Running with Scissors

Chapter 3

“Oh my god, you’re the hair police.” Claire tried humour to remind him of her existence.  He continued to ignore her, looking only at Nicky. 

Her smile faded as she sat back in her seat. “Excuse you much?” she said in a sarcastic tone.

“Did you have a good weekend?” he asked.  Nicky nodded, glancing at Claire once again, not really knowing what to say.  “I haven’t seen you about.  Did you go away for a couple of days or something?”

“Yes.  Look, we were kinda in the middle of something here.”  She smiled apologetically as she spoke.  For a split second she thought she saw irritation flicker in his grey eyes but then he smiled and stood up.

“Catch up sometime soon?”  He waited for her to nod and then walked away.

“Oh my god, how do you know that freak?”  Claire asked with a grin as soon as Paul moved away.

“Shhh.  He’ll hear you.”  Claire shrugged her shoulders.  She switched her phone back to the photographs and the two girls were soon laughing at the pictures while Claire told Nicky all about the party.

Two days later...

Nicky sat at the kitchen table watching as Paul made coffee.  She had been passing by his house just as he had opened his front door to put out a bag of rubbish. He had seemed pleased to see her and almost insistent with his invitation to come in for a coffee.  But since she had sat down at the table he hadn’t spoken.  He seemed to be preoccupied with something.  The silence was beginning to feel uncomfortable to her and she tried to think of something to say to fill it.

“No Scott today?” she asked at last.  He smiled briefly at her as he poured water into cups.

“He’ll be here later I guess.”  He hesitated for a moment before continuing.  “I’m kinda glad I bumped into you.  I wanted to run something past you.  I mean, you’re a girl.” 

“Yes. Yes I am.”  She smiled at him. “Well done. Thank you for noticing.”  He looked at her in silence.  She began to feel uneasy under his gaze.

“It’s nothing really,” he smiled at last.  “Just wanted a female opinion.”  Again he hesitated, unsure how to continue.  He seemed embarrassed.

“The thing is, I like someone.” Nicky looked at him as he hesitated again.  He was definitely embarrassed so why was he talking to her about it?  “She’s a bit younger than me.  I just wondered what you thought.”  He paused again. “I mean, if it was you, would an age gap bother you?”

“I don’t know…. How much of a gap?”

“8 or 9 years.”

 “Ooh, big gap!  I think it might,” she said at last.  Nicky tried to think of something more to say but the way he was acting was making her feel a little uncomfortable. 

“Oh.”  He handed her a cup.  Nicky glanced at Paul.  His mind still seemed to be on something else.

“Hey, what do I know?  Maybe you should just ask her.”  She smiled at him reassuringly.

At that moment Scott walked in.  Paul looked up at him. “You ever heard of knocking?”  Scott pretended to think about it.

“Nope.  Door was open.”  He said with a grin.  “Hey Nicky.”

“It’s Nicola.”  Paul said quietly.

“Nicky’s fine.”   Paul glanced at her but turned away before she could read his expression.  Scott did not appear to be listening as he helped himself to a can of cola from the fridge.

Music began to play somewhere in the house.  “Your phone I believe,” Scott said to the other man with a grin. “That ringtone is so lame.” Paul left the room without a word.  Scott sat down opposite Nicky. 

“So, what brings you here today?”  He asked her.  “Surely Paul’s company isn’t that riveting?”

Nicky felt herself blush.  “I was just passing and he invited me in. I’ll have to go soon.  I was on my way to town to do some Christmas shopping.”

“I prefer to wait till Christmas Eve.  I work better under pressure.” Nicky smiled at him.

Paul stood in the hallway listening.  He could hear Scott’s voice but couldn’t quite make out Nicky’s replies.  He looked at her jacket hanging next to the front door. 

Listening to the voices coming from the kitchen he felt in the pockets of the jacket.  In the second one he found what he was looking for and pulled out Nicky’s mobile phone.

“Paul?  Did you get lost or something?” Scott called from the other room.  Paul clenched his teeth and took a breath before answering.

“I’ll be there in a sec.”

Nicky looked up as Paul came back into the room.  He was smiling and looked more relaxed than he had earlier. 

“I better get going before the shops shut” Nicky said, standing up.  Paul followed her to the front door and watched as she put on her jacket.

“Do you want to pop round tomorrow night?  I’ll be in from work about 6ish.”  Nicky shook her head as she zipped her jacket.

“I’m pretty busy all week” she told him as she opened the front door.

“Well you know you can come round anytime.” 

She nodded in response and stepped out of the door.  Paul hesitated for a moment and then said, “Okay, see you soon.” 

As Nicky walked away she heard the front door shut.