Face the Music (28 page)

“Just so we’re clear.”

“Perfectly.”

Chris caught up with us.  “What’s going on?”  He gave Cynthia a threatening look.

“Nothing i
mportant, just some girl-talk.  R
ight, Allie?”

“Sure,” I said, not looking at either of them.  “Hey, I gotta go.”  I couldn’t hold the tears back any longer.  I slipped out the door and jumped into a waiting cab.  Just as the car pulled away from the curb, Chris came out.  He looked around, but I didn’t ask the driver to stop.

Chapter 15

Jake was pacing outside my classroom door.  “Allie!” he yelled, waving. 

I took one look at his stupid grin and knew that I didn’t want to hear what was next. 

He started talking before I got the door open, bragging about how he’d hooked up with Heather after I left the game
last
night.

“Jake, please!” I complained, covering my ears with my hands. 

“What?”

“T-M-I!”

His
brow pulled down into a pout, b
ut his smirk said he wasn’t really upset.  “I just want to fill you in.”

“I don’t need the particulars. 
I promise I won’t get upset if you don’t tell me
everything
.” 

He left just as
Sam and Melody shuffled in.  Their gloomy moods mirrored my own, so lessons were slow-going.  Even the clock seemed to be stuck in a state of animated suspension.  It felt like three days had passed when noon finally came.

Chris poked his head in the door as the kids were packing their bags. 

“Hi!”  I said with more cheer than I felt.

He looked
around before coming in.  “
How was your morning?” 

I glanced towards Melody and Sam.  “It would be better if people weren’t so darn moody.”

He wrapped his hands around Sam’s shoulders and squeezed.  “Aw, they’re just mad because they weren’t invited to the games.  You know, because of the gambling and the b-e-e-
r,” he spelled out the word.

“Shut up, Chris.”  Melody
cast him a sideways glare
.

L
aughing, he turned to me.  “So what was up with yo
u and
Cynthia
last night?”  His casual tone was offset by a
serious expression.

The mention of her made my blood boil.  I looked down at my desk to hide my irritation.  “Nothing.  Don’t worry about it.”

Why would he be interested in someone like you?
  The line kept playing
itself
over and over in my mind like a broken record. 
But the irony was that
I’d been asking myself the same thing.

“I do worry about it.  I know how she can be.” 

“She was just trying to get information,” I said, dodging around the truth.

“About what?”

I pursed my lips together, trying to decide what to tell him.

“Tell me.  W
hat?”

“I think she feels threatened by me.  She was making sure I knew my place,” I blurted out.

His eyes narrowed, and his jaw tightened
.  “What did you tell her?”

“The truth.  That s
he has nothing to worry about.  That y
ou and I are just friends.”

“Just friends,” he repeated.  I detected mockery.  “Do me a favor
.  Next time,
tell her you and I
are hitting it hot and heavy.  Don’t leave her any hope.”
 
He changed the subject.  “Any big plans for the weekend?”

I leaned back in my chair and thought ahead.  “Nothing definite.  Lessons to plan, papers to grade.  You know, the usual.  Although
,
I did hear the w
eather is supposed to be nice.  M
aybe I’ll get out and get some fresh air.”  A thought came to mind as I looked at him.  “What are you doing Saturday?”

An enticing grin spread across his lips.  “I don’t know yet, why?”

“Ever been over to Lincoln Park?”

His grin widened.  “Nope.  You planning on going?”

I nodded.  Screw Cynthia.  Romantic or not, Chris and I spending the day together would drive her crazy, and I quite enjoyed the thought of that.

“Yes,” I finally said, more to myself than to him.  “I think I will.  Want to come along?”   

“
I do.  Want me to drive?”

I closed my eyes and remembered the
sensation
of
having my body so tightly pressed against his
as we rode through
the city the other night.  “Definitely
.
”

***

I woke up Saturday morning, ran to the window, and felt blessed to see the sun shining.  A few, puffy white clouds speckled the blue sky. 

My cell rang as I was putting on my shoes.  I didn’t recognize the number.  “Hello?”

There was silence on the other end.

“Hello?” I said, a little louder.

“Allie?”

