“I heard a rumor,” I started in a low tone. “That you put a guy in the hospital. And from that phone call you got the other day, I’m leaning towards believing it. Is it true?”
Weston didn’t say a word for a few seconds. “It’s true.”
His bluntness made me let out a breath of relief. The violence of the situation made me pull away. He noticed my shift in body language and sat up.
“Listen.” Any hint of flirting had left his voice. This was a side of Weston I hadn’t seen before. He looked older in the way he held his shoulders stiffly. His jaw clenched as though he was anxious, but his hands were open as though he wanted me to reach out.
“Sometimes, I do things and it gets complicated,” he continued.
“What are things?” I pressed him. Now that the door was open, I wasn’t about to let him get away.
Weston looked around us before saying, “I can’t get into it as I’d like here. Can we go somewhere private? Somewhere you’re comfortable?”
“Are you -” I started but stopped short when I heard Yara’s chair creak under her weight.
“They’re still not here?” She looked even more frustrated.
“No.” I shook my head, trying to appear calm.
“Hey,” Weston greeted her.
Yara put on her best presidential smile and said, “Oh, hi. Sorry. You Covee’s friend?”
Weston looked at me to gauge my reaction to her use of the ‘friend’ and when I didn’t give him anything he said, “Sure, you could call us friends.”
Yara looked confused at his reply but didn’t care enough for clarification.
“I was just heading out,” Weston told her.
I gave him a look. “Alright.”
“Text me. Tell me where you want me,” he said as he got up. There was a sexual undertone to his statement. I think even Yara caught it because she cleared her throat and attempted to appear like she was now busy with something on her laptop.
“Fine,” I told him. “But it has to be tonight. Before the dinner.”
He nodded. “You’re the boss.”
Chapter 20
Since Weston offeredto meet me somewhere I was comfortable. My dorm was full of Taylor’s friends, so the only other place I could think of was Kaga’s Tea, a tea shop about fifteen minutes away from campus. The place always felt cozy with fairy lights that hung across the windows and old anime films playing on their TV. Lucky for us, it was almost always empty.
I climbed out of my rideshare about ten minutes early. I spotted Weston at a booth through the window. He scrolled through his phone with his chin in his hand. Like me, he tried to dress up a little. No sweats. He wore black jeans and a gray sweater. I smoothed out the wrinkles of my maxi skirt before walking inside.
Weston didn’t see me until I was already at the table. When he finally looked up, he moved as if he was about to stand. His reaction time was too slow. I slid into the seat across from him.
“Were you waiting long?” I asked.
Weston placed his phone face down before answering, “Not really. I figured you’d be early, so I overshot a little.”
I nodded while looking at the empty cup in front of him. Weston offered to go up to the counter to order me something, but I refused.
“Tell me about…” I tried to think of the proper wording.
“The guy in the hospital,” Weston finished for me. He ran his fingers through his hair a few times. The tables were super small whereas Weston and I were not. He’d stretched his legs out underneath, bumping against my knees. I tucked my legs to the opposite side, trying my best to limit our body contact.
“Yeah, let’s start there,” I encouraged.
“First,” Weston leaned back in his seat before saying, “Where did you hear about this?”
