Page 13 of Make Me Stay

I waited him out. Wyatt was a slow to process kind of guy. I was impulsive, he was deliberative. I was pretty sure the only reason I hadn’t been arrested when we were teens was because of his careful nature.

“I used one of those apps.”

I laughed. “You looking for love, my man?”

He sighed. “Everyone knows everyone in this goddamn town.”

“Which is only one of a dozen reasons I got out of here. But you like that part.”

“I do. I just didn’t expect to get linked up with this woman.”

I waggled my eyebrows. “Wouldn’t you know from the jump? You could block and move on.”

“Just used screennames for a bit. We just swapped phone numbers and man, she was already in my phone.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah, it’s Nicole.”

I laughed. “Oh, man. You mean, Lexi’s Nicole?”

“Yeah.” He bounced his head against his headrest. “Fuck, man.”

I slapped him on the arm through the window. “What’s wrong with that?”

“What if she set this up the whole time?”

“It’s not that serious, jackass. Just talk to her.”

“Yeah, it’s not serious for you. For me? What if I fuck it up? She’s my sister’s best friend. She’s always going to be around.”

Since I was having a similar problem, I didn’t have an answer.

“Is the connection bigger than the fear?”

Wyatt frowned at me. “Since when did you get so philosophical?”

I laughed. “Just an idea.” I tapped his hood. “Good luck at the dentist.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“See ya at three.” I glanced up at the clouds rolling in. “If that moves along.”

“Cool. If it starts raining, I’ll see you back at the house later.”

“Where are you going?”

“Nunya.”

I threw back my head. “Give Nicole my regards.”

Wyatt flipped me off, but he didn’t deny it. I ran over to my truck and headed back to the warehouse. After I parked, I leaned over to my glovebox for the disposable toothbrushes to freshen up. Just as I was about to get out, a fat raindrop plopped on my windscreen.

I loped across the street to the warehouse. The lights were out, and my stomach dropped.

Had she gone home?

God, I was so stupid.

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