“You can go now.”
He didn't budge.
“I'm serious. We're done here.”
“What? I'm just enjoying a night out.”
“Go to hell, Phillip.”
I grabbed my mostly-empty beer bottle and looked at my friends. “I'm getting a refill. Anyone else?” They shook their heads, a quiet chorus of nos, and I took a few steps toward the bar when Phillip grabbed my arm and leaned in close.
“Don’t think this is over,” he hissed, so quiet only I could hear. His grip tightened, his fingers digging into my arm. I tried unsuccessfully to shake him off.
Jackson stepped in at that moment. “Hi,” he said, quiet and firm. “I'm Jackson. You need to let him go.”
“This is between us, just me and Micah,Jackson,” he muttered.
“It's about to be between just me and you,Phillip.” He put his hand on Phillip's, where it was on my bicep. “We don't want to make any trouble here.”
A tense moment passed. Finally, Phillip sighed and released me. “Later.”
With that, he and Daniel were gone, stalking out of the bar without a glance back. I exhaled in relief and shook off his touch.
A glance back at my friend group. Kieran and Asher stood, silent and wide-eyed. Jackson put a gentle hand on my shoulder.
“About that refill…”
“Thank you for that.”
He shook his head, clearing away the praise. “Don't mention it. Let's just get another drink and get back to pool.”
I rubbed my arm where Phillip had held me. It still hurt, a reminder that I wasn’t free of him, not yet. I would be, soon, though.
“Good idea,” I said, following Jackson to the bar.
Chapter 19 - Asher
Worry gnawed at me for the rest of the evening, wondering if Phillip would return to antagonize Micah some more, and wondering whether Micah was truly safe with his ex in town. The worry consumed me so thoroughly that I could barely sleep, stressing about how Micah must be doing, about what had happened between them in the past, and about what Phillip had really wanted when he dropped by the job site. I approached Micah the following day during our lunch break, hoping to check in with him on the whole thing, to get his perspective and see how I could help, if at all.
He was eating with the production team when I found him, and when our gazes met, he put his sandwich down and stood. “Be right back.” We walked a little ways away from the rest of the team before he spoke. “I’m sorry about last night.”
I shook my head and waved away his apology. “Don’t worry about it. I just want to know if you’re okay.”
He shrugged and sighed softly. “I will be once he leaves town. I agreed to meet him this afternoon to get a copy of this documenthe wants me to sign. I’m going to have an attorney look over it before I sign anything, which will take a few days, but I’m hoping he’ll be gone by the end of next week at the latest.”
I ached to reach for his hand and squeeze it, to reassure him that he’d be okay, but I knew that wouldn’t be appropriate, not at work, not when nobody knew about what was going on between us.Wasanything going on between us? Or was it just a short-lived, caregiver thing? I shoved away the thought and nodded at Micah. “Do you want me to go with you this afternoon?”
Micah’s brow furrowed. “You’d do that?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“I’d like that,” he murmured.
“Done.”
Micah closed his eyes briefly before looking at me again. “Thank you.”
The second half of the day seemed to last an eternity, but eventually, Brooks and Max called cut and Jake sent everyone home for the day. I followed Micah to his car and slid into the passenger seat, buckling in before he pulled away from the job site.
