Page 35 of Girl Going Nowhere

He sounds so sure.

“I’m not following where you’re going with this conversation. What is it you want to use for your advantage?”

Once he flicks the machine on, he turns on his heels with a smirk on his face. “You.”

I blink. Slowly. “Still not following.”

Brodie chuckles. “I’m not trying to hook up with you, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want the guys to know that. It’d be better if they thought we were.”

Clearly, my lack of coffee is getting to me because the big brute is making no sense. “Won’t that cause a stir? The whole point Finn put that rule into place was so we didn’t cause any drama.”

“Finn,” Brodie replies, “is hardly one to talk. He’s got secrets of his own. This place has thin walls, Blake. You should know that by now.”

“Meaning what exactly?”

He taps his head. “Meaning I know something that I don’t think you do about the resident computer nerd. And if he tries telling me I’m out of place for putting the moves on you, he’ll have to come clean himself. It’s time we were all real with ourselves around here. Too many lies are going to tear us all apart.”

What is he talking about? “If you know whatever his secret is, why not tell me? We’re too old for games, Brodie.”

He grabs two coffee mugs from the cupboard and sets them down by the brewing coffee maker. “It isn’t my place to say. It’s not only his secret, anyway. It’d impact people’s lives. You know what that’s like because of Maia.”

Fair.

“That’s why he needs a little coaxing before everything going on in this place doesn’t blow up in our faces,” he concludes.

It’s still unfair he’s keeping me in the dark. I don’t see how pretending we’re fooling around could help Finn admit whatever it is Brodie knows. Nothing could get me to crack about Maia. Her safety is everything to me. If Finn’s secret is similar, I doubt I could be the one to break him.

“In the meantime, don’t sleep with Dante or his brother again,” Brodie tells me. There’s no judgment in his tone, but it’s gruff with an unrecognizable emotion. “They’ve both got their own issues they need to sort out with family. You’re better off leaving them to it instead of inserting yourself.”

His warning leaves me frowning. “I wasn’t planning on repeating last night.” Looking around, I ask, “Where are those two, anyway?”

“They went out for breakfast.” Brodie gives me a wary look before sighing. “Look, it’s not my place, but I’m going to say it anyway. You need to be careful. Their family isn’t the best because of their dad. Both of their moms are a mess. You don’t even know the half of it. And Rafael… Well, he’s a decent dude. But it wouldn’t be good for you to involve yourself with him considering his world.”

Nothing he’s saying this morning is adding up. I’ve been warned away from guys before, but for reasons I understood. They were douches. Players. Mooches. Nothing about Rafael screams any of those things to me. Not that I know him.

Not that Iwantto, for that matter.

One night. That’s what we agreed on.

“And what is his world?” I pry.

His lips twitch. “One you’ve never approved of. Trust me.”

I don’t have time to dig into this because I need to get Maia and myself ready for the day. “Are you sure you’re not just saying this to have me all to yourself?”

That has him grinning again. “Sorry, babe. You’ll have to be patient if you want all this. It’ll be worth the wait, though.”

My eyes narrow. “Who says I want anybody?”

After pouring our coffees, he passes me mine and replies, “Don’t we all? We’re human. We crave companionship and trust and love.”

*

There’s a groupof elderly men in the waiting room circulating the flatscreen playing ESPN. I tried switching it to Animal Planet earlier, but Mr. O’Leary, the cranky old bastard who comes in every other week with a new ailment, made a fuss that got me scolded by one of the doctors.

“I ain’t got much to live for,”he told me with his usual wrinkled scowl.“Let me have the one thing I’ve always liked.”

It’s quiet here today, so my eyes keep gravitating toward the screen every chance they get. I’ve already cleaned the office, reorganized the waiting room, and helped my coworker Gretchen figure out the new scheduling system. Nothing seems to distract me from listening in on the latest MLB news that’s stirring the captive audience.

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