forbidden { michael gray } ON TEMPORARY HOLD

t w e l v e

With a sigh, Talya popped the lid on her pen and closed the last notebook which she had filled with calculations. It had taken three days for her to sort through the chaotic books, and it was so late at night that she'd had to leave the library and go to her family's home so she could find a quiet work environment seeing as her flat was filled with noisy neighbours who all partied from 7pm to 7am. She walked into her father's office, which sat empty because him and Alexei were dealing with some 'business', wrote him a note to say he could ring her if he had any more work and walked straight out of the house without saying goodbye to her mother.

She was due to be going for a drink with Percy in no more than an hour and had to almost run home so she could get ready on time. She just managed to finish putting her hair into a bun when she heard his car horn beeping outside. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, Talya locked her door and jogged down the stairs and into the street so see him leaning against his car as he waited for her. "Alright?"

"You really shouldn't beep your horn, you know." Talya said as she kissed his cheek and got into the car. "My neighbours already think I'm troublesome."

"When I knew you, you wouldn't dare stay out a minute past your curfew. You're hardly troublesome."

Talya glanced at him, feeling almost as though she had to prove she had changed from the obedient little girl she had been when they were young. "You want a bet?"

Just as he went to reply, he got distracted by two men he saw walking down the street. Again, he beeped his horn. "Oi! Teddy! Neil!"

The two men squinted at his car before their faces both lit up in recognition. The both of them jogged over to him, grinning from ear to ear. "Alright, Perse?"

Percy leant back so they could see Talya, who waved awkwardly at them. "This is Talya Ivanov, lads. Talya, this is Teddy and Neil."

"Lovely to meet you." Talya said as she extended her hand to them. Teddy shook it gently but Neil grabbed it and kissed her knuckles which earned a snicker from the boys. Talya shook her head as she took it back; he seemed like trouble.

"Where are you two headed off to?" Teddy asked.

"For a drink. You aren't invited."

The men rolled their eyes at Percy. "Alright. We'll see you later though? We have a load to talk about."

Percy nodded solemnly before tapping the wheel as in indication he wanted to leave. "See you in The Nag's Head at 11, boys."

Once he drove off, Talya turned to him expectantly. "What are you doing tonight?"

His jaw clenched ever so slightly, as though he regretted Talya finding out about his plans. "Nothing. Forget about it."

-

Talya downed the last of her second Gin and Tonic and looked Percy in the eye. "Are you going to tell me where you're going tonight or are you going to keep being secretive."

He paused and stroked his bearded chin, as though deep in thought. "I think... I'm going to keep being secretive."

She houghed heavily. "Why? Surely you can tell me!"

Percy rolled his eyes as Talya's lips began to pout and she looked up at him from underneath her thick eyelashes, clearly trying to seduce him into telling her. "It's really nothing, it's just something to do with work."

The look in his eyes told Talya to accept his answer as the truth, even though she doubted that any normal workplace meeting would take place an hour before midnight.

"Will you drop it now?"

"If you get the next round of drinks, yes."

-