Every cell in my body stiffened
when I heard his voice. 
I sat down on my bed, my shoes forgotten.
 
“Paul?” 

“God it’s good to hear your voice.  It’s been awhile, huh?”

Both my mind and body were numb.

He sighed.  “
I was hoping we could talk.”

“It’s a little late for that, don’t you think?” 

He blew out a breath.  “I understand
you’re upset, but please-”

“Upset?”  That icy numbness was being replaced with
hot-blooded
anger.

“I’m sorry.  I thought about calling so many times but never knew what to say.  I guess I kept hoping you’d call, but then I got a new number, and…” he paused.

“And what?  You think you can just make everything better with a phone call?  Do you have any idea what these last several months have been like for me?”

“
It’s been hard for me, too.”

“You’re the one who left!”  My voice was tight as I fought hysterics.

“You’re right,” he said coolly.  “I was wrong. 
I should have handled it better
.
”

“I don’t se
e what difference it makes now.”  My voice was sharp, full of bitterness.

“I got scared.  You were ready to settle down.  I wasn’t.  It freaked me out.  What I said, those terrible things before I left, I’m sorry.
  You must know I didn’t mean them.
  I miss you.
”

I felt like the wind had been knocked out of me.  “Why now?” I whispered, sucking in a sharp breath.

I heard some shuffling on the other end.  “I guess I just need to know if there’s still a chance.”

“A chance for what?”

“Us.  Will you come to Toronto?  Spend some time with me, just a couple of weeks.  See what happens.”

My heart was breaking all over again.  Why was he doing this to me?  I was finally starting to get over him, moving on.  “What makes you think things would be any different?”

“I realize now, what a great thing we had.  I was so stupid for leaving.”

A fist pounded on my door.  Chris, no doubt.  “I have to go.”

“Allie, don’t hang up.  I’ll wait for you to sort through this.  You can reach me at this number whenever you-.”

Chris knocked again, and I hung up.  I couldn’t listen to anymore.

I took a deep breath and plastered on a fake smile before pulling open the door.  “Good morning!”

“Hi!” he said with a smile that made my head spin.  “Beautiful day, isn’t it?”  He studied my expression.  “You okay?”

“Yeah,” I lied, turning for the living room
.
 

He caught my elbow.  “What’s wrong?  You look upset.”

Our eyes locked, and the words came pouring out before I even had a chance to stop them.  “My ex just called.”

“Paul?”

“Yeah.  Wait, how did you know?”  I hadn’t ever mentioned Paul to him.

“Lauren told me.  That night after you left the poker party.”

I didn’t know what to say to that.  Since when was it Lauren’s business to get involved?

He gave me a guilty look.  “Don’t be mad.  I kind of pried it out of her.”

I couldn’t blame her entirely. 
Chris did have a way of getting what he wanted out of people.  “What did she
tell you
?”

“That you and this guy were together forever, just crazy about each other, and then out of nowhere he took a job somewhere and left.  She said you were pretty messed up over it.  She worries about you, even still.”

“Toronto,” I whispered.

“Huh?”

“That’s where the job was, where he is now.”

Chris sat
down on the couch.  He held his chin in his hand and ran
finger over his bottom lip.  “Do you w
ant to
talk about it
?”

There was something about the way he looked at me, a
serenity
in his expression that made me trust him.  I didn’t normally open up to people so easily, but with Chris I found myself willing.

“I met Paul
right
after Mom died,” I began
, dropping down on
to
the cushion next to him
.  “Looking back, I guess I used him to fill that void.  Things got serious real quick.  I wanted a life with him.  I thought we’d get married, take out a mortgage, have kids. 
I thought he was the one. 
But then
,
he left.  Said he got a big promotion and was moving.  I h
ad obligations
,
I couldn’t just leave.  Not like he offered to take me, though.
” 
I leaned forward,
resting my elbows on my knees.  “
He moved on without me.  Until today, I
hadn’t
heard from him since.”

Chris frowned, and I continued. 
“I didn’t even know
he was going
.  I went over to his
place
one night. 
I wanted to surprise him with
dinner.
 
I let myself in, and everything was gone. 
The couch, the TV, everything.
”