Chapter 27

She'd agreed to meet him. Even with only the offer of a sweaty pub, she'd said yes. Of course, she'd said yes to Peterson, too, so maybe it didn't really mean anything. Shaking his head, he finished buttoning up his shirt.

"You shouldn't overthink it."

He met her eye in the mirror. "I'm not overthinking. I'm simply wondering."

"Wondering what?"

"Why she said yes?"

Val rolled her eyes, "Because she likes you."

"Does that mean she likes Peterson, too? She said yes to him, too."

"I don't know why she said yes to Peterson. But I know how you can find out. "At his quizzical look, "Ask her. Tonight, in the sweaty pub."

He shook his head, rubbing at his eye. "I don't know, maybe. I'll see how it goes."

"Find a moment, promise me."

"I'll try, Val. That's all I can promise."

She was early, couldn't help it. Under normal circumstances, she was ridiculously punctual. When she was anxious, she was more so. His call had surprised her. She knew he was in pain, suspected he would just go home and hide away.

There was a pint waiting for him. She was forcing herself not to stare at the door. Her eyes fixed deliberately on the stupid sized telly.

"Have you been waiting long?"

Fighting a smile, "Only a few minutes." She pushed the glass toward him. "Just long enough to get you a pint."

He moved the chair to be closer to her, "You know what I like."

The smile she was fighting bloomed, "Yes, I do. I thought about ordering some chips." She pointed at his chin, "But wasn't sure if you could manage."

He took a sip of his beer and smiled, "I think I can manage."

They settled in, watching the match on the stupid sized telly. Chips were eaten, good-natured teasing when Robbie's team lost. As the crowd thinned, Robbie took a deep breath.

"I'm glad you said yes."

She smiled at him over her glass, "I'm glad you asked. Why did you ask?"

Robbie thought about his conversation with James. "Can't I just want to spend an evening with a good friend?"

"Yes, you can."

"And in that spirit, can I ask you another question?"

"Sure, always."

He paused, then dove in. "Why did you go out with Peterson?"

She laughed, choking on her sip of beer. "I'm not sure I'd say I went out with him. He invited me to a lecture under the auspices of getting to know each other." She shrugged, "Honestly I thought it was a work thing. Not what I would call a date."

"What would you call a date?"

"Something more like this. Two people who like each other, hanging out, enjoying each other's company."

"So…you didn't enjoy your outing?"

"Not at all, he talked about himself the entire time, then abandoned me when the protesters came in. For someone who claimed to want to get to know me, he didn't learn one thing about me."

Robbie paused, thinking of all of their outings. All of the times he'd blathered on about his problems and she'd listened. Did that put him in the Alan Peterson category?

"Robbie…" Her hand covered his, "Where did you go?"

He looked down at her hand covering his, "Lost in my thoughts."

"Penny for them."

Val's words echoed in his mind. Meeting her even gaze, he asked, "I hope I don't fall into the Peterson category?"

"What?"

"Always talking about myself, never asking about you."

"How many siblings do I have?"

He shook his head, "A brother, Patrick. He's in Dubai on a job assignment."

"Who's my best friend?"

"Ellen, although I'll never understand that friendship."

"What was my favorite thing when I was a child?"

"Gymnastics but you realized you would never be as good as you wanted to be so you gave it up."

"What's my favorite thing to eat?"

He rolled his eyes, "Nicked chips but a nice curry will do. And once a week, you indulge in a special dessert."

Smiling at him, "Still think you don't know me."

Robbie laughed, looking down, noticing her hand was still covering his. "I guess I do know a lot."

She squeezed his hand, "Way more than think you do. And you didn't have to try."

"Thanks, I think…"

"Robbie, you've learned about me naturally, as our relationship evolved. I'd much rather that than some forced situation where we pepper each other with meaningless questions we have no chance of remembering the answers to." She tilted her head and smiled at him, "Don't you agree?"

He blushed, "I…" Turning his hand and squeezing hers. "Yes, I agree."