Page 47 of Catch Me
“How were the guys today?” he asked from behind me.
“Luis is missing.”
“What?”
“Can’t find him.”
“Well, shit. That asshole. He’s probably drunk.”
I grunted and made my way through the hall. If that was the case, it really wasn’t on me. He was here earlier, then he was gone. I’d done what I could.
“Can you slow down?” Travis grumbled.
“I’m leaving now. You don’t have to follow me.”
“My car is next to yours, so I don’t have much choice, do I?”
“You had a choice before you came looking for me. I don’t need you to look after me. I’m not a child.”
“I know you’re not a child. You’re a bit of an asshole, though.”
I turned around, and he nearly ran into me. He wasn’t wrong, but it still made me narrow my eyes. “I’m an asshole?”
He held up his middle and index finger close together. His lightheartedness pissed me off, and I had to take a deep breath.
“Alright,” he sighed. “I should’ve let you do your thing. It’s just that you’re in a new city and when someone doesn’t answer their phone, I get worried. My bad. Won’t happen again.”
“Good.”
I pushed through the main door and made a beeline for my car. As soon as I pulled out of the lot, I started thinking about the fact that he’d shown up. Because he was worried? That was the stupidest thing I’d ever heard. Nobody drove an hour to check on someone just because they were late and didn’t answer the phone.
My stomach was doing weird shit again.
God damnit. I should get a hotel. Yeah, that was the right move. I’d been here for all of a few days, and it’d become too much.
I went straight to my room when I got back, then dropped into an armchair in the corner. Now that I was here, I couldn’t stop replaying our interaction. I was rude, but I also didn’t like that he came to find me. He was only a couple years older than me, and it felt like he was treating me like a teenager.
I hadn’t decided if I was going to apologize or not, but I chose to at least try to clear the air. We might need to set boundaries and expectations. Both of us would probably be more agreeable if we did that.
When I reached the kitchen, I saw him through the glass door. He was sitting crisscross on the deck while he drank a beer. I didn’t know if that was normal for him or if he was upset.
Cautiously, I slid open the door and stepped out. He didn’t turn around or show any sign that he’d heard me.
“Hey,” I said sheepishly.
“Hey back.”
My eyes closed as something turned in my stomach. His words didn’t sound friendly, but they were familiar.
“I didn’t mean to get angry,” I explained. “But I think it’s weird that you came looking for me.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s a long way. I didn’t answer the phone, so you drove a whole hour to check on me.”
“Actually, no.” He got to his feet and turned around, holding the bottle loosely as he met my eyes. “I got dinner with Mikey in the city. I called to see if you wanted me to bring anything back for you. Since you didn’t answer, I decided to check if you were still there.”
“That’s a lot of work just to find me.”
