“Well, if youdowant help revising. Call me.” He slips off the stool and heads out the door, while I stand staring at him.
The front door opens and closes a few seconds later. He’s gone. I let him leave.
I pinch my eyes shut. Fuck. I didn’t ask for his number. And he doesn’t have mine. But I can find his profile on the hook-up app.
6
FLYNN
Saturday is one of my two days off, but as I’m already on the farm and awake, I help Tony milk the cows first thing. Afterwards, I shower, change into non-farm clothes, and make breakfast for everyone. Angus walks into the kitchen while I’m plating up the scrambled eggs and toast.
“That smells great, thanks.” He pours himself a fresh orange juice, takes a plate, and sits at the table.
“You’re welcome.”
“Bet you don’t know what you did without Flynn, right, Dad?”
Tony grunts. I take that as a compliment.
“I don’t,” Angus says. “What are you doing on your day off?”
His question is a pointed reminder not to spend all day on the farm. If I do, I’m likely to get roped into doing odd jobs here and there. Not that I mind, but I should have a proper break.
I shrug. “I might explore Leeds a bit.”
“You could go with him. Show him around,” Tony says.
“Trying to get rid of me?” Angus asks.
Tony grunts again.
Angus laughs and shakes his head. “I would, but I need to revise. I’ve got two more exams next week, and then I’m done. Then I’ll show you around, okay?”
“That would be great, thanks,” I reply.
How is Jimmy getting on with his revision? Still struggling? Still looking for stress relief? No. Don’t go there. How many exams does he have left? I scroll through social media apps on my phone while I eat. Each time I switch between apps, my gaze lingers on the hookup app. I haven’t opened it since I hooked up with Jimmy. I haven’t deleted it, either.
Once we’ve finished eating, Angus collects the plates and washes up. His dad mutters something about having too many jobs to do and heads into the yard.
“Don’t let him guilt you into doing anything today,” Angus says. “He’s good at that.”
Angus and his dad have a strained relationship, at best. As much as I want to make a good impression on my boss, I don’t want to be the reason their relationship gets worse. From what I can gather, Tony wants Angus to take over the farm, but Angus isn’t the least bit interested in doing so. He’s at the end of his Accountancy degree and intends to enter that fieldafter graduation. He’s also planning on moving out as soon as he can afford to.
“I won’t,” I assure him.
I close the app I’m currently using and scroll to my favourite news app. My thumb catches the hook-up app, opening it. At least, I tell myself it was an accident. I’m sure Jimmy would laugh and call it a Freudian slip. Doesn’t that only apply to saying something you didn’t mean to? Who knows? I know farms, not psychology.
My inbox still contains only the brief exchange between Jimmy and me. I forgot to get his number, so this is the only way we can connect if we want to. Do we? Do I? We left things on better terms the other night, but that doesn’t mean we’re back to the way things were between us before Billy and I got together. Can we ever return to that innocent friendship? No, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. And one way to kindle a friendship is with an olive branch.
Before I can second-guess myself, I type out a message: At a loose end. Do you want help with revision? I press send and slide my phone into my pocket.
“I’m sorry I can’t show you around today, but I could write a list of places you might want to check out,” Angus says.
“That would be great, thanks.”
He rinses the soap suds off his hands, grabs a pen and a pad of paper from a drawer, and sits beside me. “Do you like history? Want to know all the best night spots? Where makes the best coffee and cheese toasties?”
“You’ve tried out lots of cheese toasties?”
