“No need to apologize. I get it,” he says as he rests his elbows on his knees. “Here, I’ll even show you my driver’s license.”
Her eyes widen as she shakes her head. “You don’t have to.”
But he’s already searching his pocket, and when his fingers grab the plastic card, he turns to show her. She leans forward, her eyes flashing between the photograph and his face before she moves back, nodding.
“Sorry,” she says, blowing out a long breath. “I’m just—yeah. Sorry about her too,” she says, motioning her head to Jahlani, who is still sleeping with soft breaths. “She’s such a lightweight.”
He doesn’t mind in the slightest about that.
Roman turns to watch Jahlani, and he has the sudden urge to pull her back to him. He clears his throat again, shrugging as he adjusts himself on the bench.
“It’s my job,” he says, and he hopes that she doesn’t see through his lie. He hopes it sounds convincing. He looks back up to face the woman and gestures in the direction of the floor. “Go. I’ll be here.”
She still doesn’t look convinced, and Jahlani blinks her eyes open slowly, lifting her head from where it’s resting against the woman. Roman grows rigid, preparing for the worst as she rubs at her eyes.
“Teryn,” she murmurs, swaying. “I’m so tired. Let’s just go home.”
As Jahlani turns to face him, her blinks are slow and delayed as she traces his features with her eyes. The hair rises on the nape of his neck as he allows her to scrutinize him. He expects her to sneer at him, to say something about his proximity, but instead she does the last thing he expects.
She leans forward, until their noses almost touch, and lets out a deep sigh, her eyes bouncing and bright.
“You have the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen,” she whispers, blinking slowly. “They’re so beautiful.”
Roman can’t stop the smile that spreads across his face. “You’re so drunk,” he says with a laugh, shaking his head. “You need sleep.”
His eyes dart to look up at Teryn, who looks at Jahlani with a raised eyebrow and tilted head. Teryn shakes her head, pointing to the floor, and mouths that she’s going to find Trent. Roman gives her a discreet nod, turning his body to face Jahlani as she continues to speak.
“No, seriously,” she says, her voice slurring as she waves her hand around. “They’re beautiful. It’s like … like they’re not even real. It’s so … infuriating, and I can’t stop seeing them,” she says, drawing an index finger to her head. “I can’t stop thinking about what you told me that day. And your eyes?—”
“Jahlani,” he starts, but she continues speaking, her hands gesturing with each word.
“Your eyes looked so … angry,” she says softly, slumping back against the wall before inching back down to rest her head on his shoulder. “I hated it. Don’t look at me like that again, okay? I’m sorry about everything. I’m just … so sorry.”
Roman shakes his head, rubbing his jaw. “You didn’t know, Jahlani. It’s okay.”
He angles his head to meet her eyes, but he sees that they’re closed and she’s back to sleeping. He laughs softly, adjusting her into a more comfortable position against his shoulder.
Teryn rounds the corner sooner than he’d like with the same guy she shared her drink with earlier. He walks up to where they’re sitting, gripping the underside of Jahlani’s arms and lifting her from the bench.
He tilts his chin toward Roman, who is still sitting. “Thanks, man.”
Roman gives a discreet nod, watching as they leave. His chest feels as though it’s on fire because it should be him taking her home.
But he can’t.
And it bothers him more than usual tonight.
It’s well after midnight when he pulls into his driveway, the porchlight flickering in greeting.
“Dan, I’m here.”
Roman drops his keys into the porcelain dish before bending down to quietly slip off his shoes. Rounding the corner, he takes in the dimly lit kitchen. A lone pizza box sits on the island. Danica sits crisscrossed on the three-seater couch placed in the center of the living room.
She scowls, at something on her screen, draping a blanket across her shoulders as she sits up.
“I’m gonna need you to get a babysitter—what happened to your face?”
Roman ignores her, moving to heat up the few slices of pizza left in the box, before rummaging in the fridge for ice.
