She licked her lips before laying into him. “You know, there’s an old saying, ‘Only a fool trips on what’s behind him.’”
Why couldn’t she be one of those ditzy women who did and said whatever it took to please someone? Why couldn’t she be dumb and ugly? Zach’s life would be a whole lot easier.
He reached for the door and took his anger out on the handle as he flung the door open. “Call me the fool then, angel.”
5
Zach
Walking into a public place with Lauren beside him was surreal. She’d drifted in and out of his reach for years, but she’d always been untouchable.
Now, he could take one half-step to the left and brush shoulders with her. They were practically breathing the same air, and the proximity had his skin buzzing. The adrenaline surge was all too close to the feeling of taking that first step into enemy territory or crossing the invisible line of the law.
As soon as the bell above the door jingled, every set of eyes in the room turned to them. A middle-aged woman wearing a blue shirt, black pants, and a gray apron walked over with a coffee carafe in her hand and grabbed a couple of the laminated menus from a stand by the door. “Welcome to Joey’s. Follow me.”
Zach scanned the diner, noting every face, empty table, and exit. Laminate surfaces, big windows, andbooths bolted into the floor could have distracted him from the looking eyes, but they didn’t. As ordinary as the diner seemed, it was anything but normal. Wardens watched him, and so did these people. Most of his energy went toward blending in and slipping out of sight, and that was one thing that wouldn’t change with his newfound freedom.
Lauren adjusted the strap of her purse over her shoulder and dutifully marched behind the hostess. What would it be like to blindly follow the leader, thinking all was well as long as you stayed in line?
Lauren slid into a chair at a small booth by the window as the hostess laid the menus on the table. The window looking out over the gravel parking lot was massive without any iron bars to block the view.
“Zach? What do you want to drink?”
He pulled his attention from the mundane view to find Lauren and the waitress staring at him.
“Coffee.”
Resting his back against the seat, he could see the whole restaurant. Chatter continued, but there were still plenty of eyes pointed at him.
Lauren lowered her menu and propped her elbows on the table. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Her amber eyes narrowed, watching him as if waiting for a telltale sign that would betray him. “Liar.”
Interesting. She wasn’t afraid to call him out when he brushed her off. He picked up the sticky menu andglanced over the pictures of breakfast plates that didn’t look anything like the fare he got in the slammer. “Nobody likes living in a fishbowl.”
Lauren turned to look over her shoulder, fanning her hair out around her. “Nobody is looking at you.”
Zach kept his attention locked on the photo of a two-egg breakfast. “You’re clueless and unobservant. They’re all wondering why you’re here with me and when I’m going to cause a scene.”
Shaking her head, she raised the menu. “You’re wrong. I saw every person in the room within twenty seconds of entering. I know where all the exits are, and I can give you a description of every vehicle in the parking lot. You’re paranoid.” Jerking back up, she added, “And don’t make a scene.”
The room was suddenly too small. If Lauren saw everything, she could see right through him. “We’re half an hour away from the pen, and I’m wearing state-issued clothes. It’s obvious. You, on the other hand, are dressed in business casual like you were born in it.”
She didn’t look up from her menu as she whispered, “Whatever. You’re a free man, but you’re acting like there’s still a chain following you around.”
Not a chain so much as fate. He would always cast a dark shadow wherever he went. It wasn’t something he could fix. It was his life.
“This is why we can’t be friends.”
She finally looked at him with a calm curiosity that only heightened her innocence. “Why? Please tell memore about the social standards you subscribe to despite rioting against all other laws and cultural norms.”
Did she have to say things he didn’t understand? Every time she showed off her big brain, she drifted a little further away from him. “Because we don’t belong at the same table. People will always stare and whisper. Not that I care, but you should.”
“Maybe you’re just full of yourself.” She turned back to the menu, practically dismissing him.
“Says the woman who throws around her academic achievements. How many master’s degrees have you collected again?”
