She smiled a little. He’d taken the time to check on the bus schedule, and he’d come after her even though she’d yelled and screamed and told him to leave her alone.
Whatever else Elijah might be, he was certainly doing more than he needed to for a girl he’d just met.
“I am kind of hungry,” she admitted.
“Obviously. The way you took off out of there with that Slim Jim in hand?” He shook his head. “You probably could have won the Olympic gold medal for the fifty-yard dash.”
Caelyn laughed, her belly loosening, the laughter sounding and feeling more and more real—natural—like her old self. He was smiling, and she realized how close they were standing. His eyes were warm and soft as he looked at her.
For a moment, she almost thought he was going to kiss her, and her heart sped up, but then he didn’t. She looked past him into the convenience store and saw the cashier still giving her the evil eye. “Yeah, we should probably avoid going back in that way.”
“You heard what he called you, right?” Elijah said, leading her toward the other entrance.
“No, what?”
“He thought you were my girlfriend,” Elijah said, glancing at her as if to see her reaction.
“Yeah, well, you seem to be encouraging people to think that about me,” she replied.
“Me? How is this my fault?” He opened the door and held it for her as she walked past him.
“You told that cop that I was your girlfriend. Now people are just assuming it.
You started a rumor,” she chided him. “And now we’ll never live it down.”
“Maybe we should play it up instead.” His voice was mischievous and flirty, and she remembered how his hand had felt against her leg when they’d gotten pulled over.
She didn’t say anything for a moment as they stood there and surveyed the interior of the rest stop. There was the convenience store on the left, and then the restrooms, and then to the right was a decent sized cafeteria, which was home to a half-dozen fast food restaurants.
“What do you mean play it up?” Caelyn asked. They were standing shoulder-to-shoulder, almost touching but not quite.
“Like, if everyone is going to just assume we’re together…we could pretend to be together.”
“But we’re not,” she clarified.
“Oh, no, of course not.” He shook his head. “We’re totally not.”
She glanced at him, and was surprised to see he was looking at her. His eyes were intense, and one side of his mouth was pulled up into playful grin, almost like he was daring her to say yes.
“I wouldn’t mind pretending,” she said, mostly because she knew he wasn’t expecting her to. “But you have to promise not to do anything too crazy.”
“Oh, you can trust me,” he said. “I’m very trustworthy.” He moved a little closer, so that their arms were touching. Shivers ran up Caelyn’s arms, and goose bumps broke out on her skin.
She liked the way it felt, being close to him.
But a second later, she found herself stepping away.
“Don’t worry,” Elijah said, all traces of playfulness gone from his voice. “I would never do anything to hurt you.” And then he reached his hand out—it didn’t have far to go—and took her hand in his. “But we can do this, right?”
An imperceptible shiver ran through her as he touched her. His hand felt strong and kind of soft. Butterflies were suddenly dancing in her belly, but she took a deep breath and let it out. “That’s fine,” she told him.
“Good,” he said, grinning. “Because otherwise you’re not leaving me with much.”
“Okay,” she said. “What now?”
“Now,” he said, “we eat.” He was still holding her hand.
They went to Burger King and grabbed a few breakfast sandwiches and coffee.
Caelyn was fully prepared to pay for herself, but Elijah stopped her. “No way,” he said.
“I got it. No way I’m letting my girl pay.”
She almost said, But I’m not your girl.
Except she didn’t want to ruin the fun they were having pretending that she was his girl. Of course, she didn’t feel right letting him pay. She decided that she would repay him once they were back in the car and resuming their “real” roles again.
What are our real roles, though? Are we friends? Acquaintances? What?
Again, there was no good answer to be had.
Elijah pulled out an enormous billfold to pay for the meal. He peeled a twenty off the top and handed it to the cashier.
Caelyn’s eyes widened as she stared at the cash in his hand. He glanced at her as he put his money back in his pocket again. “Something wrong, babe?” he grinned.
“No. It’s just—most people usually keep that amount of money in the bank…or a safe,” she said.
“I’m not most people.”
“I’m starting to figure that out.”
They got their breakfast on a tray, which Elijah picked up. “Where do you want to sit?” he asked her.
She gestured to a small table near a window. “How about over there?”
They walked to the table and then sat down together. Caelyn suddenly realized she was ravenous.
She unwrapped a greasy egg and bacon sandwich and started to eat, barely stopping to breathe. She looked up to find Elijah watching her with an amused expression.