Cover Story by Rachel Bailey

Author:Rachel Bailey [Bailey, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781760082093
Publisher: Pan Macmillan Australia
Published: 2014-10-22T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

Without control?

I jumped back to my end of the bench seat, trying to clear the mist that had descended and find the thing I needed for thinking … What was that again? Oh, right. My brain. I felt it click back into gear as I banged my forehead hard with the heel of my hand. I cast a furtive glance around. No one was paying the slightest bit of attention, but still …

Why had I let that happen? In public. I straightened my clothes and ran a hand over my hair. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Simon watching me, his breathing ragged. My own breath wasn’t flowing so smoothly either, which just highlighted what was wrong with this picture—for a split second, I’d let myself go.

Well, okay, it’d been a long split second, but that was beside the point.

The point was, control was my friend. My very good friend. Without it I’d be vulnerable, exposed. Therefore, my friendship with control had to be prioritized over any other friendships that threatened it. And whatever this was with Simon, it quite obviously posed a threat, and as such, had to go. Now, I had to try to find just the right words to make him understand this couldn’t happen again.

“Simon, this can’t happen again.”

He didn’t seem overly concerned by my declaration. He just leaned back and regarded me with those damn twinkling eyes of his. “Why not? I thought it went quite well.”

I nibbled a thumbnail and backed further away. “It just can’t.”

“Is it that guy from the video store?” He ran his fingers through his hair and I winced as I realized I was the one who’d mussed it up.

“No, Cameron’s an ex-boyfriend.”

“There’s someone else?” He still seemed less than worried as he retrieved the abandoned cotton candy from the ground and dropped it in the trash can at the end of our bench seat.

“No! I wouldn’t have done this if there was someone else.”

He nodded and flashed me a knowing grin, though what the heck he thought he knew was beyond me. “Then why did you do it?”

I looked around wildly for Grace. Surely the half-hour had come and gone? “Momentary lapse of sanity. But it Can’t. Happen. Again.”

Simon brushed his hands on his jeans then sat back as if waiting for a show to start. “I won’t accept that, unless you can give me a reason.”

What did it matter if he accepted it or not? I was hardly answerable to him—I lived my life on my own terms. Well, except for the gnome articles. And being told to bring Grace today. And my mother in general. But, besides my career and my family, I absolutely lived life on my own terms.

Then I looked into his eyes and I realized it did matter. He’d offered me honesty and genuineness since I’d met him and I owed him the same back.

“Okay, here’s the thing. I know you think I’m too controlled, but I like it that way.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.