Page 113 of Revelry
Neil sighed. “Just come with me.”
I trudged after him, resigned over whatever was going to happen next. He was probably going to take me somewhere and break up with me as a patient. Somewhere public so I couldn’t lose my temper or make a scene. I followed him downstairs and out the back of the building to a Dodge truck. Neil held the passenger door open for me. “Get in.”
“Where are you taking me?”
“Into the woods,” he replied without missing a beat.
I grimaced. “Maybe I should tell someone where I’m going in case—”
“In case I decide to murder you and bury the body?”
I clicked my fingers three times. “Yeah, that.”
He whistled low. “Oh boy, I’m tempted. But no, this is actually to help you. It’s a little unorthodox but I’m hoping you’ll trust me.” He nodded towards the seat again and I reluctantly settled into place.
He drove us out through the town towards the mountains. The temperature was cool but it was sunny, the perfect kind of weather if you ask me.
We drove for about half an hour. Neil didn’t ask me any questions, didn’t initiate any conversation, and I was grateful. My mind was empty, I was exhausted and didn’t think I could dig deep enough to be sociable. Even though I’d found it easier since spending time with Gertrude, now I was without her, everything felt too hard.
Eventually Neil pulled off the road and parked in the brush. We got out and instead of speaking, Neil grabbed a big backpack from the truck and began walking. I followed blindly, figuring this would all make sense eventually. We trekked through the trees until we reached a clearing with a huge artificial rock wall.
Instantly, I began to sweat.
“What are we doing here, Neil?” I asked, my gaze darting around.
“Me and my buddies come out here to practice rappelling.” He dropped the backpack and looked up at the wall.
I glanced back towards where we’d parked. “That’s nice. So why am I here?”
“Because you’re going to have a breakthrough today. Even if I have to force one.” He shot me a grin.
My heart thudded in my chest. “No.”
“Yes.”
“No, Neil. Heights are a hard no.”
“Yes, Tate. Or I leave you here.”
I turned around and started walking, my sneakers kicking up the dead leaves.
“That was Gertrude, wasn’t it?” Neil called after me, but I ignored him. “Damn, she’s a beautiful woman. I wonder how long it’ll be until someone else asks her out?”
I gritted my teeth and plowed on. I knew what he was trying to do.
“I might even ask her out. She’s a little young for me but that’s fine. She’ll keep me youthful and active.”
I huffed and my steps faltered but I kept going.
“I’ll start making a list of all the fun things we can do together.”
That did it.
Only me and Gertrude had a Fagenda.
I rounded on him and started making my way back, ready to tear into him until I saw the look of satisfaction on his face. It stopped me cold.
“Let’s do this, Tate. We can cross off a big hitter on the ERP scale.” Neil jerked his head towards the wall. “Trust me.”
