Page 34 of The Proximity Factor

Both men stood.

Daniel shook Parker’s hand. “It was good to see you again. We’ll have to get together to play some D&D.”

“That’d be great, man,” Parker replied.

Daniel turned toward Valeria, beaming like a kid in a toy store. “Did you know he’s a professional Dungeon Master?”

Val’s brow scrunched. “I didn’t even know that was a thing. And I don’t think I want to.”

“Me neither,” I pretended. I wanted Parker to know I had kept his secret.

Parker’s eyes met mine with gratitude and also some consternation. The consternation I didn’t understand. I thought he would be happy I hadn’t told anyone about his unusual talent. It surprised me to learn he’d told Daniel. But maybe since Daniel was apparently a big fan of the game, he felt comfortable doing so.

Daniel laughed and reached for Val. “See you both later. Tonight was a blast. That Ransom Notes game was awesome.”

It really was a fun game, and Parker and I made a great team. Guess who won? We did.

Parker and I walked Val and Daniel to the door, where we said our last goodbyes. It was a very couple-ish thing to do—almost a surreal moment as we waved together and then shut the door. Parker made sure to turn on the alarm. I appreciated how much my safety meant to him. Then we both stood, not making eye contact, like we weren’t sure what to do or say.

I tugged on my ponytail. “That was a lot of fun,” I said super breathily.

“Yeah.” Parker shoved his hands in his pockets. “Do you need help cleaning up in the kitchen? I should have helped earlier.”

“It’s totally okay. I’m glad you had fun talking to Daniel.”

“He’s a good guy.”

“He is.”

Parker’s eyes unexpectedly held mine. “Thank you for keeping my secret.”

“Of course. I promised your secrets would be safe with me, and I meant it.”

He dropped his head. “That’s what I’m afraid of.”

“Why?”

Cue the awkward, empty silence. And the tension. You know the kind of tension that lingers at the end of a date when you’re not sure if you should show any sort of physical affection? Yeah, that lingered in the air something thick, as did the unanswered question that was making Parker so uncomfortable.

Finally, Parker clapped his hands. “Well. I should probably go do my video diary.”

“Oh, yeah. Me too.” I’d forgotten all about it.

“Good night.” Parker dashed off like his life depended on it.

“Good night,” I called after him, kind of wishing for some of the physical affection that had never happened. And probably should never happen.

I walked back to my room, bewildered by the door scene. Although maybe I shouldn’t have been. Given Parker’s experience with his ex-wife, I’m sure he had trust issues. But it seemed to run deeper than that. Something was happening between us. I wasn’t sure what or how to feel about it, but I felt something.

I debated knocking on Parker’s door before I walked into my room. The urge to talk to him and figure this out was bubbling up inside of me. But I didn’t want to interrupt his video diary. Instead, I grabbed my laptop and plopped on my bed, afraid of what the researchers would ask and what confessions I would have to make. I had it in writing the research team would keep the video diaries confidential, but I couldn’t help but wonder what they must think. And what did Parker have to say about me? Maybe someday we could talk about it. Or maybe in seven weeks we would never see each other again. That thought caused me some angst.

Feeling uneasy, I logged into the portal and got comfy on my bed.

“Let’s do this,” I said out loud before clicking record.

“Question one: Did you and Parker spend more or less time together this week than the previous week? And how much time, whether more or less? Please note the reason for the change. More time.” My cheeks blushed and I smiled, like I was thinking of a new love interest and not Parker. I thought about every time we were together during the week. I wasn’t exactly sure I could describe what had changed or why we were spending more time together, other than it had begun with me coercing him into meeting Mama. After that, we’d just fallen into a pattern of hanging out. Okay, I still had to coax him out of his room, but I was able to easily persuade him, even if I was watching Gilmore Girls.

“I’m not really sure I know why, but maybe it’s because we’re getting to know each other better and we like each other. As far as how much time together, it was a lot.” Hopefully that was an acceptable answer.

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