Chapter 37 - Tyler

Lucy was startled by the sudden vibration and sound of her ringtone. She picked it up and smiled when she realized it was her dad, "Hey handsome!" She greeted with a wide smile, making Tom look at her through the rearview mirror. Handsome? He mused.

"How is my princess doing?" Her father asked with a grin.

"It's barely two days and I miss you already," Lucy complained with a pout.

"We miss you too, but we are glad you're on your own now. Maybe you'd finally meet a decent young man out there and stop being such a workaholic!" Her father said, making her roll her eyes.

"Here I was thinking you were proud of me for not bringing you any trouble," She said dryly.

"Of course we are proud of you, but we also want you to get a man. By the way, I saw a picture of your bestie and Bryan Hanks. I had no idea she was going out with a celebrity," Her mother responded before her father could say anything.

"It's a recent development," Lucy said, not wanting to give her parents the details since it was Sonia's private business.

"I see. So what about you? Have you met anyone?" Her mother asked curiously.

"She barely got there two days ago, how is she supposed to meet anyone in such a short time?" Her father asked, and Lucy smiled as she pictured the frown on his face.

"Have you met your neighbors? Do you have good neighbors? What about your colleagues at the office? I hope they are nice?" Her father asked in concern, making Lucy glance at the rearview mirror to see Tom looking at her with interest.

"It is still too early to tell. But don't worry, I'm okay," she assured them.

"Alright pumpkin. We love you. Call us if you need anything, okay?" her father said.

"Sure I will. love you too."

"And make sure you get a boyfriend, I want..." Lucy giggled when she heard the disconnect tone. She was sure they were going to bicker now since her father had deliberately hung up before her mother could complete what she wanted to say.

"Boyfriend?" Tom asked curiously.

"What?" Lucy asked in confusion, and then replayed her entire conversation with her parents in her head, and realized it had sounded like she had been talking with her boyfriend. She was almost tempted to answer in the affirmative, but she knew she was a bad liar and wouldn't be able to keep up so she shook her head instead, "I'm not interested in guys. That was my father," she said, making him raise a brow.

Although Tom was relieved that the person she had just spoken with was her father, he was sidetracked by the first statement, "You prefer girls?" He asked with a slightly raised brow making her lips curve in amusement.

"No. I prefer my own company," she pointed out.

The first question that entered his mind was to ask her if she meant she preferred to masturbate, but because she was a virgin and he knew she was a good girl, that didn't seem appropriate to him, "Does that mean you are sexually attracted to men but you just don't want a relationship?" Tom asked casually.

"Why are you asking?" Lucy asked cautiously.

"Because we are friends, and I'm trying to know you," He reminded her, making her look away guiltily. If he found out she had almost cost him his job, he wouldn't refer to her as a friend, Lucy thought.

"Yeah, I'm just not interested in a relationship," she said with a sigh.

"Why not?"

"Do I need to have a reason? I'm content with being alone. I just want to be a career lady," she said with a shrug.

"That's okay then. We are here," Tom said, making her look through the window as he drove into the parking lot of a grocery shop and parked the car.

"It's past work hours now, so you don't have to wait for me. You can leave," Lucy told him.

"That means I've switched from being your driver to your friend. So you have to treat me as a friend now," Tom said with a wink, making her wonder if he truly had personality problems. How could he easily switch from one personality to another? Had he forgotten that they were friends last night before he talked to her so rudely?

"Come on Lu, let's go," Tom said with a grin as he held out his arm for her to take it, making her decide that he truly had personality problems. What did he really want from her? Or perhaps she was thinking too much about it?

nw stries at n/vel/b/i/n(.)co

Without waiting for her to make up her mind, Tom grabbed her arm and placed it in the crook of his arm before leading her towards the grocery shop, "So aside from your father and twin brother, are there any other very important male figures in your life?" Tom asked in a casual tone as he led her inside the grocery shop.

Although Lucy still wasn't comfortable with the whole thing yet, she decided to play along with him, "Sure. I have a really close childhood friend called Tyler," she said as she observed the way other ladies were looking in their direction. She wasn't one to like unnecessary attention, and Tom was really drawing a lot of attention to her.

"Can I ask you a question?" Lucy asked as they both stopped at the place they were to pick up the shopping basket or trolley they wanted.

"Shoot," Tom gave her go-ahead as he picked a trolley, and then she picked one too.

"Why did you decide to change your style?" She asked, looking him over this time since she had been avoiding staring at him since they got out of the car.

Tom thought about it for a moment, "You want to know the truth?"

"Were you supposed to lie?"

"There is this girl I'm really into. My sister thinks she might be into this sort of thing, so I'm trying to get her attention," Tom said with a grin as he started pushing the trolley. What better way to confuse her than this?

Lucy was very tempted to ask him who the girl was and if she was the girl. But she knew that would be a very presumptuous thing to do, and she didn't want to embarrass herself by thinking too highly of herself, so she simply nodded, "I see."

"So as a friend, tell me something.... Which do you prefer? My former looks, or this one?"

Chapter end