Give Me Your Answer True by Suanne Laqueur

Author:Suanne Laqueur [Laqueur, Suanne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1508985211
Publisher: Cathedral Rock Press
Published: 2015-06-19T16:00:00+00:00

SHE WAS SIGNING into Nina Popova’s master ballet class at Steps Over Broadway one Saturday morning, when a man’s voice filled with hesitation called her name. She looked up. Her breath caught in her throat as her eyes blurred with sudden tears. Her mouth formed an O all ready to be spoken when he pointed a finger and said, “Don’t you fucking call me Opie.”

“John,” she cried, flinging away the pen in her hand and throwing herself into his arms. Her feet left the floor as he pulled her hard to his chest. She crossed her wrists behind his head, buried her face in his shoulder and exhaled.

“Oh, John,” she said.

“I love conversations that start this way,” he said.

She couldn’t answer, just held on tight.

“It’s terrible to see you,” he said, one of his hands moving to the back of her head. His laughter floated through his chest into hers. He kissed her temple as he let her feet find the floor but he didn’t let go. His warm, lean strength against her body was a balm.

“Oh, John,” she said again. “I haven’t seen you in…”

“Two years,” he said. “Two years and five months. And twenty-eight days. Give or take an hour.”

He let go then, held her away from him and swept his eyes up and down. She looked him over as well. His red hair was artfully tousled. The dimple flashed in a scruffy cheek and his dark brown eyes were filled with pleasure.

“Are you taking this class?” she asked.

“No,” he said, holding a fold of her coat in his fingers and moving her away from the desk. “I’m buying you a cup of coffee and asking a thousand questions.”

Like a cavalier, he led her downstairs, steered her across the street to a coffee shop and into a booth.

“Tea, right?” he said. “Tea’s your drink.”

“Coffee’s fine,” she said.

John looked at her a long, probing moment. “What the fuck happened?” he said softly. “Where’s Fish?”

She shook her head. “Not with me. What did you hear?”

“Not a damn thing. You stopped coming to class, then Will disappeared. Kees wouldn’t tell me anything. I went by Colby Street and it was empty. I went by Jay Street and it was closed up too. I went to find David—he was a strung-out mess and looked like he’d been in a fight. He shut the door in my face. Everyone disappeared, nobody said goodbye, nothing.”

“I slept with David.”

John sat back, slack-jawed. She stared into his eyes. No excuses, no reasons, no requests for pity or understanding.

John shook his head a little and he took a long sip of coffee. “So, you’re…” His eyebrows knitted. “Are you with him now?”

She shook her head and had to smile, laughing a little into her cup. “No, I’m alone.”

“Where’s Fish?”

“He’s up in Geneseo. Finishing his degree at SUNY, I guess. I haven’t actually talked to him. I mean, I call him every few months, listen to him breathe thirty seconds before he hangs up on me. Mostly I write him.

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