Rigby

Chapter 12

"There she is!" Matt greeted Jess and me at the door of his building. As soon as I was within arm's reach, he pulled me to him in a big bear hug. "I missed you!"

"Happy birthday, Matt." My words came muffled by his tight hug.

Matt refused to release me; instead, he tucked me under his arm as he freed one hand to shake Jess' hand. "Jess, good to see you. How have you been?"

"Oh, same old, so I can't complain." As he spoke, he clasped Matt's hand and gave it a vigorous shake.

"Come on up. I can't wait for you all to see the place."

Matt kept his arm tightly around my shoulders as he jabbed the elevator button. Once the doors rattled open, he leaned against the wall and pulled me to him.

"Are you going to be attached to me all night?" I teased.

"I have to get my Riley time while I can now. Besides, I'll eventually have to share you with Joey."

"How is he?" I murmured.

"He's..." the doors rattled open again before Matt could finish. "Here it is." Matt flourished his hands around a simple apartment as he pushed through the front door. "It's nothing special, but it's home."

Matt was still clutching my hand, which was appreciated because when Joey twisted on the couch and landed on me, I needed the added support to keep from falling. Joey and I had met each other's eyes countless times before, but at that moment, his gaze crashed into me like a car.

"Hey," he said in barely a whisper.

"Hey," my voice came lost to my suddenly dry throat. "I could use some water," I managed without redirecting my gaze.

"I can show you where the kitchen is." Joey quickly rose from the couch, breaking our connection.

I followed Joey to the kitchen and slid up to the counter as I watched him pull a bottle of water from the refrigerator and crack it open.

"How are you?" He asked as he handed me the bottle.

I took a starved gulp before answering. "Good, and you?"

He brushed the hair from my face. "You're looking thinner."

"Joey," I said as I pushed away his touch.

He dropped his gaze and moved further away from me. "I'm good."

"How is the new job?"

"It's fine. How are things in Maine?" But he knew that was too broad, so he qualified with "how's Ruthie?"

"Good, same old cranky self. Annoyed that not everyone wants vinyl, and digital is taking over. Jacob is also well."

Joey dropped his face to hide whatever emotion Jacob drew to it.

"We should get back to the birthday boy," I added as I slid from the counter.

Matt and Jess were already playing video games. I took the opportunity to text Jacob that we had made it.

"I am glad you made it. Thank you for letting me know. I miss you very much." Jacob texted with the same formality that he spoke, bringing a smile to my face.

"Are you doing anything fun?" I typed back.

"Michael and I just played a game of chess."

"Who won?" I didn't need to ask. I suspected I knew the answer.

"I did."

"I love you!" I texted back.

"I love you, too. Have fun with your friends. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow."

I was still smiling when I lifted my eyes to the room and caught Joey's eyes flickering away from me.

"So," I said through a stretch. "What are the big plans?"

"Food," Matt said.

"Great, I'm fucking starving," Jess agreed.

"Where are we going?"

"I thought we could go to that Mexican place with the tub." Matt smiled at me.

"What?" Jess skeptically asked.

I let out a laugh. "When we were in high school, we had a field trip to Boston to look at some ship, and the three of us slipped away to find the Cheers bar. Instead, we ended up in this Mexican restaurant that, for no discernable reason, had a bathtub in the middle of the dining room. The food was great, though," I explained.

"Yeah, none of us are getting laid tonight, so we can get those garlic nachos," Matt joked.

"What? We're not getting laid tonight?" Jess' brow furrowed.

"I know I'm not, but I already got laid today, so I think I shall survive." I shrugged.

"Oh, I can't talk about you nailing my little brother, but you can?" Jess shot.

"How about no one talks about anyone nailing anyone? Just good, clean fun," Matt offered as his eyes twitched to Joey. "We have a nice meal with friends at a restaurant with a tub. The way we should spend birthdays."

I gave Matt an apologetic smile. "Sounds great. Who else is coming?"

"Oh, a couple of people from the brewery and a couple of people from Billy's magazine." Matt shrugged as the bulk of his attention returned to his video game.

My eyes glazed over for the next hour as the boys played video games. It felt like high school all over again. I may have even dozed off, as the sun was low in the sky when I pulled myself from my stupor.

"Dude," Jess said as he threw down his controller, "when are we getting food?"

Matt glanced at his phone. "Oh, shit, we should have left twenty minutes ago. Joey, can you text Carrie and tell her we're on our way?"

"On it," Joey said without looking up from his phone as he texted. "I requested an Uber too."

I found myself in the back seat of a sedan between Jess and Matt.

"Hey," Matt whispered into my ear as he threw an arm around me, "have I mentioned that I'm so happy you're here?"

"Yes, and good," I said, letting him shift me into his side.

"I know this is a touchy subject, but you could still come down. We have a third room."

"Matt," I quietly chided.

"I know, but keep it in mind. If you ever want it, there's always a place for you with me."

"Mmhmm, I am not convinced Joey agrees." I gazed at the back of Joey's head in the front seat.

"He's just sore; he'd still be there for you if you needed him."

We settled around a large table with mostly people I didn't know. I was happy to be tucked in between Matt and Jess. Jess had a knack for striking up a chat with anyone. The meal meandered in superficial conversation. I started strong, but the chest heaviness I always felt when Jacob was far from me became almost unbearable as the night unfolded.

Jess' phone was inaudible in the restaurant's noise. I wouldn't have known he was slipping away to take a call if it were not for the squeeze of my shoulder he gave as he excused himself to take the call. The pressure in me increased, and my eyes twitched around as though they may suddenly land on Jacob, his placid face and pale skin accented by the slate blue of his button-down. Instead, my eyes met Jess' through the window. A tired expression made him look older than his twenty-seven years. I knew then. I felt it burst inside me. I knew what was coming; the big empty.