Page 13 of His Every Move

I slowly walked toward the next platform. I froze and quickly pivoted behind a column when I spotted that pink cap Eli had been wearing. I leaned forward and stole a couple of glances in his direction.

He sat on the bench, up against the white tiled wall. He rested his forearms on his legs and focused on what appeared to be a social media feed. He double-tapped something, scrolled to the next, double-tapped that, scrolled to the next. No one around him appeared suspicious. There was someone wearing scrubs next to three businessmen chatting with each other.

He was safe, good.

He was also close, better.

His head twitched as he moved to look up, the hiss of air from an approaching train filling the station. I jerked behind the column.

There. My curiosity was quenched. My protective instinct satiated. I could go home now.

…

It wouldn’t hurt for me to keep an eye on him until he got home.

The train screeched to a halt. The doors slid open, passengers flowing out before anyone stepped in. For being close to nine o’clock at night, the trains were surprisingly packed.

I stepped toward the wall, positioning myself behind Eli, still far enough that I had a chance of blending in with the crowd if he looked over his shoulder.

Would he fire me if he figured out I was following him? Would he even give me a chance to explain?

I watched Eli go into the train. I decided to get into the one behind his. It would give me a little more cover. I started toward it when I heard someone shout my name.

I froze, thinking I’d been caught.

“Benji, hey, man!” I turned to see Jace Holloway, another detective at Stonewall and one of my good friends, walking toward me. His boyfriend, Theo, was by his side. The tattooed and broody guy had really brought out Jace’s good side. I noticed he smiled much more often now that they were together. It was nice to see. I could tell Theo was a good influence on him, and that made me happy. I wasn’t a social butterfly by any means, and any of the friends I had made in college were all spread out across the globe. So I was grateful when I bonded with Jace during a joint stakeout early during my time at Stonewall.

I glanced at the train. The doors were about to close.

“Where you headed?” Jace asked.

“Me? Home. It’s been a long day.”

“Ah, I was going to say you’re more than welcome to come get drinks with Theo and me. We’re heading to the Jade Room.”

“That sounds tempting, but so does a hot shower and a bed.”

Jace laughed at that. Theo looked over his shoulder. “Shit, you’re going to miss the train.”

I waved it off. I was a big believer in signs, and this felt like a billboard-sized one. “I’ll catch the next one,” I said.

“Damn, sorry,” Jace replied. He rubbed the back of his neck.

“Don’t worry about it.” I pulled out my headphones from the pocket of my jeans. “I’ve got a new audiobook I’ve been meaning to listen to. Gives me more time.”

“Alright, well, if you change your mind, you know where we’ll be.”

“Thanks, Jace.”

Jace clapped a hand on my shoulder and smiled. I said bye to the guys and moved closer to the tracks, popping in my headphones and trying to zone out but finding myself thinking back to those bright blue eyes.

* * *

I lived in a tiny one-bedroom apartment in Lower Manhattan. The “bedroom” was more like a walk-in closet, but I didn’t mind. It was an affordable place in the heart of the city, so I could compromise on the size. On the days I started to feel myself getting stir-crazy, I’d just walk down the stairs, out onto the street, and find something random to do. Go to a pop-up market, pick up last-minute tickets for a Broadway show, read a book in Central Park.

Nah, size didn’t bother me at all.

My loud neighbors, though,theydid make things difficult for me.

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