touch. He gave my neck a gentle squeeze and let go.
'Sure, no problem. I'l walk back with you if you want.'
'I don't want to ruin this for you.' I didn't look behind us again, just started moving back toward the Manor. I
dumped the funnel cake in the first garbage can I passed.
'Nah. These things are the same as that funnel cake. I'l
walk you back.'
I was already walking, but I shot him a glance. 'Are you
sure?'
'Paige, realy. Not a problem. Oops, watch it.' Eric
reached to steer me away from a puddle of something I
hoped was spiled fruit smoothie and not something
grosser.
His fingers gripped my arm just hard enough to keep me
from stumbling, and my heart thumped harder at the
pressure. Lace and satin pressed my skin beneath my
clothes. He held on a little longer than necessary but let go
sooner than I wanted him to.
In the lobby he checked for mail even though he'd stopped
to peek in the box on the way out. I knew how he felt
when he found nothing but the Tenant Association
when he found nothing but the Tenant Association
newsletter, but he turned to me with a grin anyway.
'Looks like they're planning another barbecue. If it's
anything like last year's the beer wil be warm and the food
cold.'
'I wasn't here last year,' I reminded as he crumpled up the paper and tossed it in the trash.
'But you'l be here this year, right?' he asked as we both
headed for the elevator. 'How's your head, by the way?'
'Oh…I'l be fine. I'm just tired.' The lie slipped easily
enough off my tongue, and though Eric gave me a curious
look he didn't press me about it.
When the doors opened on his floor he hesitated before
stepping off, and I wondered if he'd meant to kiss me or
shake my hand. 'I'l cal you, okay?'
I nodded and smiled and watched the doors close behind
him before I let the smile slide from my face. My jaw
ached from clenching it. When I got into my apartment I
ran a cold shower and let the icy needles pound my skin
until envy swirled down the drain around my toes.
I blamed the tears on the sting on my scalp as I yanked a
comb through my hair, but when I looked in the mirror I
couldn't avoid my frown. So I turned from the mirror and
puled on a lightweight summer nightgown over my bare,
damp and chily skin.
Jealousy and the funnel cake rested heavy in my stomach,
so I boiled water for tea. The headache I'd made up
became real, though I nipped it quickly with ibuprofen. I
grabbed up the novel I was reading and had just settled on
my sofa when the knock came at the front door.
