Rafe looked at the slim figure walking away from him. He followed her.
"I'm walking you home," he announced.
Nora stopped. "You don't have to do that. It's a long walk."
Rafe shrugged. "Hey, you stayed behind because of me. It's way too dark. I'm walking you home."
He couldn't believe just how dark it was. Closer to the festive season, London was like a festival of lights. Streams of car headlights all night, tourists flooding the shopping districts, LED screens on every corner and Christmas decorations lit up and hung out on almost every street. It was like having Christmas on steroids.
"Honestly, the scariest thing that can happen to me is I step on cow poo."
"Then we're definitely not taking that risk." Rafe was having none of it and walked next to her. Anyway, besides the fact that it was the right thing to do, he didn't have anywhere to be since he had cut down on his outings to the pub with his mates and wanted time to recover from the Christchurch match.
His homework these days was always done in advance thanks to Nora and frankly, she was much more intriguing company than his roommate Alex. Luke, ever since getting together with Amber hadn't left her side or her house for that matter.
"Oh wait...can I do something? It's really killing me," she said, snapping him out of his thoughts and looking at his neck.
"You better not step on my foot again."
"It's not that..." She said with a laugh. He liked the sound of her laugh, the notes were rich and smooth. He wanted to hear more of it.
He rubbed his chin self-consciously. "Okay, what is it?"
She walked up to him and gently re-adjusted his tie and smoothed down the front of his shirt. It didn't really surprise him; he was already used to her obsession with neatness and symmetry.
She had rearranged all the books in his locker, organised his pencil case and looked at his ironing work by scrutinising his shirt. He pretended not to notice the last part because she tried to be discreet about it.
"Thanks. Are you happy now? Can we go?"
With a small smile, she nodded and walked ahead.
It was weird being with her and finding a topic of conversation that didn't involve homework or school. Conversation and curiosity came naturally to him, but she was always so guarded and reluctant to talk.
And if he has to talk about another Jane Austen novel, he'll actually start wearing a bonnet.
As they walked, Nora stopped several times to adjust her bag straps. He noticed how much they dug into her slim shoulders. On a whim, Rafe reached out to check the weight of her bag. He pulled it up by the top strap as she walked in front of him.
His eyes widened. "Holy shit."
It felt like he tried to pick up an anchor. Her bag was almost bursting at the seams from too many books.
"What the heck do you have there?" he said in shock. Was she carrying this load every day?
"I'm used to it," she said with a shrug.
"Tch. Give me that," he said, pulling the bag off of her shoulders.
Nora looked at him in confusion as she stumbled back, the weight lifting from her.
"Learn to pack lighter. You don't need to lug all this shit around. Leave some in your locker. Man, you're going to break your back one day." As he barked out these instructions, he found that he was beginning to sound like her.
"Last time I left something, it got vandalised," she said pointedly.
"Put it in your locker, genius. And if I see anyone messing with your shit, I'll kick their ass."
Nora's lips curved into a smile. "Whilst I appreciate that, you have a no-fighting policy, remember?"
"Fine, I'll just tell them politely that it's rude to damage someone else's property, and if they don't listen, I'll tell on them. Fuckers."
She snickered and nodded. "Sounds good."
"Are you sure you want to carry that all the way?" Nora murmured as he slung the bag onto his shoulder. Shit. It was like a ton of bricks. "You don't have to do that."
"I don't mind."
"You live with your parents?" Rafe asked as they left the school grounds and approached the main road to town.
"No, with my grandma."
"Oh really? How come?" Rafe asked. Nora kicked a pebble forward.
"My mum took a job abroad after her divorce. It was difficult for her, so she needed a change of scenery."
"Oh...what does she do?"
"She's a marketing executive."
"So where is she now?" Rafe asked.
"In Greece, working for a luxury hotel."
"Shit, what I'd give to be in Greece right now," Rafe almost whined. Memories of endless parties in Mykonos exploded in his mind. He could still recall the taste of cold rose and the freshly caught seabass served on the grill with fresh Greek salad. "Instead, I'm stuck in this shit hole."
"You want to know a fun fact?" Nora asked.
"Always."
"There's an actual town in the UK called Shitterton."
Rafe burst out laughing. "No way! Are you shitting me?"
Nora chortled and tried to compose herself but decided to add, "I shit you not! It's in Dorset. Well, it's more of a hamlet, really."
"Thank god my dad doesn't know a town like that exists. Otherwise, he would've sent me there."
