Page 39 of Catch Me
He smiled and looked down at the counter. “Yeah, there are those times. Better to burn dinner than punch people in the face.”
“Have you done that?”
“I have.”
While he made two plates, I looked out the window and thought about his exercises. “Does yoga help?”
He set the food down and sat beside me. “It helps calm me down, and I can refocus myself, but that’s just in the moment. Not reacting when I’m angry is a conscious effort every time, and sometimes, it’s too quick for me to catch. Then, it’s just about reining myself in before I take things too far.”
As I mulled over his words, I started eating. The food was damn good, and I couldn’t even say I was surprised. Travis lived alone with his dog and didn’t seem to do much aside from run and play with her. He probably spent a lot of time learning to cook.
I’d never been very far from a city. My stepdad’s house was only an hour from Seattle, and Atlanta was about thirty miles away from here, so it wasn’t much different. There was a certain peace that existed here, which was probably why Travis chose it.
“Do you get angry?” he asked suddenly.
The question made me fist one of my hands. “Everyone gets angry.”
“Sure. What sort of things set you off?”
“Stupid questions.”
I stood and brought my plate to the sink. After rinsing it and putting it in the dishwasher, I headed toward the hall.
“I thought you were going to be agreeable,” he called.
“I am. Just tired.”
Thankfully, he didn’t say anything else. Once I shut the door, I dropped onto the bed and buried my face in the pillow.
What kind of a question was that? Did I get angry? Yeah, I got fucking angry. I felt angry right now.
Why did I feel angry? Why did Ialwaysfeel angry?
Chapter 13
Travis
Laughter drew my attention to the field where Roman was working with Mikey. It was good that they were getting along well. I’d been worried that he was going to be a ball of hellfire with everyone, which would’ve made this whole thing a nightmare.
It was kind of funny that I was the only one he acted pissy with. Most people found me easy to talk to and thought I had good energy.
I caught the ball Vince sent my way, then threw it back. He nodded toward Mikey and Roman.
“Where’d you find the guy?”
“He’s one of my friends’ stepbrother.”
“Pete showed me some of his work. He’s good.”
“Amazing,” I corrected. “He knows it, but he’s also humble. Sometimes.”
“Are you guys . . .”
I frowned at him. “You don’t have to ask that about every guy I know.”
“How am I supposed to get information, then?”
“Take what I give you.”
