«It's already late. I think it's safer for you to take the bus home. You know, it's almost nine, and at this hour there are worse people around than during the day. As for me, don't worry. I'll wait with you at the stop until the bus arrives, then my mother will pick me up. She's the nosy type and would start bombarding me with embarrassing questions about you, thinking you're my girlfriend, inviting you to dinner, and so on. Something I'd rather avoid.»
That's the excuse I used to send Brianne off after an entire afternoon and early evening together.
After running away from that bar, we took shelter on a bench in a playground full of families with their kids, then treated ourselves to sushi for dinner.
I would have gladly stayed with her until tomorrow morning, but an irresistible urge had been gnawing at me ever since we left that shady bar—followed from a distance by the three guys who had harassed Brianne.
