Nevin’s girl. Same magnetic presence as last week, logged by my body before my head even catches up. My pulse thumps once, hard, in the hollow of my throat.
She pauses in the aisle and scans the seats. Then she turns – and finds me.
My hands stay on the armrests. No wave, nothing that might admit I’ve seen her. She clearly doesn’t want anyone to know that she’s doing whatever she’s doing here.
A smile flickers across her face. Small and shy, gone almost before it lands. The undertow of it drags at my chest. I file it under ‘not tonight’ and offer a curt nod, but that’s that. I know how to respect a woman’s space.
But then she climbs the slope towards me. Slowly, with precise movements. Pure class, even in leggings and trainers.
‘Hi. Again. Is this taken?’ Her voice sounds husky and soft, but the question mark curls upward as if she’s genuinely unsure.
Which is utter bullshit, considering we’re two of maybe fifteen people in here.
For half a second, I take her in properly. She’s got that ‘girl next door’ vibe that’s stunning without trying too hard. No makeup, just freckles and a really pretty face. And those piercing eyes… They’ve got that same glint as the sea glass I used to find on the beach. The comparison sits wrong. Sea glass is cold. Her eyes aren’t. They’re lit from beneath.
I scan the empty rows stretching in every direction. ‘Better grab it quick before the rush. Proper heaving in here.’
She lets out a laugh that’s more grunt than giggle, and the sound catches me off guard.
‘Thanks.’ She slides her coat off her shoulders and folds it into a neat rectangle, drapes it over mine on the seat between us, and sits down, leaving a careful gap.
Far enough to pretend she didn’t choose this specific patch of darkness when the whole place lies vacant.
But she did.
The fact settles beneath my sternum. Last week was chance. Coincidence. Two strangers who prefer alone time. Tonight is different. Tonight is her scanning rows of empty seats and walking up to the stranger at the back on purpose.
Why?
Maybe she’s another stray looking to gnaw on her own bone in the same corner. Alone in company.
Fine by me.
I plant my stare ahead and neither of us speaks. The quiet sits easy between us, and I let it. We both do, for a while.
‘Thanks for last week, by the way.’ She keeps her eyes on the film, profile half-lit by the flicker.
Her words don’t ask for anything, but they change how I’m sitting. ‘That’s awright. Nothing to thank me for.’ I’m not even sure why she thinks she needs to say thanks.
She turns and those blue-grey eyes find mine. ‘Still. I appreciated it. I needed a moment for me. You’re on Nevin’s team and…’ She trails off.
‘Your business is your business.’ I fold my arms across my chest and clear my throat to ease the tightness. ‘You do you.’
The tension in her shoulders loosens. Noticing when people are holding on by a thread is my primary skill. She’s tense underneath that poise, a strain I definitely won’t ask her about.
A moment passes. ‘Do you mind me sitting here? I hope it’s okay.’
I cut a look across. She’s after permission for something that doesn’t require any. I dig around inside for objection or resistance and find nothing.
‘Course not. This is a public space.’ My mouth tugs upward. I can’t help it. ‘You’re so tiny compared to me, it’s like you’re barely even here.’
There. That snort again.
A laugh like that?
Adorable.
I shove the word into the dark silt of my gut where it can’t cause trouble.
