Page 18 of I'm Not in Love (I Promise)

I pull a young waiter to the side as I step farther into the banquet room. “Hey, you see that woman over there? Black dress, dark hair.” I point discreetly and he nods. “She has food allergies and can’t eat whatever they served.” I pull some bills out of my wallet and hand them to him, clapping him on the shoulder. “Make sure she eats something.”

“Alright, no problem, sir.” He pockets the cash with a grin and walks directly over to Blake.

Leaning against the wall, I watch her face light up as he takes away her untouched plate. Warmth fills my chest. I’m entranced by her. Plain and simple. I could stand here and watch her for hours. But I don’t, not when Ethan could wake up at any moment.I’ll see you later, Blake.

Leon’s bikeis once again in our parking space when I pull up to our duplex apartment. I’d be shocked if it wasn’t. Before I climb the stairs, I take a peek through the open blinds of Mrs. Langston’s place and see the TV on but no one watching it.

I’m about to head upstairs when she comes around the corner with a bag of trash. “Mrs. Langston, let me grab that for you,” I say, heading back to the driveway.

Her face lights up when she sees me. “Thank you, handsome.”

She’s in her frayed terrycloth robe and a pair of worn Crocs and her graying hair is twisted up in a bun. “No problem. I’ll just walk this to the can.”

“You’re home early for a Saturday night,” she says with a lilt in her voice. “I saw my favorite cutie leaving earlier. I bet he’s on a hot date.”

I chuckle. She really likes Jasper. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Langston, he’s saving himself for you.”

“Call me Dolores, sweetie. You boys are just the cutest. If Herb and I were blessed with a son, I’d want him to be just like you.” She pinches my cheek right where my dimple pops. “Make sure you remember to make time to clean the gutters soon. Snow will be here before we know it.”

“I’ll make sure. Do you need anything else tonight?”

“No, don’t worry about me. You have a fun night. Blow off some steam.”

Oh, Dolores, if you only knew.

“Okay, I will,” I say, smiling.

She heads back to her apartment downstairs while I take her trash to the can. We struck gold finding a landlady like her. She’s a widow. Quiet and mostly keeps to herself, except for when Jasper comes and goes. Clearly, she’s picked a favorite.

She owns the building and was ecstatic when we told her we’d be happy to clean the gutters and mow the lawn for her. Soecstatic in fact, she didn’t even ask for identification. She handed us the keys and we handed over three months worth of rent in cash.

Leon’s at the kitchen counter, staring at his phone. He doesn’t look up when I greet him. “Everything okay?” I ask. I toss my jacket on the couch and sit down with a groan. Adrenaline crashes fucking suck.

He types something and ignores my question.

Okay then.

I’m starting to think Leon is struggling worse with Bailey’s disappearance than Jasper. He’s barely sleeping, only eating when we force feed him. Every time I’m here, his face is buried in a screen.

Makes sense when I think about it. Leon’s been in love with Bailey for as long as we’ve known him. They’d finally just started hooking up a few weeks before she was taken. A fact that Jasper knows nothing about. There’s no way I’m saying shit either. That’s between the two of them.

“Hey.” I try to get his attention again. “You eat today?”

Nothing.

I get up and grab the phone from his hand.

“What the fuck?” he responds, finally acknowledging me. “When did you get back?”

I widen my eyes. “Like two minutes ago. Man, I say this as your best friend, you need to take care of yourself. Come on, let’s have a beer, eat some food.”

His shoulders slump. “I’m not hungry. I ate…” He grabs his phone back and checks the time. “Well, fuck me. I ate this morning. I didn’t realize it was after eight.”

“This is what I mean,” I emphasize. “Give me the phone and get your ass on the couch. I’m making dinner.” He drops his phone in my outstretched palm and rubs his temples.

“Fine, but I was just messaging with someone who might know something. I’m working on narrowing down our list of locations to stake out.”

I open the fridge and find nothing but beer and a box of leftover pizza. That’ll have to do. I throw a few slices on a paper plate and nuke them for a minute. While I wait, I open some beers and bring one to Leon.

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