Page 21 of Mine to Keep
Talon sniffles. “Do you know what that will do to our job opportunities? Well, Javier will be fine—he’s going into business with his family in Puerto Rico. But me, being involved in a viral video will be the first thing an employer sees. I fucked up my future because my boyfrie—” he pauses with a grumble, “ex-boyfriend couldn’t keep his dick in his pants.”
“Now,” Javier says, “we’re trying to find a cheap hotel.”
The server comes back with our drinks, informing us our food will be out shortly. Once she leaves, I tick up an eyebrow. “Why? Did you not have one already?”
Now Javier looks tired and a little embarrassed. “We were in Waterkilty, it’s about twenty minutes away on foot. We wanted to get away from Cole. But most of my cards are for banks in PR. I didn’t tell my father I was traveling, so when the bank called him about a charge for a hotel room and some other stuff, he thought it was fraud and he canceled my cards. We planned to only have the room we booked a few days, thinking we’d be hanging out with Cole at his place. Since all my cards are cancelled, I only have the cash I pulled out of the ATM on me and?—”
“And I barely have money on my card to cover anything but the least expensive meals. I’m useless,” Talon adds sadly.
“Well, don’t worry about this meal,” I tell them. “It’s on me since I invited you two. Can you at least change your flight? Get home sooner?”
A tear streaks down Talon’s face, but he wipes it quickly. “We tried. Both to North Carolina and to PR. The flights to North Carolina are booked until next week and the one for PR is a few days after that. The flights available that could take us directly to our airport are an extra few hundred dollars each. Money we don’t have.”
Javier wraps an arm around Talon and kisses his forehead. Talon melts into him, but neither of them look as if it’s in a romantic way. They’re close. Best friends. It radiates off them. They comfort each other when they need it. Their friendship reminds me of Olivia.
Minus all the sex we used to have.
A few minutes later, our food is placed in front of us and we all dig in, Talon and Javier more ravenously than me. I’m not sure if they had breakfast, what with the excitement of seeing Cole cheating, finding out they had no money, not having somewhere to sleep tonight,andfinding out they can’t get a flight out for at least a week.
“I can help,” slips from my lips before I can rethink the words.
Talon looks up quickly, almost choking on his food. He swallows roughly, then wipes his mouth with a napkin. “We can’t ask that of you, Knox. You’ve already fed us. And you barely know us.”
I place my utensils down and thread my fingers together. “What kind of person would I be if I let the two of you leave here with nowhere to sleep tonight? I’m not an animal.”Without a contract, anyway.“There are plenty of hotels that will have rooms available that won’t be too expensive.”
Javier bites his lip. “Look, I have money. I can pay you back. Like Talon told you at the airport, my family is wealthy so I’m good for it. I don’t want it to seem like we’re freeloading or something. I just?—”
I hold my hand up and he stops talking. “You didn’t ask, Javier. I offered. Where were the two of you staying?” They tell me the hotel and I nod.
We’re silent for a few more minutes, the only sounds our knives and forks scraping across our plates.
Talon sighs and puts his napkin on his plate. “Thank you for this, Knox. First, you found my wallet, then you rescue us here. If I weren’t such a heartbroken little bitch, I’d fall in love with you right now.”
“Hey,” Javier says, placing his hand on top of Talon’s. “You’re not…heartbroken.” He winks and Talon barks a laugh, looking like the man I met in the airport.
Poking Javier in the belly, Talon asks, “Are you calling me a little bitch?”
“I’d never call you that…to your face.”
I watch their easy banter, jealousy lighting up my chest. Not because Javier is touching Talon or vice versa. Because I had this once. It seems like a lifetime ago, but once, I was happy. I was…free.
Before I can spiral, Talon calls my name. “Yeah?” I say, clearing my mind of painful memories.
“I asked if you were ready to go? If I’m not sounding too pushy, I’m…emotionally drained. I want to lie down. Crying takes it out of you. You know the feeling, right? Like your body has been wrung out and laid out to dry? That’s how I feel. My skin’s too loose and too tight at the same time. I need to relax. God, I just wanna curl around a pillow and sleep.”
The rambling is back and I smile. He might still be hurting, but it looks like food and no longer worrying about where they were going to sleep until they can fly home did wonders.
“Yeah. Let’s go.” I leave enough money on the table to cover our bill and I escort them out.
We hail a cab and I tell the cabbie to take us to the same hotel Javier and Talon were already familiar with. Even though they said they wanted to get away from Cole, they’re okay with staying there.
When we get to the hotel, I step up to the desk while the two of them sit in chairs in the lobby and wait. “Two rooms,” I say, pulling my wallet from my back pocket. “One with a double bed and one with?—”
“I’m sorry sir,” the attendant behind the desk says. “We only have one room. The executive suite. But it has two bedrooms and a sitting room that separates both bedrooms. One bathroom only, but it has a standing shower as well as a bath. You’ll have privacy.” His face is a mask of apology as he rambles off details of the room.
Honestly, I couldn’t give a fuck less if it were one room or not. As long as I could be away from cameras, it was fine. I’ve been careful thus far, but I could slip up at any time.
Before I can tell him as much, Talon steps up beside me. “We don’t mind if you don’t. I just wanna lie down.” He sways a little, his eyes drooping.
