I snorted into my coffee, sending some of the hot liquid spraying across the counter. Uncle Drew glared at us before handing me the roll of paper towels to clean up my mess. “Maybe next time, don’t let your friends talk you into getting so sloppy?”
Chase’s shoulders dropped as he set his fork down on his plate. His facial expression morphed into one of sadness as he stared at his food for a second. Before I could question his sudden shift in mood, he picked back up his fork and started eating again. He seemed less tense now, like he wouldn’t bite my head off if I teasedhim.
Uncle Drew left us to eat our breakfast in silence as I kept stealing small glances at Chase, who seemed focused on finishing his meal. Max trotted around the kitchen, occasionally coming alongside us to sniff and beg for a bite. I broke off a piece of bacon and gave it to him, wondering if Uncle Drew was okay with me giving him table scraps. Max wandered off, happily chomping away at his treat as we finished eating.
When Chase finally got up and took his plate to the sink to rinse it, I followed suit. “Do you want me to give you a ride home, and we can go out to the house together?”
Chase winced at the question before shaking his head. “Nah, that’s okay. I’ll walk home.”
There it was with the walking again. His parent’s house was at least a thirty-minute walk from my uncle’s. It was irresponsible to let him walk home, even when he was only hungover.
“You sure? I’d feel awful if something—”
“I said I was fine.” He didn’t let me finish as he chugged back the rest of his coffee and rinsed his cup. He loaded it into the dishwasher before walking back to the living room. I followed close behind because this was completely different from the Chase that was warming up to me again last night.
Max circled his legs as he made his way to the front door, sniffing at him to grab his attention. Chase stopped momentarily to scratch him behind the ears before he turned and gave me anapologetic look. “I’ll meet you at the house. Give me an hour or two. I want to shower and stuff before.”
I nodded as he disappeared out the front door. Max let out a bark as it shut behind him. Uncle Drew made his way back into the living room, startling me when he placed a hand on my shoulder.
“What’s going on between you and that boy now?”
I went into the kitchen to finish the dishes with a shrug. Uncle Drew was hot on my heels the entire way. “I don’t really know. He’s sending me so many mixed messages.”
My uncle nodded before he fixed himself another cup of coffee. “The last few years haven’t been kind to that kid. He could use some better friends than the ones that hang around here.”
My hands paused as I was stacking plates in the dishwasher, and I turned to stare at Uncle Drew. What exactly did he mean that the last few years hadn’t been kind? Was that what Chase was hiding from me?
Chapter 10
Chase
The incessant meowing that greeted me the second I opened the door to the camper made me feel even worse. “I’m sorry, pretty girl.” I leaned down to pick up Oreo and scratched her under the chin as I carried her over to her food dishes. Leaving her alone all night wasn’t something I did often, and she made me feel guilty about it every time.
My head still throbbed as I set her down on the floor and opened the cupboard to pull out a can of wet cat food. She purred and rubbed up against my legs, letting out little mews as I dumped the contents of the can into her dish and set it next to her. You’d think she hadn’t eaten in ages with the way she attacked the bowl. My princess deserved a little extra spoiling today.
When Art and Daniel had pulled me aside for shots, I shouldn’t have indulged, but I’d been feeling extra vulnerable after being outside with Nathan. It didn’t help that he sat there and watched us get stupid. Daniel wasn’t a bad guy; he got dragged down with Art, just like I did a lot of the time. If there was anyone I’d like to see get out of here, it was him.
With Oreo taken care of, I tore off my t-shirt from the night before, wincing at the smell that came from it. It would probably be a good idea to take a shower, even if I was going to get sweaty and dirty at work. At least it was only one property today. I opened the sliding door to my bathroom and frowned. I missed having an actual bathroom, not this tiny closet in the camper. Sometimes I used the showers by the beach when I was feeling a little more claustrophobic, but I didn’t have the time to make it down there today.
The other downside to the space being so small was that I didn’t get to take long showers. My water heater was tiny, and I had a max of five to ten minutes to get and get clean before it ran out. I took the fastest shower I could before climbing out and wrapping myself in a towel. The throb in my head had lessened by then, thanks to the meds Nathan had given me, the greasy breakfast, and the caffeine from the coffee.
I pulled my phone from my pocket and plugged it into the charger, then groaned when it lit up with messages as soon as it powered on. I had a feeling that my so-called friends would want to know about the guy I dragged along with me last night, but I wasn’t ready to tell them who Nathan was. What do you call someone you only hook up with during the summer? Fuck buddies?
Once upon a time, I thought we were so much more, and that small glimmer of hope kept trying to re-spark that we could getback there, but I needed to keep squashing it. I couldn’t let him hurt me like that again.
Ignoring the messages would have been easy, but instead, I went with the simplest response. I pulled up the group chat with Art, Daniel, and Tilly, who hadn’t made it to the party last night.
Me: Drew hired him to help me for the summer. Thought it would make the workload easier.
Art: He said load…
Tilly: Grow up, Art.
Art: I am grown up.
I blew out a breath as my phone kept pinging with messages. When they got like that, it was best to ignore them. I threw the device on my mattress to let it charge some more while I pulled out some clothes to wear for the day.
The stupid thing was that I found myself caring what Nathan thought about how I looked. By the time I pulled out the sixth t-shirt and decided that it was too old and ratty, I knew I had a problem. I was going to work, not out to make this guy want me. And if last night was anything to go by, I already knew he still wanted me.
