Page 7 of Heart Strain

“That’s more like it. I’m leaving tomorrow afternoon because I have a few things I need to take care of here in the morning, so I should be there tomorrow night, as long as Peanut isn’t a pain in the ass and has to pee five thousand times.” He goes on about his plans, and I only half pay attention because I can’t stop staring at Hendrix and willing him to wake up.

“Holl—I mean Holden. Shit, sorry. I got you some pizza because there was limited options down there, and I didn’t know if you ate eggs or not, so…” Jameson trails off when he sees the phone up to my ear. “Oh, sorry.”

“No worries. Thanks for getting me food. I appreciate it,” I say.

Over the phone, Gavin asks, “Who is that?”

Jameson starts unloading the food onto the tray thingy beside Drix’s bed, so I say to Gavin, “Drix’s partner, Jameson.”

“He brought you food?”

“Yeah, he’s been here with me.” I lower my voice to a whisper, “We went to high school together. I didn’t realize it was the same Jameson when Drix talked about him.” I glance over at Jameson to make sure he didn’t hear me, but his back is to me, so I can’t tell.

“Oh. Good, I’m glad you’re not alone.” He doesn’t say anything for a few seconds, then gasps. “Wait. Jameson from high school? Is that the straight guy you had a crush on?”

“No.”

“Liar! I remember you telling me he was friends with your brother and you always thought he was hot, so you stayed away from him even though he was nice to you. Oh my god, they’re partners now? That’s crazy.”

I clear my throat and feel my cheeks getting hot even though I know Jameson can’t hear Gavin through the phone. I tell Gav, “Please stop. Right now.”

“Alright, fine. But I can’t wait to see this guy in person. I saw his yearbook photo, remember? That’s why you told me about him. I bet he’s hot now, isn’t he?”

“I regret everything.”

He laughs a little. “He is hot now. I can tell by the sound of your voice.”

I groan.

“Really hot.”

“I hate you. Why are we friends?”

He chuckles. “Just wait until I see him in person.”

“I changed my mind, you’re not allowed to come here. Stay there, far, far away from me.”

“It’s too late to change your mind. Not that you had a choice to begin with,” he says, and I can picture his shit-eating grin—I sorta can’t wait to see him. “I’m going to start packing. Do you need anything from your house?”

“Um… maybe some clothes and my laptop, if you don’t mind getting it.”

“No problem.”

“Thank you, Gav. I really appreciate it.”

He hesitates for a few seconds, then says, “I love you, Holden. I’ll see you soon.”

I smile a little. “Love you, too.”

As soon as I hang up, Jameson asks, “Everything okay?” For some reason, he sounds sad. Not that he needs a reason considering where we are. I mentally roll my eyes at myself.

“Yeah. Just figuring out how to get my dog here since shipping him on a plane is out of the question.”

“You have a dog?”

“Yep. His name is Peanut.”

Jameson looks at me for a few seconds. “Is he a small dog, like a chihuahua or something?”

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