at the bright colours of the Christmas lights that adorned every pub and club entrance around me, even though I knew I might freeze. Freezing seemed slightly preferable to fighting with someone over the next cab, though.

Slowly, people began to drift away from the club, even though inside, there was still music playing, and I knew it would be open for a good few hours yet. I could have gone back inside for a drink, but I was a little dazed by the speed everything had happened. I wouldn’t say the night was ruined, but the abrupt ending certainly put a damper on things.

Was Ash, in spite of appearances, not a good person? Why was his girlfriend so insecure? Did he cheat on her? If not, why the secrets?

Ah well, the friendship was fine for the short time it lasted. I wasn’t sure I could see him again when I was some kind of dirty little secret. I only wanted someone to go to gigs with. I didn’t want to cause any issues for anyone.

With a sigh, I got to my feet and took a slow stroll in the direction of the nearest taxi rank. It was a hell of a cost from Manchester to Stockport in a cab. I’d gotten a bus into the city, but my anxiety didn’t allow me to get a bus home late at night. It freaked me out too much. I could have driven, but I wanted to have at least one drink, and since I didn’t go out often, it wasn’t too stressful on my bank balance.

As I was passing a large car park between two pubs, I heard the sound of raised voices. Not shouting, but the sound of two people arguing. I rolled my eyes and kept walking. There was always some kind of row going on at that time of night, usually between people who had started drinking way too early.

“You said you wanted to come!” the female voice snapped.

“No, I didn’t. I just want to go home. I’ve been working all week and I’m tired.”

“Oh, so you’ve done what you wanted to do, and now you don’t have time for me?” Her voice was spiteful and bitchy, and the guy sounded downtrodden and exhausted. Whoever they were, I hoped he got a break from the high maintenance witch.

“That’s not how it is,” he said. “You weren’t even supposed to be going out tonight. I was just going to go to the gig and come home.”

I froze. Is that Ash? I glanced across the car park, and although it was quiet and there were hardly any people around, I was pretty sure they hadn’t seen me. Even in the dark, I realised it was him. I recognised the way he stood, but if it was possible, he looked even more uncomfortable than usual. No surprise since his girlfriend was kind of looming over him. She was smaller than him, but her presence seemed large in his space.

“Fucking go home then!” she spat. “You’d better be sleeping on the sofa when I get back though.”

She stomped away towards a group of girls who were standing nearby. I hadn’t spotted them before, and they walked down a back street, all giggling together as Ash remained rooted to the spot.

My first instinct was to go to him. Whatever the hell had just happened, he probably needed someone to talk to. But also, it was none of my business. I didn’t want him to feel bad because I’d witnessed how she’d spoken to him. It had to be totally demeaning to have someone yelling in his face that way.

I watched him for a second longer, and before I could work out what to do, the decision was taken from me. As if he’d felt my eyes on him, he looked in my direction. His blue eyes, even from so far away, looked heavy with defeat.

My feet carried me slowly towards him. He didn’t move. Not to walk towards me or to turn away and, when I reached him, I said, “Do you want to get a drink?”

He shook his head. “I can’t.”

“Are you sure? You look like you could use one.”

“I need to go home, Evie. I need to get some sleep before she gets home.”

The darkness in his tone made a shiver ripple through me. “What do you mean?”