I peer at Roman, who pulls in his lips, also reading her deception loud and clear.
My stomach drops. What’s the matter with her?
“Lola, do you have a minute?”
I know what he wants to see me about, making my already frayed nerves snap. “Sure,” I reply, my voice heavy, plagued.
Jumping from the stool, I focus my attention on Sadie. “Rain check? Tonight?”
She nods, packing up the board game.
Roman walks ahead of me, all businesslike, while I trail him, wishing he’d wait. I compare our usual strolls to this one. I understand he’s so aloof because we’re surrounded by people. I wonder what we do look like, though, when no one is around. He doesn’t mask his touches when we’re alone, and I like that.
I like him.
“Tell him,” subconscious Georgia says, but I’m quick to quash down her suggestion.
He opens his office door, waiting for me to enter first. I press past him, savoring his warm fragrance. Taking a seat, I wait for him to close us inside. Once he does, I exhale, happy we’re alone.
As I wait for him to speak, I notice a signed Yankees baseball sitting in a small glass case on his desk. This is new. I wonder where it came from.
“I’ve got your test results,” he leads with.
“Okay.” I shuffle in my chair.
My gaze is riveted on him as he rounds the desk and takes a seat in his leather chair. He steeples his long fingers, pressing the pointers to his lips, and watches me with a profound eye. I swallow nervously.
“Everything is perfect. We can start as soon as you’re ready.”
The words register, but my brain can’t seem to accept them as truth. “Wow,” I manage to choke out.
A smile touches his lips before he opens his desk drawer. I watch with interest as he produces a sight that is all too familiar. Holding two orange medicine bottles, he reveals my fate in his hands. “You start with two of these yellow tablets.” He rattles the contents. “Then two of the red tablets tonight.”
My attention is riveted to the bottles. The small pills inside look harmless enough, but I know better. They hold the key to my future. He places the bottles on the desk and slides them toward me.
They sit between us—a monkey on my back.
I’m faced with two choices. I either take them, or I don’t.
Leaning forward slowly, I reach for the pills with quivering hands. They feel weightless in my palm.
Unscrewing the lid, I dip a finger inside and pull out a single tablet. It barely covers the pad of my pointer. Holding it between my finger and thumb, I slowly raise it, hypnotized by the sight.
This is the key—the literal key to a new chapter in my life. Either I can unlock it or I can throw it away.
“I understand your reservations, but please know this is your choice. If you don’t wish to proceed, then forget this conversation ever took place.” Roman’s voice hums in the background as my attention remains glued to the pill. It glows. The light illuminates its importance.
I could do that. I could forget this ever happened, that I ever had a second chance. Or I could…
Roman’s gasp fills the room as I flick the pill into my mouth, tossing my head back and swallowing it in one smooth movement. It drags down my throat, the chalk taste making me gag, threatening to come back up, but I swallow twice, gulping it down.
My body trembles in a mental reaction to what I just did.
“Well…” Roman’s voice is full of pride. “I was going to offer you a glass of water, but it appears you’ve got it covered.”
A laugh catches in my throat.
For the second dose, I take him up on his offer and gulp down a bottle of water.
“So what happens now?” I ask, looking at the bottles in front of me as Roman places them in a white paper bag.
“Now”—he stands, buttoning his navy blazer—“you go enjoy the sunshine with the kids. Go, have fun.”
His comment has me wondering when he has the time to do just that. He’s always here, attending to someone’s problems. Who attends to his?
He rounds the desk, ready to start his day, but an urge overcomes me, and I don’t fight it. With the door sealed shut, it’s nobody but us. What’s one moment, one forbidden touch between two friends?
He stops, cocking an eyebrow, unsure why I’m unmoving. I answer his query when I step forward, almost