Page 28 of Fake Rocks
“Were you spying on me?”
A flush crept up the side of his neck. “I, um, popped up to your room to see if you were awake.”
It was cute to think he had done that. I wasn’t bothered if he had seen me sleeping. After all, he’d put me to bed the other night when we’d been out. And I’d been in a much worse state then.
“It’s okay, I don’t mind. It was sweet of you to check.”
If anything, my comment made the colour on his neck even redder. He mumbled something under his breath, then shoved his headphones on, curtailing any further conversation. A pang of disappointment curled up in my chest. I had been hoping we could chat on the journey, do the whole getting-to-know-you thing. We had to pretend to be a proper couple tomorrow night and I didn’t want to be the one who fucked it up. You know, like I usually did.
I stuffed my own earphones in and started listening to the rough recording Darren and I had made the other day of the new songs. To the untrained ear, it might have sounded like a whole bunch of unconnected riffs and mumbled warblings, but to us, we knew it was the start of something special. It made me glance over at Tris who appeared to be engrossed in his copy ofGQ.
“Any drinks? Sandwiches? Cake?” The train manager appeared next to us with the trolley full of goodies.
We hadn’t had time to get any train snacks and I was starving. I hadn’t eaten anything since… Actually I didn’t remember. Maybe Rosie and I had got food somewhere last night. Or maybe not. It was all a bit cloudy still.
“Please, I’d love a black coffee. And a cheese sandwich and…” My gaze ran over the sweet treats, I definitely felt like I needed the sugar. “One of those blueberry muffins.” I kicked Tris under the table. He looked up and frowned as I gestured to the trolley.
“Oh, right.” He perused the options. “Can I have a bottle of water and a chicken sandwich please?”
“Not a problem. Anything else, sir?” The train manager busied himself with preparing our options.
Tris shook his head. “No, that’s great. Thanks.”
I reached into my bag and found my purse, tapping my card on the machine and paying for the sandwiches; everything else was part of First Class hospitality. I was desperate not to lose Tris to his headphones again and wanted to start a conversation.
“How long have you been working with your uncle?” I asked, breaking off a piece of the muffin. It looked more appetising than the sandwich.
He unscrewed his bottle of water, taking his time in answering. “A little while,” he replied vaguely. “I moved down south to help him out.”
“Oh, right so where did you live before?”
His eyes clouded over, eyeing me with suspicion. “Why all the questions all of a sudden?”
“In case a journo asks me something I don’t know the answer to.” I shrugged. “There are likely to be people who will be interested in us, how we met, what you do, where you’re from etc.”
“Really? I’m not that interesting. I’m a builder’s mate. Plus, I thought we met at uni.” The corner of his mouth quirked up.
I smacked my forehead. “Of course! That’s what I’ve been telling people, isn’t it?”
Tris nodded. “Good to see you’ve got your own story sorted.” There was a pause before he said, “Do you think people will really be asking questions?”
“You know I’m pretty much a staple of the gossip columns, right? After all the latest Troy Carson nonsense, I’m meant to be cleaning up my act. It seems to be working though,The Gosswere quite complimentary about me for once.” Even Jonas hadn’t mentioned the latest story.
“I guess.” He fell silent for a moment, studying the table and twisting his bottle around in his hands. “It’s… well, I’m not used to this level of attention. I don’t want to do or say something wrong and let you down.”
I reached across the table and stroked the back of his hand. “Don’t worry, you won’t let me down. I’m perfectly capable of doing that myself.”
16
Tris
When Saff started asking all the questions about where I was from and what I did, my blood ran cold. I couldn’t risk telling her the truth.
She was trying to make a fresh start with a good, clean-cut guy.
Or at least with someone she thought fitted the bill.
It would be fine. I had to tell myself that.
