Nothing to Lose by Norah McClintock Page B

said something to him. Then I heard someone call my name. I turned and saw Nick standing on the sidewalk near the front of the restaurant. He and the old man must have come back together.
    The two men looked at Nick. They must have decided that I was telling the truth because they stepped aside to let me pass. Then one of them said something to the old man. The old man shook his head. The guy who had been doing all the talking moved closer to the old man, trying to bully him the same way he had bullied me. The old man stayed exactly where he was. Finally the two guys muscled past him into the restaurant. The old man remained in the doorway, looking at me.
    A moment later, Nick was by my side.
    â€œWhat are you doing out here, Robyn?” he said. He didn’t even look at the old man. You would never have guessed that they had been talking together just a few minutes ago. He took my hand and led me out to the sidewalk, away from the restaurant. “When I went back to the table, you were gone.Why didn’t you wait for me?”
    â€œI was looking for you,” I said.
    â€œLooking for me? You knew where I was going. I told you I’d be right back.”
    I was trying to decide whether I should confront him with what I had just seen when: “Hey!”
    No sooner had we stepped out onto the sidewalk than he yanked me back into the alley, pressed me up against the wall, and kissed me. At first I was so startled that I resisted. But I couldn’t help it—I kissed him back. My heart pounded in my chest. I couldn’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be, anything else I’d rather be doing, or anyone else I’d rather be with. When Nick finally pulled away, he said, “I’ve been thinking about doing that all day.” He smiled down at me. His hoodie was half unzipped, leaving part of his neck bare. I reached up and touched the black and blue bruise on the side of it. He winced. For a moment I forgot about him slipping out of the restaurant.
    â€œWhat happened, Nick?”
    He brought his face down close to mine and kissed me again.
    â€œI don’t want to talk about that,” he murmured.
    I
wanted to talk about it. I also wanted to talk about what had just happened. But if I pushed him, the mood would be ruined. I told myself it could wait. We had all weekend.
    We snuggled for a few more minutes. Finally Nick said, “So, did you decide what you want to do?”
    â€œHow about a movie?” I said. “My treat.” I was tired. It would be nice to be able to sit down for a few hours and maybe rest my head on Nick’s shoulder. “We can get a paper and see what’s playing.”
    â€œSounds good,” he said. We were holding hands again when we stepped back out onto the street.“There’s a box of those free weeklies over there,” Nick said, nodding toward the main intersection. When we reached the corner, he said, “You get check the listings. Pick something you want to see. I’ll meet you back here in a couple of minutes.”
    â€œWhere are you going?”
    â€œI have to do something. I’ll be right back. I promise.” The walk sign had switched to an orange hand. Nick jogged into the intersection before I could say another word.
    I started to follow him but the light turned red. I stood on the edge of the sidewalk and watched him. When he reached the other side, he stopped in front of the first store on the block. A man was standing outside, smoking a cigarette. He threw it down and crushed it under his heel when Nick pushed the door open. The man followed Nick inside.
    I watched them through the store’s plate-glass window. Nick was standing at the front of the store, picking things up and putting them back down again. The other man circled around behind the counter.
He must be the owner
, I thought,
or maybe a store clerk
.
    Nick disappeared from sight for a moment. When he came back, he put something on