Attraction - a fraudulent marriage

21. Baltimore

This is the revised version of Attraction - and if you're reading it elsewhere than on Wattpad, I say shame on you, thief.

The apartment was pitch black when I got back, which wasn't odd at all, but it struck me as weird because the conversation with Tom had made him feel a lot closer. I'd almost expected him to sit on the living room couch with a tumbler of whiskey.

With a sigh, I flicked on the lights, perhaps using a few more than necessary. I even put on some music to make me feel less alone.

Every now and then I checked my phone, wondering if I'd missed his call. Talking to Lara shouldn't take all night, but perhaps she was busy. It wouldn't have surprised me as she was constantly doing something important. What classified as important was beyond my knowledge, though. Taking care of Dante couldn't be a full-time job, surely. Especially since he had Chris with him.

The fridge held a couple of eggs, a bottle of Coke and cheese. It wasn't enough for a gourmet meal, but I could whip up a simple omelet. Living with more or less empty pockets because I couldn't hold on to money had taught me one or two lessons about making food from scraps.

Cooking fumes rose from the stove when my phone rang out loudly. I'd put it on full volume after checking it the tenth time.

"Hi," I said, relieved that Tom couldn't see my ridiculous smile.

"Hi, I talked with Lara. You're welcome to join, but apparently you have to follow her whims—her words, not mine."

The fluttering in my stomach rose exponentially. "Cool. So where are you and how do I get there?"

"We're in Baltimore, so just hop on a train." He made it sound so easy. Which is was. But the implications of what I was about to do hit me with full force. If I joined them, how would we act? Would we behave like a couple? Were we a couple? It was one thing to steal moments in the privacy of Tom's apartment, but going with the entire group would be an entirely different matter.

"Do you still want to come?"

"What? Yes." I must have taken too long to answer. "Sorry. Just thought about something."

"Something I should know?" he asked.

"No...well, will I stay with you or like...in separate rooms?"

"I doubt you'd want to pay for your own room, but it's up to you." I could hear how the scales of his shell slid into their initial position. Wincing at my stupidity, I thought of something to say to make it all better again.

"I didn't mean it like that. I'm just not sure what you've told the others about us."

"They know we live together." The shell was still in place. No dent made.

"I still miss you, that hasn't changed."

There was a breath of silence. A tiny fragment of time when none of us spoke.

"I said it was up to you. I don't want you to feel forced into anything." His tone was different. Not yet warm, but still an improvement.

I exhaled in relief. "You're not forcing anyone." I almost said that I wanted to wake up next to him, but it would have been too soon. We weren't there yet. What we had was an ember of something, but it was fragile and temperamental. If forced to flare alive, it might as easily die never to rise again.

"Call me with details tomorrow. I'll pick you up at the train if possible."

"Thanks. And thanks for asking Lara."

"No problem."

We cut the call, and it struck me that we'd left on a much sourer note than a mere hour ago. It wasn't a good sign at all, but hopefully we'd make it work once we saw each other again.