Becca's Moments

Chapter TwentySix

Nathan laughed and took a spoonful. "When's the last time you had some?"

"Ages ago." I grabbed my leftover pasta from the fridge and warmed it in the microwave. "I had it all the time at my friend's house back in primary school." When my food was ready, I joined Nathan at the table.

His eyes narrowed. "Ghanaian or Nigerian jollof?"

"Nigerian."

He high fived me. "Correct answer."

I laughed and looked to the empty seat beside me. I missed gossiping with Stacey on my lunch breaks. We hadn't spoken for a while—we only communicated at work, after all—but I still cared for her.

"You know where Stacey is?" Nathan shrugged, which seemed odd considering they were up each other's backsides. "I know you know where she is, and I know you know she knows I'd know you won't tell me."

His face went blank. "What?"

"She's secretive, but I know she tells you everything. Is she alright?"

Nathan looked like he was debating the answer. "She's in Manchester."

I raised a brow. "She's originally from there, right? Is she visiting family or something?"

"Nah, as in she's moved there."

My eyes bugged now. "Since when?"

"A couple months ago now."

The shock stopped me from eating. Now her constant lateness made sense; even the fastest train from Manchester to London was over three hours. It surprised me she would keep a job here when she could easily transfer to her hometown.

"So that's why she's not in today?"

He nodded and had another spoonful of food. "I told her to take today off. Her train was delayed anyway."

"That's sweet of you." I shot him a suggestive smile. He shook his head.

"Don't start."

"You two make a cute couple. When's it official?"

Nathan laughed. "We're just friends, man."

I hummed. "That's what they all say."

"Nah, for real. She's going through some things at home so I'm taking a step back." He shrugged and bit into his chicken. "Stace already knows the deal, anyway."

Nathan was so serious I felt like I couldn't tease him any further. He seemed confident that things would work out between the two of them, and that assuredness was really endearing. He clearly liked Stacey a lot; I wished them nothing but the best.

Sucks that it'd be long-distance though.

Things died down after lunch and stock take was officially over. Some staff headed home, while the rest of us who started later on in the day stayed behind to clear the store. I wheeled a skip of junior trainers into the stockroom and saw Kayden on the stepladder shoving a box back into its slot.

"Where am I putting this?" I asked him.

Kayden turned to me and his expression softened. We'd barely spoken today, too busy with our own tasks. He climbed down the steps and approached me.

"I'll put it in the cage for you," he offered. "You got the key?"

I pulled the key from my back pocket and placed it in his palm. "You're such a gentleman."

"That's my middle name." He grabbed the skip and wheeled it to the back door, then he pressed the exit button and left the room.

I looked around for something else to do to return the favour. I spotted a box labelled 'accessories' that still needed to be put away. Grabbing the box, I climbed the stepladder and placed the items back on their respective shelves.