“Listen, I meant it when I said we should be friends,” she said.
I nodded. “I’d like that. I don’t have many friends around these parts.”
Her smile faltered. She set her glass on the bar and fully turned to face me. “I’d also like to apologize.”
“What for?”
“For being like the rest of the idiots in town. I should have known much sooner that those rumors were all bullshit.”
I shrugged. “Even back then, you were never hostile toward me.”
“But I never stood up for you either. I should have. And I’m not just saying this because you’re my boss now and my paycheck is in your hands.” She paused, and I chuckled. I could hear the teasing back in her voice for a second before turning serious again. “You’re a good man, Hector. It’s easy to see that now that I’m working with you. I should have tried to get to know you sooner. I know I’m being all self-righteous andshit, but I am sorry. You don’t have to forgive me, but I am.”
When I was younger, all I really wished was for people to accept me and beat the nasty rumors that surrounded my family and me. Everyone took one look at my appearance and deemed everything that was said about me true.
Now, here was someone apologizing for how they’d acted. Or in Becca’s case, how shedidn’tact. I never thought I’d get an apology for actions from the past. It wasn’t like I’d asked for it or needed it. At least that was what I thought.
Hearing Becca apologize and sounding so sincere in her participation in ostracizing me, either intentional or not, it felt like I could finally let go. There was no need to dwell on the past when I was now surrounded by people who cared for me and accepted me.
I was okay now.
“You’re forgiven,” I told her, and the stiffness seemed to leave her shoulders. “I was never smart enough to hold a grudge anyway.”
Becca smirked. “You and me both, sweetcakes. Life’s a lot more fun when you spread love, not hate,” she said with a wink. I laughed, and she bumped me on the shoulder. “You and me are gonna be good friends. The best of friends, in fact.”
I smiled over my glass of soda. Never did I imagine I’d gain my first best friend—outside of the personI was dating—at the mature age of forty-three. I guess you were never too old for firsts.
“Next time, the four of us will go out for drinks. Me and my husband, and you and Atlas…speaking of,whereis Atlas?” Becca looked toward the dance floor, and my gaze immediately followed.
I stood to try getting a better look, thinking Atlas was behind the throng of bodies that were basically all packed together.
My scar itched like crazy.
I couldn’t find him.
Sam, Ryker, Clay, and Dan were still on the dance floor, but Atlas was nowhere to be seen. I looked around the entire bar and found Jones and Ryan back at our table, chatting and watching our friends dance, but they were alone too.
Atlas was gone.
Chapter Twenty-Four
ATLAS
It’d been so long since I danced that I’d forgotten just how much fun it was to let loose with friends and move your body. But maybe because it’d been so long, and with the sudden crowd of bodies surrounding us, I was burning up.
I called over to Sam to tell him I was heading to the bathroom. He tried to follow me, but I insisted that I’d be fine by myself. Sam looked like he was really enjoying himself with Ryker, and what could happen in a busy bathroom anyway?
What should have been a busy bathroom was completely deserted when I entered. Not a single person was at the urinal, and all the stall doors were wide open, which was just as well. It meant I could piss in peace.
I whipped out my dick and aimed into the urinal. My eyes squinted in relief as my bladder emptied. Itmade the pressure inside my head lessen a bit too. I was feeling much better when washing my hands and even hummed along to the song blaring inside the bar.
It was then that I saw the piece of paper taped to the underside of the paper towel holder. It would have gone unnoticed if my brain hadn’t basically been trained to spot these random notes.
I had no doubt that the note had been placed there for me. Did that mean he was here? Had the stalker followed me here and slipped the note right before I came into the bathroom? Or was it placed here long before today?
The doors to the stalls were opened, but I double-checked each stall again just in case. They were empty. I reached for the note, feeling bolder now that I was certain I was alone in the bathroom.
It was strange how you could be conditioned to hate the sight of something, but bile rose in my throat at the sight of the cutesy font. How someone doing something so vile had handwriting that looked so innocent was beyond me.
