Page 64 of Hello Forever
“Can you?” I teased. “You must read thenewspaper.”
He nodded, biting his lip. “I asked Cax once if he was gay, and he made a face like I’d just accused him of being an ax murderer. At the time I got kind of offended. But now Igetit.”
I took a bite of my burger before answering. “Cax spent a lot of years trying not to get the shit kicked out of him byhisdad.”
“But then you got his beatinginstead.”
“Yeah. I knew the guy was pretty crazy. But I didn’t see itcoming.”
He flinched. “Sorry, man. Dating me woulda beensimpler.”
I laughed, then lifted my beer to toast him. “Hindsight is clearer than the vision in my right eye.” Jason made a sad face, but I waved it off. “Gallows humor, man. And I’ll be jumping past you on the court in no time. That’s what theytellme.”
He smiled. “We’ll just see about that. Can I tell you something funny? You’re the first guy I everaskedout.”
“What?” I yelped through a mouthful. After swallowing, I asked for clarification. “How is thatpossible?”
“The thing about crazy families is that they come in all flavors.” He toyed with the straw in his soda. “My family is never going to put anyone in the hospital. But they have other ways of trying to control me. I’m twenty-five years old, and I’ve never datedanyone.”
Holy shit. “Holy shit,” I said aloud. “And I thought Cax wassheltered.”
“I hook up,” he said, his face reddening. “But I don’t date. Or I haven’t yet. It’s complicated. My family spent a lot of effort trying to convince me I was just confused. And I did my undergraduate degree at one of those colleges where you can get kicked out for acting on same-sexattraction.”
“Ouch.” I studied Jason’s handsome features and wondered how someone so friendly and so attractive had never had a boyfriend. He was too preppy to be my type, but still wildly attractive, with golden skin and long eyelashes. A pretty boy. “Then I’m sorry the first time you asked someone out, hesaidno.”
“I’m not. Seriously.” Jason smiled again, revealing a set of perfect teeth. “Because the world didn’t end when you said no. It made me wonder what I’d been soafraidof.”
“You shouldn’t be afraid. You’re smart and attractive and not an asshole. Not many people are going to turnthatdown.”
“We’ll see.” He crumpled up his hamburger wrapper. “Isn’t there a basketballgameon?”
* * *
Iwas still waitingfor the visitor I really wanted to see. When I talked with Cax on the phone again, I learned that his brothers were on winter vacation, and he was spending a lot of timewiththem.
The following Saturday I couldn’t take my isolation any longer. It took me about fifteen minutes to get my coat on over my broken arm. I wiggled my feet into my hiking boots so that I wouldn’t have to untie and retie them. And I managed a hat andmittens.
I left a note on the door.Nobody panic. I went for a walk.Whoever was on Axel Duty that day would probably find it before I got back. The last thing I did was to slip my phone into my coatpocket.
Outside, I found that it had snowed a few inches overnight.Fuck. Someone—Josh probably—had already shoveled the stairs down from my apartment. But the sidewalks were going to be tricky to navigate. I hated feeling so awkward and fragile. But I was not about to turnaround.
Carefully, I made my way down the stairs. I took a look at the path through the woods. The snow had blown into drifts there. It looked passable, but difficult.Damn. It. All. I hated being injured. Worse yet, I hated that I was a little wary of walking through the park. I knew Mr. Williams was behind bars. But he’d made me afraid. And I’d never been afraidbefore.
Chin up, Armitage, I coached myself. I turned around and went the other way—down Newbury Street. The road had been plowed, but half the sidewalks were stillburied.
I would just have to walk in thestreet.
I’d made it to the end of Newbury Street when a Toyota approached, then stopped at the curb. The window lowered and Caleb stuck his head out. “Whatchadoing?”
“Takingawalk.”
Caleb frowned. “I know that sometimes the point of taking a walk is towalk. But is there anywhere I coulddropyou?”
I only hesitated for a second. “Yeah, if you don’t mind. Itisn’tfar.”
“Getin.”
* * *
