I turned away from his piercing gaze and looked back at the TV. He made some idle comment about something that was happening on TV, but I suspected, like me, he was disturbed by the moment.
We remained quiet throughout the rest of our meal and finished the show before he left to head to the kitchen. I texted Thomasina to let her know that I was safe.
ME:
Hey, girl. I’m in a safe place, and I’m about to settle in for the night.
TOMMI:
I would ask where, but I don’t want to know. I strongly suggest you don’t tell anyone your whereabouts, including your parents.
ME:
You think my parents are coming after me? LOL!
TOMMI:
No, but you don’t know who is, and you don’t know who could be watching them.
ME:
You’re scaring me.
TOMMI:
Don’t be. You’re somewhere hiding out with big dog. Something tells me it doesn’t get any safer than that.
ME:
Try two big dogs.
TOMMI:
Huh?
ME:
Just him and his big ass Cane Corso. The dog looks just like him. LOL!
TOMMI:
Y’all have fun with that. I’m out.
“Here you go,” he stated, setting a tray down on the table and passing me a root beer float. The tray held several types of cookies, and I thought I was in heaven. Chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, peanut butter, sugar, and cranberry with white chocolate chips.
Laughing, I stated, “I haven’t had a float since I was a teenager.”
“I have them all the time.”
“You have a nice place up here. I can’t blame you for coming up here as often as you do.” I pulled my feet up on the couch with me.
“Like I said, this is where I come to regroup when life becomes too much, or I’ve lost an especially hard game.”
“Like tonight?”
“Yeah. It was a hard one. We weren’t in sync, and I can’t blame it on anyone else but me.”
“I saw the game. It wasn’t just you. Neal wasn’t playing defense like he should have, and Angelo’s shooting was off tonight. He didn’t score any points at all.”
