Page 69 of Wandering in Darkness
I nod. “Really not far. I’ll show you on my way out.”
Felix reaches for me and clasps my hands. “Stop! I’ll be a good big boy, so please… The only way to fill Lane with happiness is adventure. We’re just inquiring. Nothing more! We just want tohearabout the adventure. Just hearing about it doesn’t mean we will partake in the adventure.” This is all very blatantly a lie. I know it. Felix knows it. Lane definitely knows it. I think he’s twitching a little bit over there, he’s so excited about the prospect of getting involved.
Grayson looks at me. “Cal?”
“I can listen and not get involved.”
“I’m not sure this time you could.”
I stare at him for a long moment. “Because Devon Jefferson’s death wasn’t the end of it?”
“It sure as fuck wasn’t,” he says, voice quiet. “It was only the beginning.”
THIRTEEN
CAL - PAST
“What the fuck is that thing?” Eddie asks as he peers down the alley at two eyes staring back at him.
“I think it’s a dog… a half-dead dog,” Tate says. “Can we help it?”
“We don’t have time to deal with dogs,” Devon states, trying to usher us along.
I feel like it’s the first time I’ve stopped awkwardly trying to analyze Grayson since I hopped in a plane to come here hours ago. No… before that. My mind has been in turmoil since the kiss two nights ago, after which, he’s said not a damn thing. There wasn’t a “Sorry I kissed your face” or “I would like to kiss it again,” which I’d definitely prefer.
Instead, when I pulled up to return his car yesterday, he gave me a cheery smile, asked if I enjoyed driving his “beast” around like it was some sports car instead of a very average vehicle, and told me he’d see me bright and early tomorrow… which is now today. I have spent hours in a plane with him,some of which we were very much alone for as everyone else slept, and still nothing. Not a single word, look, wink… or even a scowl.
Maybe he doesn’t remember? Maybe he was really drunk and has no recollection of the event at all, and I’m forever destined to pine after him since I got a taste of those lips. My betrayer of a mind is on a constant replay of him pressing me into the side of his car, his lips on mine, drawing me in… and walking away.
“Hey, poor buddy,” Grayson says as he opens his bag and pulls out some beef jerky he’d been snacking on during the flight over here. He tears open the bag and dumps it on the ground while the mangiest-looking dog I’ve ever seen creeps over to us. His skin is red and crusty, with hair only growing in patches here and there. But his hairless tail still works as he devours the jerky and then looks up at us like we’ve just granted him the greatest gift one could ask for.
“I might have something,” I say while I scavenge, though I don’t have much more than some crackers, but I give them to the dog anyway.
“What the fuck are you two doing? Come on,” Devon orders, and I realize the rest of the group has left us.
When Grayson moves away, I reluctantly turn from the hopeful eyes the dog is still giving us, feeling bad that we’re leaving him behind, but I know that I don’t have the opportunity to do anything with him. We’d simply stopped here to grab some food and are now heading back to the truck to finish the operation, so hauling a dog around with us wouldn’t exactly be the easiest thing to do.
“Uh… I think… we might have created a problem,” I comment as I notice the dog following us.
“Just pretend we don’t see him and maybe Devon won’t notice,” Grayson says with a grimace. “Maybe if there’s time after the operation, we can come back for him if he’s still here.”
“And how will you get him home?” I ask, quite skeptical.
“I… don’t know yet,” he admits.
“This is called stealth,” I say as I look back at the dog trotting right behind us. I assumed he’d get bored after a block or two, but it looks like he’s in it for the long haul.
And I’m left questioning if I want to rush ahead to catch up with the others so I don’t have to awkwardly walk next to Grayson or if I want to slow down enough that we have the longest possible time together.
I glance at him and he catches my eyes.
“Did you decide anything about school?” he asks, which is not necessarily a question I’d been hoping for.
“Oh… uh… no. But I did talk to my advisor about possibly looking into other programs and majors.”
“Good. You need to do what you enjoy.”
“I will.”
