I'll Show You My World

While we were talking the sun was peeking through the clouds while the rain stopped. But by the time we stopped talking it started pouring even harder.

"Come on!" I told him as I put my hood up.

"What?" he asked, looking confused. A crash of thunder sounded and he understood what I meant. He grabbed his stuff and ran with me to my shop. I quickly opened the door for him and we rushed inside.

I turned on all the lights and shrugged out of my jacket. I walked over to the front counter while Garrett just stopped and looked around.

"Welcome to England Ink," I said formally in a business-like voice. "How may I help you today?"

He looked at me and smiled with humor. "Yes, I would like a snake tattoo right around my--"

The phone rang, cutting him off. I went in the back room to go pick it up. How strange. We didn't even open yet. Who'd be calling?

"Hello?" I answered, confused.

"Is Allison there?" a too-familiar voice asked. I froze.

"Ian?" My ex-boyfriend. Oh. My. God. What the hell?!

"Oh, hey! What's up?"

"Why did you call?" I could have probably been a little nicer with my question, but right now I just didn't feel like it. "Aren't you still in Switzerland?"

"If I was in Switzerland would I be calling you right now? No, baby! I'm here in the big city!" He pronounced city ci-tay, just the way he always said par-tay instead of party. What a moron.

In a flat voice and said, "No. Why are you calling me?"

"Look, Ali, I was thinking over there in Switzerland how stupid I was--"

"You got that right."

"--to break up with you." He was very serious. "Look, I love ya, Ali. I want to get back together with you."

I paused. I looked out the door and back at Garrett, who was still looking around the place. He was rubbing his hand across a red leather sofa and looking at the paintings on the walls.

"I'll...call you back, Ian." I hung up before he could say anymore. I sighed and walked back to Garrett.

He heard my approach and turned around. "Who was that?" I didn't answer right away, but he misunderstood my silence. "Sorry. Not my business."

"No, no. It's not that...Well..." I didn't want to tell him about Ian. But somehow I felt like I had too.

"I understand," he said with all seriousness. I looked into his blue eyes and he really looked like he did understand. For a wild second I felt like he was looking through my soul with those penetrating irises. "Well, thanks for sheltering me for, what was it? Five minutes? Yeah, thanks." He smiled but it didn't really touch his eyes. "I'll see you later, Ali."

Yes. He did hear my conversation with Ian on the phone.

"Well, you know where I'll be," were his last words as he left the shop. The door slammed shut behind him.

"Shit," I muttered.