Hell, he didn’t even need himself.
Chapter 6:
“Oops, sorry about that,” Castle gave him a lopsided grin as his arm brushed up against Bay’s chest when he reached for the salt.
For the fourth time.
The fact he’d actually said the word “oops” out loud also made Bay want to roll his eyes and book it, but he settled on adjusting his glasses and sending a responding stern look in his coworker’s direction.
Not that it would make a difference. Either Castle was daft or ignoring all of the obvious signs Bay had been sending him for months that he wasn’t interested.
“I didn’t order this.” Castle furrowed his brow at the waiter who was placing a neon blue drink in front of his spot at the table.
“Someone ordered it for you, sir,” the waiter explained.
Castle grinned and let out an excited whooping sound before downing have the drink in one go.
If Bay had a say, he would have skipped out on the annual back to school university staff dinner. It was happening a little late this year, with them already over a month into the semester, but it sadly wasn’t something any of the professors at Vail were able to get out of. Even the head of the school, Oh North, was seated on the other side of the large private party room the university had reserved for them.
Star and Moon was a popular restaurant at the heart of the capital city, a bustling and popular location that boasted the best of the best when it came to alcoholic options and authentic Vitality foods.
If only Castle hadn’t chosen to sit next to him, then maybe he would have been able to enjoy some of it. Although, probably not. It’d been a while since food, even his favorites, had done anything for Bay. Everything may as well be sawdust in his mouth.
All forty of the professors of the school were in attendance, with four long tables in use between them all. Bay had ended up at the one closest to the door by design, hopeful he could make an appearance, eat, and run. After the first “accidental” bump from Castle, which had resulted in the other man breathing his beer-tainted breath down Bay’s neck to “apologize”, the food had unfortunately become even more unappealing.
Across from him, Dieter Pax, one of the three science teachers, caught his eye and gave him a supportive smile. Though the two of them weren’t close, Bay had spoken with her on occasion and knew from the grapevine that before Castle had set his sights on him, he’d notoriously harassed Dieter.
Bay had tried to figure out how she’d eventually shaken him, but all evidence seemed to point to the fact he’d merely grown tired of trying with her.
Bay hadn’t really psychoanalyzed the other guy, not wanting to get any closer to him than he was already forced to be. Besides, he knew better than most that some things simply couldn’t be explained or labeled. He wasn’t suicidal, but he wasn’t opposed to dying. He didn’t think about killing himself anymore, but the knowledge that he’d get to if he lost when he was racing was always on the back of his mind when he was speeding down a dark street on his bike.
He’d developed emotional detachment, that was true, but it’d also turned him into a sort of adrenaline junkie. His grandmother’s death had broken him and, even though he was aware of that fact, he didn’t care enough to try and change anything. For now, chasing the highs he could achieve was all that mattered.
In that respect, wasn’t he also a creep, same as Castle?
A number appeared on his multi-slate signaling a call then.
“Unknown caller?” Asa, the math teacher who was seated on Bay’s right, asked.
“Yes.” Bay hit ignore. “I seem to be getting more and more spam calls as the days go on.”
After his coffee with Nate, he’d waited until he’d returned to his car before checking the chat with the stranger who’d contacted him. They hadn’t sent anything else after their last message, and Bay hadn’t been able to tell if they were waiting for his reply or not. So he’d opted not to send anything at all and delete the whole feed. Were they calling now because he’d ignored them?
“Tell me about it,” Asa agreed. “I made the mistake of dropping my info in a lottery draw at Spark Gallery at the beginning of the summer and now I get spam email daily.”
“You too?” Dieter made a face. “It’s got to be illegal for them to share our info like that, don’t you think?”
“Are you interested in art, Bay?” Castle’s words slurred when he spoke and his cheeks were starting to turn a bright red. Before Bay could respond, he planted a meaty palm over one of Bay’s thighs under the table. “I’ve got a lot of pieces back at my apartment I’d love to show you.”
“No, thank you.” Bay removed his hand, pulling away when Castle made a grab for his wrist. He ended up bumping into Asa in the process. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.” Asa was glaring around him at Castle, no doubt having witnessed the whole exchange. Under his breath he whispered, “Someone needs to report that asshole.”
“Come on.” Castle tossed an arm around Bay’s shoulders. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
Bay’s multi-slate went off a second time, the same number as a moment ago and, without thinking he sprung up from his seat. “I have to take this.”
He exited the room, removing the earbud from the side of the device so he could answer the call as he did. “Hello?”
