Across the Hall

"Jack," she said, leaning forward, "do I make you uneasy?"

He looked at her neutrally, almost coolly from his side of the table.

She smiled again, untwisting it a bit. "No, I suppose you are not easily made uneasy."

"I would say the same about you. And if you were, you'd hide it behind a laugh so no one would notice."

She leaned further still. "But you might," she said. "Your inquisitive glare seems capable of spotting almost anything."

"Glare?" he said, moving farther back in his chair. She wasn't sure whether his survey now was conscious or self-mocking.

She fidgeted.

He smiled. "Do I make you uneasy?"

***

Maeve wants something uncomplicated, easy, and she thinks she's found it in Patrick. He is the person she occasionally shares a bed with, for a time, before returning to her own life. However, things get less uncomplicated when she starts to become friends with his, including the two guys across the hall. Including Jack. Jack, who has a way of looking at her such that she feels the burn of it on her cheek even when she's in one room and he's in the other.

She wanted something uncomplicated, and then she didn't... so how long can she say they're all just friends?