I lifted a brow.
“Soon.” Zeek responded, a way to dismiss the blonde without appearing rude.
“Do you two need anything else?” she asked as her eyes landed on the table where our hands were still clasped together. A small sense of relief washed over me when Zeek didn’t make any move to distance himself from me, despite her look of confusion.
“Nope. We’re all good. Thanks.”
“Oh, okay.” With that, she turned. But not before glancing behind her with a questioning look.
“This okay?” I questioned, squeezing Zeek’s hand.
“Of course, Jude.” He gave me a small smile, his hand remaining clutched in mine.
“So, I have something I want to tell you.” Nerves began to settle in the pit of my stomach.
“Come over here,” he coaxed, releasing my hand to pat the space beside him.
Questioning why I was the one that needed to move was right on the tip of my tongue. However, instead of doing just that, I scooted around the booth until I was sitting right next to him.
The instant our thighs touched, his arm came up and wrapped across my shoulders. “What’s on your mind, Kid?”
I let out a half groan, half whine at the name, which only caused him to chuckle. After a moment, I spoke the words fearfully. “I’m leaving.”
In reality, it wasn’t the words themselves that I feared, but his reaction to them. Especially after everything we’d just gone through together.What if he doesn’t like the idea? Even worse, what if he can’t cope with my sudden absence?A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of something bad happening to him while I was away.
“What?” His entire body froze, his hand that was resting on my shoulder, flexing slightly.
“I mean, I’ll be back,” I quickly backtracked, his body relaxing slightly. “Eli has to go out of state for a few weeks for a job thing and he offered to take me along. I accepted.”
“Okay––” The word was spoken slowly, thoughtfully. “I thought the two of you weren't….”
“We aren’t,” I quickly assured him. “We’re just friends. I just think getting away from here for a couple of weeks might do me some good. As you can imagine, my mind and emotions have been all over the place since I discovered you were so close. And….”
“You need space.” He nodded. “I get it.”
Unfortunately, he didn’t understand. I could hear it in his voice.
“We can still call and text one another. Whichever you prefer.” I shrugged. “I’ve always wanted to travel. And after such a long week, I think it’d be good for both of us to take some time and sort through our thoughts.”
“I see,” his voice was monotone, as if he were struggling to keep his emotions contained.
“I’m leaving tomorrow afternoon; I’ll be gone for two or three weeks.” I grabbed his hand and gave it a firm squeeze. “I promise, I’ll be back.”
His body stiffened. “‘Kay.”
“Zeek?”
“I’m fine.” Releasing his hold on me, he grabbed his water and took a huge gulp before setting it back down. “I–I think I’m gonna head home.”
“Wait.” I clutched his arm that had just been wrapped around my midsection. “Please, don’t be mad at me.”
“I’m not.”
I gave him a knowing look, which caused his shoulders to deflate.
“I’m not mad at you, okay? I just…I wasn’t expecting that. As you might imagine, I’m not exactly good with things in my life being up-ended.” Zeek sighed. “I didn’t mean to seem upset. And I promise, I’ll be fine.”
“I will be back,” I stated more firmly in hopes that he understood how true those words were.
