Page 8 of Fall of Us
Once Chase was gone, I pulled out my phone and flipped through the contacts. Andrew worked at the pharmacy today, so I couldn’t really bother him. My parents didn’t impose strict working hours on me, which was a blessing, although having a job at all was lucky.
My thumb hovered over Joe’s contact before pulling up a text thread.
Me: I need a distraction. What are you doing today?
Joe: Where’s your man?
I huffed a laugh and rolled my eyes. Joe could be pushy.
Me: I don’t have one. You know that.
Joe: Do I?
Maybe talking to Joe was a mistake. He was a good friend and the life of the party, but he was the worst with the teasing.
Me: Forget I asked.
Joe: No. Don’t do that. I was going to piss off Nathan and bother Aiden, but I could bother you instead. I’m getting ready to head over to Seattle Center.
I mulled that over. Like Joe recognized this thing between Andrew and me, I saw his growing interest in Nathan’s little brother, Aiden.
Me: I don’t want to interrupt anything.
Joe: What are you interrupting? Aiden wanted to check something out at the International Fountain. You’re welcome to come.
I loved the fountain. It was a huge opening in the ground with a giant ball in the middle that shot out water to the beat of the music. At night, it even had lights. Kids loved going to this popular spot in the summer to cool down by running through the water. Despite the cold, the place was still worth visiting.
With the decision made to join Joe and Aiden, I grabbed my jacket and headed to the closest bus stop. Since Chase had gone back to work, things had picked up in the restaurant and I didn’t have the opportunity to say goodbye.
While expensive, the nice thing about living in the city’s heart was that it was fairly easy to get anywhere quickly. Plus, it would be good to get out while the weather held up. Once the rain started, it could hang around until late spring.
It took about twenty minutes to get to Seattle Center from my apartment and another ten minutes to find my friends. Joe sat on the rounded edge of the fountain while Aiden walked around closer to the spray with a camera in his hands, snapping pictures. Heseemed so focused on what he was doing, giving Joe an unfettered view of him. Joe was so distracted that he hadn’t noticed me sitting next to him.
Joe startled and looked at me wide-eyed when I nudged his shoulder.
“When did you get here?” he asked before turning his attention back to Aiden.
I had to fight back the laugh that wanted to escape. The two of them were so obvious. Maybe Andrew and I were just as bad. It was all the more reason it was so hard to give in. The teasing would be nonstop.
“I just got here. What’s he taking pictures for?”
Joe shrugged. “I don’t know. Said he finds it relaxing.”
It was sort of cute that Joe was showing such an interest in Aiden’s hobby. Joe rarely showed interest in a lot of things outside of sex and partying. We all got along with him fairly well and he blended in with our friend group, but we knew little about his interests.
The camera suddenly turned in our direction, and it snapped a few times. I held up my hand because I wasn’t prepared to have my picture taken. Aiden frowned as he lowered the camera and then climbed the slope to where we were sitting.
“It’s no fun when you know I’m taking the pictures. Candid shots are the best.”
I smiled. “True, but don’t you need permission as well?”
Aiden rolled his eyes and lowered his camera to his chest. “I’m not really using the photos for anything. It’s mostly for fun. I might still edit them and put them on my website.”
That seemed to get Joe’s interest. “You have a website? How come you haven’t told me about this before?”
Aiden’s cheeks turned pink and that feeling of being the third wheel washed over me like I knew it would. I tuned the two of them out as Joe got up and stood at Aiden’s side as he pulled out his phone and showed him something on it. It was probably the website.
The day was nice, sunny with a light breeze. The leaves had started changing colors, and the wind scattered them across the ground. People milled about like the temperatures hadn’t dropped drastically. Although, with the sun beating down, it wasn’t too bad.
