“I spent a year in Europe,” I offer. “It was great to get away from everything and just live.”
She shakes her head. “As amazing as getting out there and seeing the world sounds, I don’t think I could handle being away from my family for that long. That makes me a bit of a loser, doesn’t it?”
“Not at all,” I assure her. “A close family is a great thing to have and a valid reason not to travel.”
Not that I would know what a close family is.
“I think I’d struggle to go overseas for a week, let alone a year…” She glances at me. “I’m sorry; I’m talking too much, aren’t I?”
I laugh. “It’s okay. I kind of like it. It sure beats when you won’t talk to me.”
She leans her head back against the bricks behind us and sighs.
“I’m really sorry about that. I was just so…” She shakes her head.
“There’s no need to be embarrassed,” I say softly. “Shit happens, you know.”
“It’s not even that I’m embarrassed about the incident itself. It’s more that I can’t stop thinking about the kind of person you must think I am when what you’re thinking is probably so far from the truth.”
“Well, let’s test that out,” I suggest. She stares at me, alarmed. I laugh. “I look at you and see a smart, incredibly sexy, woman, who’s comfortable enough with herself to try new things.”
“Whereas I feel like some awkward klutz who tries to be more than what she really is and gets stuck in a cycle of embarrassing situations.”
I chuckle. “You’re way too harsh on yourself.”
She shrugs. “Maybe.”
I glance at my watch again. Laura does too.
“I’m surprised we’ve been out here for this long without anyone looking for us,” she mutters. “Have they even noticed that we’re not there? I guess that says a lot about how much of an impact we’re having if no one is even missing us.”
“They probably think we just went home. It was so close to the end of the day,” I reply. I’m sure Lewin probably thinks I just misunderstood what he was suggesting.
“Leaving without telling them is kind of unprofessional, isn’t it?” She frowns. “I think I’d rather they don’t think about me at all than think I’d do something like that.”
I get up and walk over to the door again, trying to turn the handle, even though I know it’s not going to open. I sigh and put my hands behind my head then wander over to the edge. I stare out over the skyline. Laura looks up at me, a wistful expression on her face. Her eyes dart to the sky, and she smiles.
“At least it’s not raining.”
“But now you’ve said that…” I tease.
She laughs until she puts her hands out in front of her. I close my eyes as I feel tiny drops of rain hitting me in the face.
“I blame you for this,” I say.
“I’ll accept that.” She grins. “But really, who doesn’t like standing in the rain, in the freezing cold, when you’re locked out on a roof?”
I smile and watch her stare up at the sky, laughing as the drops of rain explode on her face. I have to admit, I like this happy, relaxed side of her.
Let’s hope I see more of it.Chapter Six
Laura“So much for Lewin being out here every five minutes,” I say, glancing at Luke. I shake my head as he winces.
“Yeah, I probably jinxed us when I said that too, huh?”
We’ve been sitting outside for close to two hours now, and not one person has come outside. If this is really the go-to place for all the smokers, then everyone on shift today must not smoke. My stomach grumbles loudly, reminding me that I missed breakfast again.
At least the rain has stopped.
The funny thing is I’m kind of glad to have been forced into a situation where I have to talk to Luke. He looks over at me, then offers me his half empty cup of coffee.
“It’s probably cold, but it might settle your stomach for a little while,” he offers.
I smile at him and take it, only because I have no idea how long we’re going to be out here.
“You and Matt seem to get on well,” he comments.
“We do. He’s great, but you probably know that. So, you two went to college together?”
Luke nods. “Yeah. We were in the same dorm, before…” His voice trails off.
“Before what?” I ask tentatively, not sure whether what he was going to say is too personal.
“My father died suddenly during my senior year. I struggled and ended up taking a year off.”
“Wow,” I say, feeling a pang of sympathy for him. “That must’ve been hard.
“It was. I ended up traveling around the UK for the year just to try and put everything out of my mind, I guess.”