“Thanks. I’ll give it some thought.”
The possibilities had felt endless then. Now they’d all but evaporated.
Park was on the verge of beating another level in the puzzle game when his phone buzzed and a call came in. Jackson. Probably calling to tell him they’d made a bigmistake when they’d had sex the night before. He held his breath for a moment, mentally preparing himself for whatever was about to happen.
Park answered. “Hi.”
“Hey. I meant to call earlier, but I’ve been busy all day.”
“It’s all right.” Hearing Jackson’s voice made Park instantly feel less lonely. But he reminded himself that Jackson was not his boyfriend, and he couldn’t rely onthis.
“I just spent twenty minutes on the phone with Dan and then with Martha. You’re leaving the hotel tomorrow morning at nine with Dee and Dum running interference. We’re going to the Twentieth Precinct because Gavin needs to show you some pictures and ask you some questions. Before you even protest, I’ve cleared it with everyone, and we agree it’s better for you to be seen leaving thehotel than it is for the police to be seen coming in.”
“Whatever you say. If you’ve cleared it with everyone, I’ll do it.”
“Okay, good. I’ll come to the hotel first and go with you to the precinct. Sound good?”
“That’s great, Jack.”
“I should be sending Reed instead.”
Park stifled a sigh. Jackson was right, but he didn’t want Reed sitting next to him in the police precinct.Reed was probably a great lawyer, but Park didn’t know him. “I don’t want Reed to go with me.”
“I figured as much. But just so you know, I plan to go with you tomorrow because I know you’ll be more comfortable with me than with Reed, but I’ve already passed all my notes to Reed and asked him to start taking over.”
Park knew better than to protest, but he couldn’t help but say, “I promiseI won’t tell a soul about us.”
“That’s not even close to the point.”
“So you’re backing away. When you already said you wouldn’t.”
“From this case, yes. I have to.”
“But you’ll still go with me to the precinct.”
“Yes, if that’s what you want. I’m not trying to be difficult, Park. I’m trying to do the right thing.”
There was Jackson in a nutshell. Always trying to do theright thing. Park glanced toward the window, which looked out above the rooftops of the Upper West Side. “All right.”
“Good. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Wait. Is that it? Is that all you have to say to me?”
Jackson sighed so loudly, Park could hear it as if air were whooshing through his phone. “I know we should, but I’m not quite ready to talk about what happened last night yet.”
Park’s heart sank. “Do you regret it, or—”
“I don’t regret it. I could never regret it. I’m just not sure what I want to happen next.”
The window was cracked open. There was that impossible hope again. Jackson didn’t regret what they’d done. “Okay. When all this is over, we should talk.”
“We will. But right now, I’m exhausted, and tomorrow’s going to be a long day. Sleep well, allright?”
“You, too.”
