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CHAPTER NINE
Thomas
Amonth later.
Zach gotcomfortable on his wooden chair while we were out on my deck sipping whiskey with the view of the street. “Your TA had enough of your shit?”
“Keep it down,” Iwhispered, looking outside to see Erin hadn’tgone out on an evening walk or something. “Why would you think that?”
“You’re avoiding my question, that’safirst, but I’ll tell you why anyway, see if that brings out the truth from you.” He cracked his knuckles then elaborated, “You’ve been MIA enough for me to take notice, and Iusually don’tnotice anything these days with the shitload of work Ihave and my secret project.”
“How’sthat going by the way?”
“Don’tdeflect.” His wise, blue eyes saw through my act. “What’sgoing on with her if she hasn’trun away? Though she definitely should have.”
“Aren’tyou supposed to be my friend?” Irefilled our glasses and avoided his probing glare.
Zach picked up the full glass and took aswig from it. “Your honest friend.”
“Yeah, Igot that. And no, Erin didn’tquit.” The way Isaid her name had switched from dislike to fondness over the course of the last month. Itoned it down next to Zach, but the truth was Iliked her company. “We’ve actually built adecent working relationship. She assists me with more than the presentations like Iinitially thought, advises me on how to reach out to my students through the classes, and what Ican do to contribute to them as ateacher and not just an educator.”
“Icould sum that up in athree-hour day. What are you, my best friend and known anti-socializer, doing with her the rest of the time?” He raised his brows, inspecting me.
“Fine, she’smore than acoworker,” Iadmitted, understanding there was no use in hiding from him.
“Ohhhh.” He elongated the word. Sometimes Ithought Iwas dealing with aman-child, then Irealized Iwas, and then Ithanked him for it. One of us had to be that not-so-serious person.
“Not like that, as afriend,” Isaid blandly.
His finger tapped incessantly on the wooden armchair. “There’smore, spit it out.”
“We both know you hardly make any court appearances, so where is this interrogation coming from?” When he didn’tflinch, Itold him some of the more impersonal parts. “She’sletting me in on her painting process, which was exactly what Iwanted, someone who’sstill fascinated by their art. She wants to be the voice of women through painting them—some of them she interviews, some of them she makes up, some both. It’sinteresting.”
Iomitted how I’dbeen changed by her presence in the two months we’dbeen working together. How anger didn’tbuild up in me as easily as before, how addicted Ibecame to this laid-back feeling and being around her.
Ineglected to tell him Ihad asked her to stay after every meeting since the first one. That Idid everything to put her at ease around me, like offer her coffee and sit on the other side of my wide oak table as abuffer, to give her all the space she needed. It did things to me, to see she stopped flinching from everything and everyone, especially me.
The last thing Ihid from Zach, was how on so many occasions Iwas moments from cupping her cheeks while she smiled, how Iwanted to kiss her. But Iwas her friend. Afriend of adelicate woman who had just escaped an abusive relationship. She needed that friendship more than anything.
“In other words, you listen to someone who isn’taclient?” he concluded, his smile taunting.
“Ilisten to people.”
“To people you don’t, to her you do.” Zach scratched his chin, speaking again, too loudly. “She’shot, isn’tshe?”
“Would you keep it down?” Ihinted with my eyes to where she lives and he chuckled, the bastard. “Idon’trefer to women ashot, it’sderogatory.”
Also, in Erin’scase, it was avery lacking description of her unique beauty, especially that shimmer in her eyes when she spoke of her paintings.
His tapping resumed. “Is she ugly?”
“No, and there’sno such thing as an ugly woman.” Iignored his irritated groan. “She looked just as beautiful when she got on my last nerves. Like Isaid before, I’ve been open to learning and she’skind enough to answer my questions. From afriend.”
“Thank you for verifying there’smore to it.” He propped his legs up on the table and crossed his hands behind his neck.
The only downfall to having someone know all your ins and outs is…having them know all your ins and outs. Icouldn’thide from Zach.
“You haven’tcalled the other women you’ve had in your lifefriends, or any other name. In fact, you never talk about them.” He lowered his voice, finally, when he said, “You like her, don’tyou?”
