Even now, I could feel it sitting heavy in my gut as he ran me through the LA job, nothing he said quite sticking in my mind. There’d be an email I could look over in my own time, but these calls were where Reggie told me the things about the job that he’d never put in writing—like exactly how careful I had to be of the client and what kind of ridiculous things they were likely to expect.
Reggie had taken a chance on me when I was young, fresh out of college, and desperate to get away from my dad after Grandma died. Desperate to get away fromeverywhere, because nowhere felt like where I was supposed to be anymore.
I wanted to pay attention to him, but I kept thinking of how I was going to tell Iggy I was leaving.
He’d known, obviously. We’d both gone into this knowing that it wasn’t forever. That it was almost like having one last summer.
Only it’d lasted less than a week.
“Think you got all that?” Reggie asked as I paced up and down the yard, picking a snail out of Iggy’s raised beds on the way past.
“Yeah, think I got it,” I lied.
“See you bright and early tomorrow morning, then.”
What?
“No, wait, back up,” I said. “Tomorrow morning?”
Reggie was silent for a heartbeat. “So you didn’t get all that,” he said, not sounding either surprised or disappointed. “Is gay lady company still around?”
“I think a gay lady would be a lesbian,” I said, shoving my hand in the pocket of Iggy’s robe and finding a small handful of dog treats there.
I was going to miss Theo.
I was going to miss all of this.
“You know what I’m talking about,” Reggie said. “Your boyfriend.”
“He’s not my boyfriend,” I said.
Just as I heard the back door of the cabin opening.
Iggy stood there, blinking in the sunlight, Theo by his side.
A pang of regret hit me, making my whole insides clench. Hewasn’tmy boyfriend, but…
I didn’t want him to hear me say that.
I maybe…
Wished he was my boyfriend. Even if that was stupid. Even if I knew it couldn’t work.
“I can’t make it in the morning,” I said. “Tomorrow afternoon.”
“But this is…” Reggie paused, and I couldseehim pinching the bridge of his nose.
It was an important job. I was his most reliable guy. I knew that. But a few hours wouldn’t make all that much difference to the job.
It’d make the world of difference to me.
“No, you know what, you’ve earned it,” Reggie said after a breath. “I’ll expect you when you show up.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. If I’d needed to be there tomorrow morning, I would’ve had to leave tonight.
This way, I could stay. I could have one more night.
I wasn’t positive that’d make it easier to give up, but I didn’t care right now. All I cared about was that it wasn’t quite over.
