Page 49 of Infinite as They Come
His brows pulled together. “You’re not doing any interviews today? No writing?”
“Figured I’d take a break today.”
“Oh.”
“Oh?”
“I was gonna maybe check out this town an hour away from here. There’s something I gotta get. Art stuff, you know?” His eyes stayed glued to his plate, fork piercing the last bit of his pancake.
I shifted in my seat a little. He said I, not we, and I wished it didn’t hurt as much as it did that he didn’t want me with him, so I just gave him a slow nod in response. “Yeah, okay,” I said. “You’ll be busy today. I can find something to do.”
“I’ll drive you back to the motel.”
My eyes moved over to the window, taking in the trees in the distance, the leaves gently swaying in the wind. “It’s nice out. I can walk back.”
“You sure?”
“Mhm. You go get your stuff. I’ll be fine here.”
He was standing up before I could even part my lips to respond. It was all happening so fast. Him shoving his hand into his pocket to pull out his wallet, him swiping his keys off the table, his phone buzzing suddenly, and I could have sworn his eyes lit up at the noise. It was a blur as he placed cash down on the table and then leaned over and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. When he pulled away, he paused, just for a moment, green eyes locked to mine.
“I’ll see you tonight,” he said, voice suddenly all low and serious before he spun on his heels and took off out of the diner. My eyes followed him as he left and made his way to the parking lot, his phone up against his ear before he climbed into his truck.
“Weird,” I muttered to myself. Sawyer had been doing a lot of weird things lately. Taking phone calls so I wouldn’t hear them, coming back to the motel late, giving me vague responses when I asked where he had been all day.
I gave my head a shake. He was allowed to have time to himself. Allowed to go get art supplies without me. It just would have been nice to spend the day together.
I busied myself with the rest of my drink, the now cooler liquid still managing to taste just as good. My own phone suddenly went off in my purse, and I wondered if it was Sawyer. If he had forgotten something maybe in his sudden rush, or maybe he was asking me to tag along, but when I got my phone out, I saw that it was my dad calling.
I answered, pressing the phone to my ear. “Hey, Daddy,” I said.
“Ah, there’s my daughter.Alive,” he said. There was a teasing tone in his voice, but underneath that was his overprotectiveness that I had been dealing with all my life. “You didn’t reply to my message.”
It hit me then. The morning had been so slow and lazy and perfect that it slipped my mind entirely to reply to any messages. “Oh, whoops. I kinda slept in today. I guess I missed it.”
“A lady of leisure.”
I laughed softly. “Something like that. You don’t have to message me every day, you know? I’m safe. I’m fine.”
“I know, I know, but I like talking to you every day. Imisstalking to you every day. Remember when you used to live with me?”
“Yes, Daddy. For nineteen years. You were probably counting down the days to get rid of me.”
“Not even a little bit.”
I hummed. “What’s up?”
“I was just calling you to make sure you were okay. You didn’t reply back.”
“You know a motel isn’t like the movies, right?” I gave my eyes a roll. “They’re safe. There’s no murderers roaming around ready to attack.”
“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never stayed in one.”
My eyes rolled. “A man of leisure.”
“Just a little bit. So, how’s your road trip going? What have you seen? Meand your mother want to see all the photos. Don’t forget to send them.”
I couldn’t help but pause for a second, suddenly picking at the napkin laid across the table in front of me. “Of course. I’ll send them.”