They walked side by side with grins on their faces and talked briefly about the towns they'd been to in the UK. Much to Rafe's embarrassment, even though he'd lived in the UK for fifteen years, he'd hardly been outside London except for a hunting trip to the Scottish Highlands. But he had seen most of the world. Whereas Nora could count the countries she'd been to on one hand, she'd travelled around most of the UK with her grandma. Their car trips and train rides sounded humble but so soulful.
Nora let out a sigh. "You know this town isn't so terrible. I'll show you around one day."
"Maybe you should."
"Well, if you get high grades by the end of the term, I'll give you a personal tour. Think of it as a treat."
"It's a deal," Rafe said with a wolfish grin.
Nora smirked and shook her head. "I'm making way too many deals with you."
They settled once again in comfortable silence. A couple of cows and sheep shuffled as they passed the field. The cold air surrounded them with the smell of frost, manure and woodsmoke coming from several chimneys. To his surprise, Nora brought up the topic of his parents too.
"You probably miss your mum and dad now that you're here," she said. "You didn't go back home for half term."
Rafe was silent for a moment and shrugged, "I do miss them. But I'm used to not seeing them for periods of time. I do miss my brother, though. He and I are real close."
"How old is your brother?"
"Emile is eight years older than me," he replied. Talking about him put a smile to his face Flashbacks of them growing up came in bits and pieces. Fake fights and brawls, late-night video gaming and diving into the ocean from the nose of a yacht. "It's quite a gap, but I don't feel it. He's great. Bit of a dickhead sometimes, but great. He's very clever."
"What does he do?"
"He's a lawyer."
Nora's eyes widened with interest. "Really?"
"Yeah...you like lawyers?"
"I want to be a lawyer. I'm going to study English literature and then do a conversion course to law and specialise in family law."
Rafe wanted to smack himself for being so self-centred, as always. It hadn't occurred to him once to ask where she would like to apply, which degree, and which university. All this time, it was all about him. His father had been right. He was a selfish bastard.
Rafe's mood soured a little, but at least Nora was looking enthused.
"Where does he work? Is he an associate? What is his speciality?"
"He owns the whole firm. The company is called Heim & Leighton."
It was rare that he could impress Nora with anything. She was always two steps ahead; anything he could say or do, she'd outdo him. But the look on her face told him that his brother Emile got her undivided respect and attention with that firm name alone.
"That's one of the best firms in the country," she breathed. "Why isn't his name on the firm?" Rafe shrugged. "He didn't want the name to appear. Said it brought too much attention and not the good kind. He doesn't want the company to do anything with the family business for now. Later, maybe he'll rename it. So you've heard of it, huh?"
"It's one of the firms I applied to for the summer internship."
"Really? Did you get it?"
"I did...but I had health issues so my mom thought it would be best for me to go back to Japan to spend the whole summer. Healing of sorts," she said, but he knew she tried to keep it vague.
"Oh. I'm sorry."
Nora shrugged. "No worries, I'll apply again, perhaps, this upcoming summer."
"You know, if he ever comes here, I can introduce you. Get a fast track to land that job," he said with a wink. "Not that you'd need it anyway."
"I'd love to meet him. I followed the company's work. They're sharks."
Rafe thought of his brother Emile, who was more of a water buffalo than a shark. Rafe knew that his brother would like her. Her strictness and neatness were all the things his brother admired. He briefly wondered if Emile would like her the best out of his previous girlfriends...He quickly pushed the thought out of his mind. Nora was not his girlfriend. And wasn't going to be.
"That's me," Nora said, pointing at the small, oak framed, cottage standing in the row with other small cottages lined up neatly on a small, pebbled street, not far from the local church.
It was a picturesque property, like something out of a historical movie, with climbing wisteria weaving around the face of the house. "Thanks for walking me. See you tomorrow."
"Looks nice," he commented. Smoke wafted from the chimney, and from afar, he could see inside the warmly lit living room. It just reminded him of what he had to go back to in the darkâ pretty much nothing.
"Thanks...As you can see, it was perfectly quiet and safe."
"I dunno that black cow was really behaving suspiciously."
Nora chuckled. Rafe had a mild phobia of farm animals, specifically cows and sheep, which amused Nora endlessly. He said they had creepy, beady eyes and the smell was terrible.
He let her have a laugh; she did it so rarely.
"Do you want to come in for a cup of tea?" Nora suggested.
"No, grazie, I've got to get back to my hole. Maybe next time."
"I'll see you tomorrow," she said, taking her bag from him. "Thanks for carrying this."
"See you," he said, waiting until she walked through the front door. She turned to him and gave him a little wave with a shy smile, then clutching both of her bag straps, she went in.
God, was she always this cute?