Eternal Longing ✓

47. At A Distance

FINLEY

She isn't screaming in my face, but that doesn't mean that she isn't furious.

I can see in the way she holds on to her friend's arm and pointedly ignores my existence. The way she stares at the ocean to our right and doesn't include her comments on her friends' conversation.

Understandably, she'd be withdrawn after the shock to her system that was the darned phone call with her biological father. I get it. She didn't expect to hear his voice while on a trip to Miami, and she especially didn't expect his voice to be coming through my phone.

Hell, I didn't expect him to call at the exact moment that he did, when Jaya was demanding answers, giving me the perfect opportunity to give her something without giving her everything.

But still, her silence as we walk the boardwalk prickles at my insides. I don't like her getting angry at me because the distance she puts between us is unbearable. She's yet to subscribe to the idea that we can be angry at the other without retreating.

Plus, she hasn't said anything about the conversation she had with Charles. When she asked me to give her a moment to speak with him alone, I agreed because I thought that it was what she needed at the time, but now I regret that decision.

"You good, man?" Aristide asks me gruffly as if he's being held at gunpoint to do so. "You've been staring a hole through her." I'm assuming that because Jacob and Gage stayed at the beach and aren't here to advise me, he's forcing himself to step in.

"Yeah?" I ask him without moving my eyes from the back of Jaya's head.

"Yeah, man. It's kinda creepy."

He's one to talk with the way his eyes are constantly fixated on Sera, but instead of telling him that, I just shrug. I expect him to drop to the subject and let me ogle her in peace, but after we walk a few more blocks alongside each other, I'm surprised to hear him talk once more.

"Whatever the reason she's angry at you, she's probably right."

This makes me turn to look at him. Kyle, my tech guy, told me a bit about Aristide Falcone's name being a well-known one in the world of organized crime and shady business deals. Still, despite his recognizable name, nothing much else could be found about him.

It's as if the guy just landed in Texas one day for an unknown reason and decided to stay.

"How do you know she's right?"

We watch as the girls gesture to the right before heading toward the rollerblades rental store that's bustling with activity despite its tiny size.

He crosses his arms and keeps his eyes on the girls as they enter the store. "Unfortunately, they're always right."

"So your sage advice is to, what? Apologize?"

"Sure. But mostly, just listen to what she's telling you and do what she says."

I silently take in his words, then ask, "Is that what you do?"

"Fuck no." He chuckles and cracks his knuckles. "But I should. And if I wasn't such a hard-headed fucker, I would."

______

Later, after the girls skate their hearts out and we have a delicious dinner at a restaurant a block away from the hotel, we find ourselves in the living room, dressed down in variations of pajamas, sweatpants, and T-shirts.

The TV is switched to the History Channel, though only Sera pays attention while Aristide takes turns between watching the documentary and watching Sera soak up every bit of information while stuffing her face with popcorn.