couldnât. She needed a friendly face. Jonahâs was definitely friendly.
She smiled. Look at that. Iâm getting a beer, and I didnât have to do any phony flirting.
âThought you had a date.â
She lifted a shoulder. âDidnât work out.â
He scanned her face, starting at her eyes, glancing down to her lips, and back up. His gaze held there, searching.
âWhat?â She barely kept the nervousness from her voice. When he looked at her like that, she felt like he was reaching all the way to her soul.
âHow are you?â
âFine.â
He reached out and laid a hand on her arm. âNo, how are you really doing? I know this week is hard for you.â
Whoa. She hadnât expected that. She raised her bottle. âToday is the third anniversary of Sylvieâs death.â She slugged back the last bit of beer. âIâm doing better than she is.â
Sylvie had been her roommate freshman year. After she broke up with her boyfriend, he posted revenge porn. Sylvie couldnât handle the repercussions, especially since she came from a small town and a religious family, so she committed suicide. When Charlie wanted to clear her name and erase the pics, it had been Jonah who taught her about hacking.
Jonah shook his head. âHowâs school?â
Charlie plucked at the label on the bottle. The alcohol was hitting her and she enjoyed the slight buzz. She debated whether she should be honest, and really what did it matter? Jonah already knew all the rest of her secrets. But then heâd look at her like a loser. Someone who didnât finish what sheâd started. Heâd know heâd been right to leave her, and she couldnât stomach that disappointment now, so she lied.
âFine.â
She moved back in her chair. Jonah sitting close was doing uncomfortable things to her. The waitress came and set the bottles on the table. Jonah signed the purchase to his room. 614. Two floors above hers.
âThatâs good. Any ideas about what you plan to do after graduation?â
âNot really.â Thatâs why she needed the hackfest. Showing her skills to the right people might lead somewhere.
âYou should send your résumé to my company. Weâre looking to expand.â He drank from his bottle and then asked, âSo what have you been doing? Besides playing barista.â
She squinted at him because she was pretty sure she hadnât mentioned her job.
âRelax. Iâm not stalking you. Youâre wearing your apron in your Facebook photo.â
She hated that picture. âSo youâre not really stalking, just online stalking? Yet youâre here, at my table in the bar.â
âI came to the bar to get a drink. You told me you had a date. And as far as online stalking goes, are you really going to tell me that you donât check on your exes from time to time?â
Charlie knew it was more than a vague question. He was trying to open the door on their relationship. She saw it for what it was. In truth, she didnât seek out information about other exes. Just him. He would always be the one who got away. âSometimes.â
She took the beer he bought her and drank. This whole situation should be awkward, but it wasnât. She was having a beer with her ex-boyfriend and neither one of them acted like it was weird. Jonah always put her at ease. âSo whatâs it like being out in the real world?â
âIâm working at Enigma, but I guess you know that since I told you my company was sponsoring the hackfest. I got the job right after graduation and I really like it. Itâs a small company, but weâre growing.â He halted there, like he had to rethink what he was about to say. âIâm on a team that checks security for some of our games. Most of the games are RPGs. Youâd probably like them. Role-playing was always your thing.â
âYeah, what do