Page 106 of The Other Side of Green

I nodded and pointed to the skyline. “It is a beautiful city.”

“Big.” She stared thoughtfully.

“New Orleans isn’t exactly small, Lyra.”

“Yeah, but it never really felt like we were part of it, do you know what I mean?”

Nodding, I reached for her hand and squeezed it. “The neighborhood felt small?”

She gave a nod and continued to stare out of the window. “It doesn’t feel that way here.”

We lapsed into silence for a moment. An enjoyable silence, neither of us pushing against the other’s lack of words.

“You didn’t bring your violin?”

Lyra snorted. “Jack, I don’t think Blue’s Bar is a place for a violin. In fact, Evan told me that when I first went in and asked for a job.”

“Evan changes his mind frequently.”

“Anyway, I’m just going to work the bar.” She sighed. “I’m looking forward to it actually.”

“Yeah?” We were nearly there so I slowed the car down so we could still talk. There wasn’t much traffic, not that I was bothered with pissing people off.

“Don’t you just want normal for a while, Jack?” She turned in her seat; keen gaze scrutinizing. “Like, I know we have to be secret, and I know there’s still a lot to sort out. That we’ve both got unresolved things hanging over us. But I just feel…”

She trailed off and I parked the car. “I just feel if we can ride this out… I don’t know… it will give us time to work out what we want.”

I leaned into her space, smiling against her lips. “I want you, that’s simple.”

“Yeah, but while you were here all those years you wanted something else.” For an awful moment I think she’s talking about Miriam.

“Lyra.”

“No.” She pushed a finger against my lips. “No, I mean your PhD, your teaching. It’s something you care about, isn’t it?”

I sighed and fell back against my seat. “It was just something that was mine.”

“I want you to have it.” She met my gaze, chin lifted.

“So you want us to be secret for three years while you get your degree?”

“Just until you start your PhD.”

“But, Lyra, even then I still won’t be able to publicly be with you. You’re famous now, more famous than just being the Collins kid. All eyes are on you waiting to see if the fuss that was made was worth it.”

Scrubbing a hand through my hair, I glared out of the window. “And you keep playing like you did in your dorm tonight, that fame is going to follow you all over the world. London, wherever.”

She shook her head. “And I know you should be here. You’re good at this, Jack.”

“There are other colleges, Lyra.”

“But you’ve got your teaching credit here.”

“So?”

“And this is the best music college around.”

I shrugged. “You’re putting too much weight on a dream that I once had. I was fighting for a path that was my own, so I forged one.”