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Since when had I noticed eyes? Men rarely waxed lyrical about physical attributes unless it was a dick, but Frankie’s eyes deserved my admiration.
I glanced over a couple of times before he finally noticed. “Have I got something on my face? You keep looking over.”
“No, it’s just… you look different tonight. I don’t know. More alive.”
“Being out of that fucking house will do that to you. Do you know how long it’s been since I went out? Weeks, that’s how long. Mum and Brian have always got something going on and need me to watch Logan.”
“So, how’d you manage it tonight?”
“Told ‘em I was going to Gran’s. What they gonna do? Chain me up? I bet my phone’s been blowing up, but I’ll be twenty-one in a couple of months. I’ve got a life.”
“That you do.” A lock of hair slipped over his eye. My fingers twitched, eager to tuck it behind his ear, but he’d done nothing to suggest he’d be interested in me.
I kept my hands to myself, but the urge remained. When I first met him, he looked slightly younger than his twenty years, but tonight, he looked more his age, maybe even older.
“Look, I came straight from work, and I haven’t eaten. Do you fancy getting a burger?” I asked, willing him to say yes.
He hesitated, biting his lip. “I don’t know.”
“My treat,” I added, not wanting him to think he had to pay.
“Yeah, I could eat. Gran had no food in the house, so I’m starving.”
I slapped my thighs and stood. “Right then, let’s go grab some food.”
Warmth still lingered in the air even at this time of night. Dog walkers passed us by, preferring to walk their dogs now rather than in the heat of the day. I can’t say I blamed them.
“How’s Logan getting on? Staying off his ankle, I hope.”
“I wish. He’s a tornado. Chaotic and wild. I’m surprised he’s not broken anything before now.”
His chart had shown a couple of visits, but nothing untoward. Typical injuries associated with a seven-year-old.
“Is your mum looking after him, or are you?”
“Who do you think? Brian is all about the money, and if she doesn’t work, she doesn’t get paid. He needs money for his booze and ciggies. As for her, if she doesn’t get at least four nights of bingo in a week, she gets properly annoyed.”
Seemed like they all suffered from addiction of some sort: alcohol and cigarette dependency, gambling. Frankie had a lot to put up with.
“Then you deserve a night out. The night is young. Let’s see what else we can get up to.”
CHAPTER FOUR
FRANKIE
Mac was different tonight. The tension I’d seen in him last time had ebbed away, leaving him much more relaxed, but a few beers would do that to a person.
I liked this easy-going Mac, not at all like his bedside manner. He’d done his best to put Logan at ease, and he was gentler than some we’d met before, but this Mac, I liked.
A lot.
Could I tell him that without looking stupid? Did he think I was a kid because I was only twenty? More than old enough. Why was it okay for girls to have an older boyfriend at eighteen, but for a guy, it was a completely different thing?
“How old are you?” I asked as we walked towards the only fast-food restaurant open this late.
“I’m twenty-five. Twenty-six in a couple of weeks. Why do you ask?”
“No reason.” He was only five years older than me. Not that much difference at all.
