Page 47 of A Seaside Escape
‘Is that agoodwow orwow I can’t believe you were so stupid?’
Greg blinked quickly. ‘Erm, I’d say it’s a good wow… definitely good.’ His cheeks flushed and he began walking towards the door. ‘Anyway, I should go. I’ve remembered I need to… ah… goodnight.’ He walked out of the door and closed it behind him.
‘What the—? What just happened?’ she asked Ruby, who simply wagged her tail.
She went upstairs, removed the offending dress and pulled on her jeans, a clean sweater and her boots as she tried to figure out what had been wrong with her friend. Had she offended him with her choice of attire? Did she scare him away with her flab? What the hell? She was due to be on shift with him later so no doubt she would find out then. She just hoped the mood swings weren’t back with a vengeance.
*
When she arrived for her shift, Greg was already there, sitting at the bar with a glass of whiskey in his hand. He looked upset.
She nudged him. ‘What the hell happened to you earlier?’
‘Mallory, not now, okay?’ He waved her away with his hand.
She poked his arm playfully, hoping to lighten his dark mood. ‘Yes,now. Come on, you daft git, what did I do to scare you away so quick?’
He glared at her. ‘Oh yes, cos the world revolves around you now doesn’t it, eh?’
Ouch.Something really was wrong. ‘That’s unfair, Greg. You said I should show you the dress, so I did. Then you went all Weirdsville and buggered off.’ He didn’t speak. She held her hands up in defeat. ‘Okay, have it your way. I’ll just keep out of your grumpy-arsed way tonight, okay?’
‘No need. I’ve got the rest of the week off so I’m taking off for a while.’
Mallory frowned. ‘Oh… right… I see. So, what am I to do about Ruby for my holiday? Do you know of a boarding kennel seeing as you won’t be around now?’ Filled with annoyance, she crossed her arms over her chest.
‘Don’t fuckin’ worry, I’ll be back by Friday. God forbid I should let you down and disappoint youagain, eh?’
She had no clue what the hell was wrong with him but decided to give up. ‘Oh whatever, Greg. I can take her somewhere else.’
‘I said I’d have her and I will. Bring her to mine at five Friday. I’ll be there.’ He stood from his stool, placed the glass with the untouched liquid back on the bar and walked out without another word.
*
After walking home to clear his head, Greg stuffed some clothes in his duffle bag, thankful that he hadn’t drunk any of the whiskey. He decided to leave straight away. He needed to think and to get some distance. Grabbing his small tent from the cupboard under the stairs, he called to Angus.
They climbed into the car and Greg was trying to make sense of the mixture of emotions he was feeling. He started the engine, turned on his CD player and cranked the volume right up to drown out the sound of the raw growling noise of the Land Rover, until ‘Three Libras’ by A Perfect Circle was all that filled his auditory senses. He slammed his foot on the accelerator and pulled away from his house, letting the lyrics resonate deep within him as he drove.
