Stains on the Soul

Chapter Two

Okay, stay calm. No matter what he says, don't let yourself get distracted. You're leaving soon anyway—it's time to face reality. Fiona stood outside the bookstore looking down at her watch. Her boss decided to close early, and she was both thankful and annoyed by it. The good thing was it gave her time to think about how to start the conversation that couldn't be avoided. The bad part was it gave her time to think about the conversation. The longer she stood there, the worse her nerves got. She paced back and forth across the front porch as she stole an occasional glance at her watch. Okay, enough. You're acting like a head case.

She sat down on the wicker bench in front of the store and pulled out her notebook. Maybe she could distract herself some by working on that story again. She dug through the bag for her pen, her annoyance rising with each moment she failed to produce the object. I really should organize this bag again.

Fiona chuckled. Her brain just didn't work that way, but she still tried. The last ten attempts to bring order to the black hole that was her bag failed, so why should she expect another attempt to work? She grinned as her hand closed around the comforting plastic. Victory!

The expression faded to a frown before she had a chance to put any words to paper. The loud roar of Sloane's engine echoed through the air, stopping her attempt cold. She tossed the pen back into the bag and stood. She gave a half-hearted wave as she approached the car.

Sloane got out and walked around to her side, glancing down at his watch. "Am I late?"

"No, Paul just decided to close early."

He frowned and opened the door for her. "Why didn't you call and let me know? I would've come early instead of making you sit there and wait all this time."

She shrugged before climbing into the passenger side. "It's no big deal. I got a chance to write a little more while I waited." And avoid this a little longer...

"If you're sure." He closed the door and walked around to his side. As he started the engine, he glanced over at her. "So what are you working on?"

"I don't really know yet. I just started it last night, so I'm still waiting for the characters to tell me what's going on."

He smirked at her, amusement coloring his words. "I still don't get how you do that. Any time they forced me to write something in school, I spent more time staring at a blank page than writing."

Fiona saw an opening and jumped at it. "Well, you're not going to have to worry about that anymore. I doubt creative writing is a big part of the whole pre-med thing." Now that she'd gotten the words out, her stomach fluttered as she anticipated his response.

He turned to look out the back window and backed up. As he steered the vehicle out of the lot, he nodded. "I guess not."

"So, did you decide on where you're going?"

Sloane braked at a stop sign and glanced both ways before easing the car forward. "Not yet. Hey, are you hungry at all? I could go for a burger right now."

Serious talk couldn't happen in a burger place, especially with a bunch of people sitting there. It would be humiliating for both of them. How could she tell him she'd rather be alone without giving him the wrong idea? On the other hand, being alone with him might not be the best idea, either. Potential witnesses might reduce her risk of distraction. "Sounds good to me."

"Cool." He signaled another turn as silence settled between them.

* * *

Neither one spoke until they arrived at the burger place, a fact that set her nerves on edge even further as she considered the idea he'd purposefully changed the subject. Fiona followed him inside and took her place in line. She twirled a strand of her hair as she glanced down at the floor and considered the possibility he already knew and was choosing to pretend otherwise.

Sloane gave her a gentle poke in the side as they approached the counter. "Want your usual?"

His voice snapped Fiona back to the present a moment, and she smiled sheepishly at the bored-looking woman standing behind the register. "Sure." The whole time they waited for the order, she planned out what to say. Fiona must've practiced at least a dozen ways to tell him it was over, but still didn't think anything sounded right. Why can't you be more like Steve? Now, there was a guy it might be fun to let down. Not that the creep would care. Steve was the captain of the football team and a living example of the jock stereotype. Fiona couldn't remember the last time that guy bothered to pay attention to anyone not on the team or worshipping his prowess on the field. Guys like him were simple; he only cared about himself so you didn't have to worry about hurting their feelings—they'd just move on to the next cute thing in a short skirt without a second thought.

Sloane picked up their tray, and they scanned the place for a table. Fiona pointed at one in the corner that she thought was perfect. It was far enough out of the way to allow them to talk without being too private while also providing a buffer for the shouts of the workers calling out orders and the register drawers slamming. He followed her to the table and sat down across from her, handing her the burger she'd ordered.

"Thanks." She unwrapped the burger and took a bite, trying to psyche herself up. It's now or never... "So, what was it we were talking about?"

He took a bite of his own food and washed it down with a swig of soda before answering, "Oh, right. We were talking about writing and the fact I can't do it."

She laughed. "That's right." She paused a minute, then let her eyes light up as if she'd just remembered. "Oh, yeah...we were also talking about going off to school. Can you believe we're gonna be leaving in a few months? I barely started packing yet, but it still feels weird to see some of my stuff in boxes."

"I'll bet." He swallowed some more soda and glanced at her. "Ya know, you're not going that far away."

"Across the state," she reminded him. "Several hours away...not that I mind. It's kind of exciting. For the first time in my life, I have absolutely no idea what next year is going to be like...what kind of people I'll be meeting." Hint, hint...

"True. I guess I haven't thought too much about it yet." He reached over the table and took her hand. "I've been having too much fun to worry about that."

She shifted in her seat as his hand touched hers. Say it already. Fiona wanted to tell him it was time to ease off,that she didn't believe in doing the long-distance thing. It was such a simplething; why couldn't she get the words out? "I've been having fun too." Why did I just say that? For someunknown reason, the look in his eyes caused her brain to reject logic. AllFiona knew was that it had to happen sooner or later. Preferably sooner.