I call Lucy before I turn the corner to the café.
“Hey, babe, you on lunch?” Lucy’s infectious voice chimes down the line, instantly making me smile.
“Hey! Ugh, yes. I’m about to meet Joey at The Elm,” I groan.
“What? Why?” She tuts into the phone. “You don’t owe him anything, Nina.”
“I felt bad, and I haven’t ever set him straight. I need to put a stop to it for his own benefit. The poor bloke got his nose broke!”
She huffs, relenting. “Fair enough, but men need to learn not to presume that because we are nice to them, we want to sleep with them. You haven’t led him on here. Not once.”
“I agree.” I start to laugh as I think of Mason and how I’ve not been nice to him, yet he still pursues me.
“What’s funny?” she asks.
“I have so much to tell you girls! Can we go out tonight?”
“Yes! Where?” she says excitedly. “I will ring Megs now!”
“Hold on, that’s not why I rang!” I rush out.
“I know, you want me to call in twenty with a broken arm or something. I got you, girl!”
I laugh at the fool. “Only if I text you! I will call after. Love you, Luce.” I hang up.
Joey is already seated when I enter the café, and I make my way over to him.
He stands to kiss my cheek. “Nina! You made it.”
“Of course, how are you?”
“I’m okay.” His eyes drop to his watch, then flick back to my face.
“Good, sorry. I had a class,” I explain.
I’ve only ever seen Joey at the gym in passing once, and then in the darkness of clubs when I’ve seen him on nights out, so I quickly do a scan of him from head to toe, trying to get a feel for his mood.
His hair is neatly cut on the sides but longer on top, the inky strands falling in front of deep green eyes until he pushes it back and off his face. I can see he still has some light, purple bruising under each eye but otherwise seems to have recovered. His body is lean, I wouldn’t say he works out, but he naturally has definition in all the right places. If he didn’t try so hard, I probably would have gone on a date with him by now.
“Sit down,” he tells me. “I’ll get our drinks. What do you fancy?”
I give him my order, and he goes to the counter.
I sit and scroll through my phone, wondering whether I can text Luce now to save me. The thought gives me pause, and I look up at Joey. He hasn’t done anything wrong; he just doesn’t understand where my head is at. And maybe that’s on me.
Once he is sitting back down, I prepare myself, searching for the right words to say to him.
“So, I wanted to apologise for last week, and you should know I forgive you,” he says.
What?
He forgivesme?!
I swallow the anger bubbling up in my throat. “Sorry, you forgive me for what exactly?”
He seems surprised, his brows dropping low. “For leaving with that dickhead who hit me.”
I sit back in my seat, trying to mask my annoyance. “Joey, you need to understand something, and I’m sorry for putting it so bluntly, but I’m not interested in anything other than a friendship with you. And! Who I spend time with has absolutely nothing to do with you. I certainly don’t want your forgiveness.”
