Page 18 of Close Quarters

Leon’s brow rose, glancing around before shaking his head. “It’s a buddy system.”

“A…are we in preschool?” Reno asked in a mix of confusion and annoyance.

Leon shrugged. “I’ll point out you already agreed. Then I’ll say that despite having lived with three others, you’ve made next to no connection. Maybe something a little lower-key, more intimate, will make it easier. It’s less of an audience to worry about.”

“I-I guess,” Reno said, and it was the first time I’d seen him visibly uncomfortable. “Maybe?”

“There is no maybe. You and your buddy will be expected to be around each other constantly. Unlike your cabin mates, you two will always be working together, eating together, sleeping in the same cabin, and in your free time, you’re around each other.”

“This still reeks of forced friendship,” Reno retorted, wrinkling his nose. “Do I get to pick my buddy?”

I was barely able to stop myself from laughing at his increasing desperation. I almost felt bad for him. I knew what it was like to agree to something to avoid serious punishment, only to realize the alternative might actually be worse. But after what he’d pulled today, I wasn’t feeling all that charitable and didn’t think anyone would blame me for taking some amusement from it.

“No,” Leon said almost immediately. “This arrangement is my idea, which means I’m steering the ship. You’ll buddy with who I say.”

“Great,” Reno said, hanging his head. “Amazing. Fine. Who?”

At that, Mona gave a soft chuckle, and I felt a chill down my back. Leon cocked his head and glanced at me and then back to Reno. Which didn’t answer the question but still left me feeling uncomfortable as Reno’s eyes widened.

“What?” he gasped.

And then it hit me, and my amusement fizzled out quicker than a doused flame.

I was his buddy?

RENO

After my stunned protest, I could only sit there as Elliot recovered first and whirled on Leon. “What the fuck did I do?”

“Should I point out how you immediately tried to goad him into fighting you?” Leon asked, and I could see his nerves running thin. I’d already made his day harder with my stunt from earlier, and now he had to deal with this. More importantly, something was brewing between him and Mona, but I couldn’t put my finger on what. She was applying pressure, which was obvious by not letting anyone address her as if she were the authority. Whatever was going on, she was pushing him to handle it, but I couldn’t see why. It was perfectly within her jurisdiction to handle.

“And how is that the same as cheap shotting some guy who doesn’t deserve it?” Elliot demanded, face going red.

It took everything in me not to wince. The last thing I needed was Elliot, of all people, to realize his words were affecting me. The little fucker had been right from the minute he’d tried to start a fight with me. He continued to be on the nose, driving me crazy. The last thing I wanted was for him to figure out he was right. That would only make him rub salt in the wound.

“Trying to start a fight is also punishable,” Leon told him, quickly adding, “But this isn’t a punishment. For either of you.”

“Could have fooled me,” I muttered, deciding I was no longer hungry enough to nibble the food.

“And me!” Elliot barked, agreeing with me for the first time.

Leon leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. “This is a way for both of you to avoid the punishment that fits what you both did. So we can go that route, or you two can deal with this.”

I glanced at Elliot, who did the same to me as we looked at one another. I didn’t dare guess what was going on in that chipmunk brain of his, but it was probably firing a mile a minute. Knowing why he was like…well, the way he was wasn’t all that helpful. He was as unpredictable as he was energetic, and I couldn’t afford to waste time figuring him out.

What bothered me the most was how he managed to get right to the heart of my entire problem. A heart I hadn’t even named yet? I really had been playing the back-and-forth game, gritting my teeth in the embrace of the inevitable that I had caused to happen in the first place.

It had stung when he’d all but yelled at me, but not because he was pissed and being dickish. Not even that he was right, though there was still plenty of sting left in that tail. No, it was the fact that he genuinely believed everything he’d said, from the fact that I was being a coward to Riley not deserving what I’d done to him, and even that Leon was trying to look out for my best interests even if I’d basically thrown it away.

So here I was, being given a second chance, and I had to wonder…did I want one? Did I deserve one? And would Elliot and I be able to get through this whole thing without wanting to tear each other apart after a week or two? Because it was clear there were plenty of teeth and claws under that energetic exterior. He was no Riley. There was fire and fury in him, more than enough to butt his head against mine at the right provocation.

“And let me take that back,” Leon said before either of us answered. “This isn’t about dealing. Because this is supposed to help, it’s supposed to be a good thing.”

“Then why the hell would you pair us up?” I asked, flabbergasted. This buddy thing was supposed to support a sense of camaraderie, friendship, whatever. Elliot and I had as much chance of becoming good friends as we did of sprouting wings and learning to fly.

Leon chewed his bottom lip before letting out a sigh. “Because I’ve crunched the numbers, I’ve thought it over. And it’s the best fit that I’ve come up with.”

“Fuck me, that doesn’t say a lot about my chances,” I muttered, rubbing my face. “If it’s that bad.”

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