All That and a Bag of Chips

Chapter 33

Collin's gut told him to go to the Holiday Inn. He didn't know where Brandon lived, so really it was his only option, and he knew he had to hurry.

Without bothering to wait for any of his or Heather's friends, Collin ran down the block, past closed restaurants and storefronts: the burrito place, the surf shop. Dark windows bouncing back yellow reflections from the street lamps.

The Santa Cruz Cinema was still lit up as Collin rounded the corner to cut over towards the park and he vaguely wondered if he and Heather would ever go see that movie together. Knuckles brushing as they grabbed for popcorn, knees finding each other in the dark. But if he ever wanted that experience with her, he had to get to her and explain about the bet.

As he crossed Front street, he slowed down. Now that he was a block off the main strip of Pacific Avenue, there were fewer street lamps and hardly any people around. The only cars he could hear were in the distance. His footsteps echoed in his own ears and suddenly he felt tiny and very alone.

Instead of walking down the pedestrian alley behind the sushi restaurant and nail salon, Collin walked the extra few yards to go the other way around, through the parking lot, knowing that being in a more open space with better lighting was the smart choice.

Too many questions were running through his head. What if Brandon had taken Heather down that alley, and now he missed them? What if Brandon wasn't heading back to the Holiday Inn at all? Or what if Heather actually preferred Brandon to him?

Collin's phone vibrated. Without slowing down, he reached his hand into his pocket and took it out. Tom was calling him.

"Hey," Collin answered, his voice startlingly loud in the silent night air.

"Dude, where are you?" There was clattering and voices in the background.

"I'm trying to find Brandon and Heather. Are you still at the club?"

"We're outside." Then, someone else spoke, and Tom's muffled voice said, "Yeah, sure here."

"Collin?" someone who might have been Veronica said.

"Hey, yeah?"

"Are you with Heather?"

"No, they had disappeared by the time I got down here. I'm headed back to the Inn, but maybe they're not even going there. Where does the guy even live?"

"He also lives at the Inn," the girl who was probably Veronica answered.

"Where's his room?"

"Bottom floor. In the back. Near the gate. We're heading that way too, but it might be a few minutes..."

There was the sound of the phone changing hands again, and then Sam's voice came through the receiver. "Just hang up and go, dude. But remember, when you throw a punch, keep your thumb on the outside of your fingers so you don't break it."

"Got it." Collin rolled his eyes into the darkness. Sam had thrown just as many punches in her lifetime as he had: zero. "Bye." Collin hung up and slipped the phone back into his pocket, and then he hurried onto the pedestrian bridge. The same bridge where he had run into Brandon before. The same bridge where Heather had compared his trans-ness to a river that needed to be crossed.

This time, however, he was alone, and he didn't see anyone.

How much of a head start did Brandon and Heather get? It couldn't have been more than a few minutes. Definitely no more than ten. Wouldn't Collin have caught up to them by now? Especially with how drunk Heather seemed. Although there were several routes to get from the club back to the Holiday Inn. Maybe Collin was actually going to beat them.