“It is the reason.”
“You left me alone in France,” Andy reminded him.
“I had plans. You knew that.”
“Plans.”
“Did you get my postcard?” Leonidas asked.
“Yes,” Andy bit out, the muscles in his jaw noticeably clenched. “I got your blank postcard.”
“But you knew it was from me.”
Leonidas had agonized over the postcard. Once he’d decided to send it to Andy, he couldn’t settle on a message. Everything he wanted to say felt weak and disingenuous, and he worried Andy would take some of his declarations as a lie or an overstatement. So he’d said nothing, slapped enough postage on the card to get it across the Atlantic, then dropped it in the post before he could second-guess himself.
“Of course I did.”
Leonidas took a step closer, and Andy’s breathing audibly hitched.
“I didn’t know it meant you’d come,” Andy whispered.
“I couldn’t not come for you.” Leonidas’s throat warmed as he thought about the words he was saying.
“Don’t play dirty.”
“I like playing dirty,” Leonidas spoke softly, taking another step closer so he could be heard.
“Our time was up.” Andy cleared his throat. “Just for now, wasn’t that what you said?”
“It’s still now.”
“I can’t.” Andy pulled the beanie off his hand and held it out. He shook it until Leonidas took it from him. “I can’t do this with you.”
“I came all the way here for you,” Leonidas admitted, not hating the way the words felt on his tongue. And they were true, so true. He’d gone home to Greece, met his nephew, packed a fresh bag and hopped a flight to Colorado by way of France and Atlanta, Georgia. He’d come to America for no other reason than the man before him.
“That’s great. Really.” Andy cupped a hand around the back of his neck and looked up at Leonidas, his expression twisted and fraught with pain. “And not a day has gone by that I haven’t thought about you, but I’m trying really hard to move on from that.”
Andy pushed past him and walked away. Leonidas stood frozen to the spot, unsure of what to do. That hadn’t gone as he’d planned at all, but he also hadn’t expected to run into Andy within three minutes of his arrival.
Shaking off his stupor, Leonidas followed in the direction Andy had gone, but didn’t see him anywhere. He went back into the lobby, finding the employee and his terribly flirtatious smile, but no sign of the smile he wanted to see.
“Everything all right?” the employee asked.
“Yeah.” Leonidas made his decision, hoisting his bag up from the floor and putting it over one shoulder. “I’m going to need a room.”
“Perfect. I’m Kyle, by the way, if you need anything while you’re here. Like If you wanted a personal tour of town, or the hotel, or whatever. How long are you here for, anyway?”
“I don’t know,” he answered with a frown. “Can you leave it open-ended?”
“Leave what open?”
Leonidas blinked slowly. “My checkout date.”
“Oh!” Kyle blushed and began to tap away at the keyboard. “Right. Yeah. Of course.”
Leonidas answered all of Kyle’s questions, then collected his room key—an actual metal key on a wooden, cherry-shaped key ring. He palmed the key in his hand and asked, “Do you have a second key?”
“Of course.” Kyle pulled a matching key ring off of a rack and handed it to Leonidas.
