Page 112 of Secondhand Smoke
She blinked, then smiled weakly, her attention fully on him, finally, like she’d been there the whole time. “Yeah.”
He scooted out of the booth, waving off the others’ shouts that he wasn’t focusing. He didn’t deny it, though; he couldn’t focus. Not when she was this close yet somehow so far away.
“This is important,” Dennis called, attempting to stop him.
“We’re just gonna grab a smoke. It won’t be long,” Barrett called back.
“Yeah, man. Don’t worry. I doubt he lasts longer than two minutes anyway,” Toni snickered, making the other two cough out choking laughs.
Barrett ignored them, as he always needed to, and pulled Nell with him out of the diner and stopped just shy of a street lamp. He hadn’t even noticed the sun was fully set until they were shrouded in the darkness left behind. Barrett reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He held one out to her, which she accepted without question.
Without any word, she lit both their cigarettes and rushed hers to her lips, sucking in with a deep breath and closing her eyes to exhale it into the dark air.
Barrett’s was still in his hand. “You okay?”
Nell nodded but looked in the opposite direction. “Yeah, just needed some fresh air.”
That didn’t make him feel better. He forgot about his cigarette and let his hand drop to his side, choosing instead to circle around her until he forced her to look up at him. “I can tell when you’re lying.”
She met his eyes for a second, then flicked them to her cigarette, not answering.
“Tell me.”
She took another long drag, then after a minute of what looked like an internal debate in her head, she straightened up. “What about my lessons?”
Barrett blinked, surprised. His face scrunched in confusion. “What about them?”
“Who’s going to teach me when you’re gone?”
This was it? This was what was worrying her?
Amusement pulled at the edges of his lips, even when he tried to hold them down. But he couldn’t help it—she was toodamn cute. He stepped forward, their bodies nearly flush. The stream of her cigarette smoke wafted up into his nose as he laughed.
“Who said I’m going anywhere?”
Nell’s cheeks turned rosy, and she tried to turn, but he was too close. All it did was make her shoulder brush him. “We both know you will.”
“We both know that nothing is certain. It’s just a chance. For all we know, we’ll never hear from anyone ever again.” He paused. “This is why you’ve been so quiet?”
She went quiet.
Guess that was his answer.
“You think I’ll leave you?” he teased, leaning closer to her face as a giggle nearly snuck out of him.
Did it make him a bad person that the thought she was worried he would leave her made him giddy? Of course, he wasn’t giddy that she was upset, but goddamn, Janelle Duncan liked him that much, huh? He could giggle like a schoolgirl right now, flick his hair, bat his lashes, place a faint hand to his brow, and swoon.
He bit the smile that hit his lips and gave in, pulling her body into him.
He loved this.
Loved having her around close enough to grab at any moment and hold in his arms. Loved being able to lay his chin on the top of her head as her thin arms wrapped around his waist and held to him.
He loved that she loved him. He loved that he loved her.
“I’m not going anywhere. Not anytime soon,” he promised. “And if something happens and I do end up going somewhere, there are two options: either I fly back every single day and come back to kiss your cute pouting face, or you just come with me.”
“Come with you . . .” Her voice was muffled in the denim of his jacket, and he couldn’t tell if he was hearing it correctly.
