Page 43 of Fault Lines
“Did I interrupt something?” I asked, a little amused.
She laughed, bright and unbothered. “You know me, always in the middle of something. Or someone.”
I grinned. “Is this ‘someone’ named Jackson, by any chance?”
“You know it is. Who else have I been with lately?”
“So are you a ‘thing’ now? Because honestly, I’d be thrilled for you if you were.”
“Ugh, Livi, you and your labels.” She made a noise like she was rolling her eyes. “We’re just having fun right now. Sure, I like him—a lot. But I’m not ready for the boyfriend-girlfriend, monogamy package. Not yet.”
“Okay, okay,” I conceded, smiling. “I just want to see you happy. He’s treating you right?”
“Oh, absolutely,” she said, a wicked lilt to her voice. “Very, very right. And sometimes wrong, which I love even more.”
I laughed out loud. “You’re a mess.”
I could hear water running in the background, then the rhythmic sound of her brushing her teeth. Only Rachel.
“How are things on your end?” she asked, words a little garbled.
I shrugged, even though she couldn’t see. “Things are… steady, I guess. Cam’s good when he’s here, and when he’s not, he’s just gone. I still love my job. Hanging out with Nate makes the days go faster. And I have you, obviously. So, nothing new. Same old me.”
“Hanging out with Nate?” She caught onto that instantly.
I hesitated. “Well, yeah. At work mostly, but we caught a movie the other night. Not a date or anything, just friends.”
She went silent, and I could hear her rinsing her mouth, the dull thump of the cup against the sink.
“What’s up, Rach?”
She spit, then cleared her throat. “Nothing, really. Jackson doesn’t say much about Nate, just that they go way back.Apparently, Nate had a tough childhood—a lot of issues with his dad, and some of it rubbed off. He’s better now, though. Jackson says he’s gotten treatment, turned things around. Says he’s on the up and up. Jackson sounds like an old man, right?”
“Did he say what kind of treatment? Was Nate sick?”
“No, not exactly. Or maybe he mentioned more and I just forgot—I was pretty wasted that night. I’ll try to find out, if you want.”
“Please,” I said, finishing off my coffee. “Or maybe don’t. If he wants me to know, he’ll tell me. I don’t want to be nosy and wreck our friendship. He’s easy to be around.”
“I get it,” Rachel said, voice softer. “But seriously, be careful, okay? And if anything gets weird, go to Cam. That guy would walk through fire for you.”
I nodded, even if she couldn’t see. “Thanks, Rach.”
“Anytime. Bye!”
∞∞∞
Cam and I stood in line at the aquarium, his fingers laced through mine. We’d been here not long ago, but now that Cam was home more often, our usual pool of date ideas had already started to run dry. The aquarium had a new sea lion show. I’d suggested it, and here we were.
He was quiet. Not sullen, but not talkative, either. I should have tried harder to fill the silence, but my mind kept circling back to work—and to Nate. I loved Cam, I loved the comfort of us, but now that I had more of him, I missed the energy of the bookshop.
Once inside, Cam led me to the otters first, knowing that was my favorite. They tumbled and spun in their pool, a silent, giddy ballet. I could have watched them all day.
“They’re so adorable,” I said, forehead leaning on the glass. “If I come back in another life, I want to be an otter.”
Cam grinned at me, amused. “Really? Not something tougher?”
I shook my head. “Otters get to play all day, water and sun. They look so happy. They have tight families, and they mate for life.”
