Page 76 of Summer Haze & Tokyo Craze

"More like two hundred. Y’all are excessive texters.” I roll my eyes at him. “Was there anything important?"

A sheepish grin spreads on his face. "No, there wasn’t.” I groan and pinch the bridge of my nose, fighting the urge to throw something at him “We were worried nonetheless."

"Well.” I take a deep breath. “I'll have you know that being a CEO is a very fucking busy job, and the conference was – surprise – very fucking busy. And why am I even justifying myself?"

"‘Busy.’ Is that what we're calling it nowadays?" Reed's smile becomes even wider.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You don't?" His grin is downright creepy now and he crosses his arms in front of his chest. "So, you went to Tokyo, and as soon as you ran into her, you mentioned Lily like thirty times."

He starts pacing the room in front of me, rubbing his chin as he’s apparently playing Sherlock Holmes. "Somehow, her name comes up in almost every single conversation we have. And then, suddenly, you are M.I.A. Completely gone. No messages. Let me tell you what I think."

"I think you ought to shut up," I urge him and throw my jacket into a corner. Tokyo might be sweltering, but when we arrived in the evening, it was actuallypretty fresh here.

The tone of my voice must have gotten through to him, though, because he stops in his tracks and looks at me with wide eyes. "Seriously, Reed. Leave it. I don’t need to hear another lecture about never having time for you guys. Jackson took care of that a week ago. I’m good."

"You don't get it," Reed says and fixates me with a hard stare as he walks closer. "I think it's a good thing you ignored us."

“I don’t think Jackson shares that sentiment with you.” I walk to my fridge and take a cold water out of it.

"Well, pardon my French but fuck Jackson." My head whips around and I look at him, surprised. As I slipped into a father figure, Jackson took over the ‘biggest brother’ title. Over the years he’s become somewhat their leader, the one who speaks for them and fights their fights.

So this is new.

“Jackson called me after your fight. I don’t think he gave the full picture, but just… let me remind you, Jackson’s issues are, well, Jackson’s issues. You sacrificed a lot for us and it’s about time you get back to your own life. So don’t worry about any of us for once. We got it. And we got you, if you need us. Let him pout, and for once, don’t be the first one to give in.”

Reed shakes his head at me and puts his hands on my shoulders, holding my surprised gaze insistently.

"We are all fucking grown men by now and can speak for ourselves. Sure, it's tempting to run with your every issue, but you need some boundaries." His voice turns into a sing-song with the last word. "If there's more important stuff orpeople going on in your life, that's completely fine. I'm not here to accuse you of anything or pry, I’m just here to make sure you're still alive."

"Well, I'm alive," I let him know, gulping as his words only slowly begin to sink in. "Although, really fucking tired." I look pointedly between him and the door, and he bursts into laughter.

"Then I’ll leave you to it, old man." He walks over to the counter and grabs his bag. "Although now that you’re back, it would make me very happy to have you back at the game nights. The others are never going to admit it, but we missed you last week."

"Let me see how I feel tomorrow. If jet lag is kicking my ass, I might have to sit it out." And truth be told, I’m not very eager to face Jackson just yet.

He narrows his eyes at me but then ultimately his shoulders sag in dejection. “Of course. Good night, Adam.”

Reed raises his hand for a lazy wave before he walks out of my apartment. And then suddenly, silence.

There's the sound of cars honking in the distance and an alarm going off somewhere on the street. Nothing too bad, considering I'm in a penthouse, high above the bustling city.

Still, too silent.

With a sigh, I grab my suitcase and drag it into my bedroom. To my brother's and several of my ex-girlfriend's dismay, I'm the kind of person who can't rest until they've unpacked their suitcase and have everything stowed away again. Itmade for a lot of fights when I’d return from a business trip and have my brothers swarm me right at the entrance, all of them talking to me at once excitedly. They weren’t too thrilled about being asked to give me an hour to get settled in.

But finally, nobody can complain about it. So I do just that, even though exhaustion is making my movements sluggish and my eyes fall closed. All I want to do is sink into my own bed and catch a good night's sleep.

God, I'm getting too old for these kinds of huge time differences. I used to work through nights to acclimate, live on energy drinks and somehow make it through the day.

Now energy drinks give me a suspicious heart flutter and I’m exhausted even thinking about working through the night.

When I'm done putting my clothes away, I trudge into the kitchen, reaching for a takeout menu as I grab my drink that I left on the counter.

Right. Nobody can complain. At the same time, tonight, the silence feels heavy. Lonely.

Maybe it's because my last week has been anything but silent, but the contrast is downright deafening. I lean my butt against the kitchen counter and cross my arms in front of my chest, all thoughts of food suddenly gone.

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