“I’m getting the impression that you don’t want me here,” Lucas stated, frowning.
“I just don’t understand what this is. Why you’re here. Why you care about who I brought with me to the game.” I didn’t have any real experience with the back and forth banter of flirting. Was that what this was?
I had no freaking clue.
Lucas sat up and ran a hand over his shaved head. “Why didn’t you wait for me like I asked you to?”
“Because you didn’t exactly ask me to do anything. You told me to,” I responded blandly.
“Ah, so you’re one of those modern empowered women that get in a huff when a man tells her to do something.” He acted as though he had solved one of the great mysteries of the universe.
“I don’t think that makes me modern or empowered. It makes mehuman.Pardon me if I don’t want to be bossed around by some guy I don’t even know,” I fumed, feeling myself getting angry.
“I wasn’t bossing you around. For fuck’s sake I just wanted to spend time with you and then you had to turn it into some sort of gender power struggle.” Lucas put his feet on the floor and stood up. “You know, this was a stupid idea. I shouldn’t have just shown up like this.” He pulled his keys out of his pocket but didn’t move to leave. He stared down at me, his expression unreadable.
“What?” I asked, feeling off kilter. Lucas had a way of pulling the rug out from underneath me. I couldn’t get a sure footing around him.
He let out a noisy breath. “I got the sense that you were someone who I could hang out with. No expectations. Because let’s be real, that’s all anyone has for me anymore. Expectations. It’s fucking exhausting.” He jangled the keys in his hand nervously. Why was he nervous?
“But if you want me to leave, I’ll leave. Sorry for interrupting your evening of doing whatever you were doing.” He finally started to walk towards the door.
Well damn. Way to make me feel like a jerk.
I got up and grabbed his arm. “Wait. I’m sorry for being an ass. What happened at the pub, that was unusual for me. I just don’t want you to show up here thinking you’re getting a piece—”
“Getting a piece? Did you just say that? Really?” Lucas scoffed.
I gave his arm a tug. “Sit down already,” I said rolling my eyes.
Lucas sat back down on the couch and reached for the TV remote.
“I wouldn’t bother. I don’t have cable.”
“Well you’ve got to have something.” Lucas turned on the TV and saw only static. “You’re telling me you don’t have any TV?”
“I told you I didn’t. Cable is a frivolous expense,” I told him primly.
“You don’t even have Freeview? Everyone has Freeview.” Lucas went to the main menu on the television and started scrolling through the screen.
“What’s Freeview?” I had no idea what he was talking about.
“Everyone gets the BBC channels and a few others with Freeview. It’s a free service. No contract like with cable. I saw a dish on the roof of your building so there’s no reason you shouldn’t be able to get some channels. Plus this looks like a new television and they’re all equipped with a receiver for Freeview these days.”
He clicked on an icon and the screen came to life. A soccer game came on the screen. It looked a lot like the Chester game.
“How did you do that?” I asked, more than a little excited at finally having access to television.
“The picture’s not the best, but that probably has to do with the dish.” He opened the channel guide. “You can get all these channels now.”
“And I don’t have to pay anything?” I asked astounded.
“Well you have to pay your TV license. It’s about twelve quid a month. Has no one explained this stuff to you?” he asked with a smirk.
“Not a damn thing, I’m afraid. So I have to pay a license to watch TV? I got one of those notice letters in the mail but I didn’t really know what it was about.”
“Yeah, you do.” Lucas handed me the remote. “Maybe you should just make me your British life liaison. I can help you navigate the tricky waters of TV licensing and which local chippy serves the best curry sauce.”
I started to turn the channel but Lucas stopped me. “Do you mind if we watch this? It’s Match of the Day. I want to hear what they have to say about the match.”
