[chapter eight]
Disclaimer: If you've heard of
them, I don't own them. Everything else is mine, so no stealing, pretty please.
;-)
**
Nya snorted in contempt, then relented when she saw the fire in Jamie's eyes, the smile on his face as he thought of his day job.
He was almost as passionate about driving in circles as she was about literary criticism and punctuation correction.
To each his own, she thought after a moment of contemplation.
"I don't hate boys." Nya said after an uncomfortable pause. "I'm just aggravated with them as a general species at the moment."
"What happened?" Jamie asked gently, and Nya knew he meant the demise of her relationship with AJ.
Nya took a deep breath, then forged ahead. "He cheated on me. In rather spectacular fashion." She said quietly. She paused, and Jamie waited for her to continue. "I'm not sure what hurt worse...that he wanted someone more than me, or that he betrayed my trust."
"You don't trust easily, do you?" Jamie asked, unwittingly hitting the nail on the head.
Nya shook her head. "Not a bit. Never have. Got hurt too often trusting everyone, so I just...I don't trust easily. I'm not...I'm not a very open person."
"Never would have guessed." Jamie teased, and Nya rewarded him with a small smile. "How did you end up in North Carolina?"
Nya heaved a sigh. "I followed him here, of course. Shortly after we started dating, he was transferred here, and I couldn't bear to live without him, so I got a transfer with Random House. Now I'm here with no friends, no boyfriend, nothing."
"You have this spectacular house." Jamie gestured to her darkened home, trying to cheer her. "How did you...nevermind, it's none of my business."
Nya answered his unasked question nonetheless. "My family has done well over the years, and I invested wisely when I started earning my own money."
"Ah." Jamie nodded. "You know, Nya, trust starts small. I don't want to know everything about you, just a few things."
"Why?" Nya asked guardedly.
Jamie shrugged and smiled. "We're neighbors."
"What do you want to know?" Nya asked warily.
"Anything. Start with favorite pizza toppings, or your favorite season, I don't care. Just tell me anything."
And for the next two hours, she did just that.
**
"I should go." Nya said, stretching her arms above her head and stifling a yawn.
"You work tomorrow?" Jamie asked.
"Yes, normal people work on Monday." Nya shot back with a smile. "You don't?"
"I'm off in the morning."
"What do race car drivers do with their days off? Go scuba diving or find models to date?" Nya teased, though genuinely curious.
"I thought I'd buy some groceries and find someone to mow my lawn." Jamie answered honestly.
"Living dangerously." Nya teased lightly.
"Always."