Stepping Away

Lunch

We made it to lunch, and somehow Bobby hadn't killed me yet. He saw the video that I posted on Instagram and had given me a death stare, but somehow I was still alive.

Bobby and I sat in the back of Joey's car. He continued to send glances in my direction. I continued to giggle, covering my mouth and decided to look forward and "ignore" him. It was kind of hard. I could never take him seriously when he tried to look mad.

We asked Sam to look after Riley, which she happily accepted.

We made it to Chipotle. Everybody hadn't really cared where we went so Joey just drove around until we found somewhere we could agree on.

We all ordered and sat, eating in silence for a few minutes before Bryan finally spoke up. He looked directly at me and smiled. "So T, how are you and Gunner?"

I nodded, figuring that the guys would ask about it, they always did. I finished my mouthful and twirled my fork around as I spoke. I couldn't help the smile that found its way to my face when I talked about my boyfriend. "We're good! Haven't had a lot of time together this week though."

Bryan raised an eyebrow, giving me a questioning look as he continued to take a bite of his burrito.

I shrugged, not completely bothered by it. "He's just been busy. Been at Tanner's and Connor's." I took another bite from my bowl.

Bryan exchanged a glance with Joey and shrugged, but nodded in understanding.

"What?" I asked, setting my fork down. I hated the look that they exchanged. It didn't sit right. "What's up?"

Joey picked it up from there. He shook his head, leaning back in his chair. "Nothing, we were just with Connor last night."

I blinked and raised my eyebrow. I shrugged and stabbed my fork into my meal again. "Whatever, he probably hung out with him after. I'm not his keeper. What time did y'all get done?"

"After midnight." Joey finished.

I tilted my head as possible thoughts ran through my head. It didn't surprise me that they hung out after midnight, its not like it hasn't happened before. I shrugged again and took another bite instead of speaking.

"When did he get home?" Bryan asked. He didn't want to pry, but he had noticed that Gunner was acting different lately. The couple in general had seemed different. They just weren't together as often. It didn't seem to phase T, but he could still be worried about his friend.

My bro furrowed. "I'm not sure." I said once I swallowed. "I was over at Bobby's."

The rest of the lunch was filled with small chit chat. We ended on the topic of Joey and how we had no idea if he would ever find a girlfriend. I loved these guys.

We made it back, having spent about an hour away from their jobs.

I thanked Sam for watching Riley and took him back to my office so I could finish up the videos and have them ready to post over the week.

I was about to shut the door, when Bryan decided to jam his foot in the way. "What's up?" I asked as I set my dog down and sat down at my desk. I pulled up the edits, hoping that maybe he would get a clue. I really needed to finish these.

He didn't, what a surprise.

He crossed his arms and looked down at me. "I don't want to cross the line or anything, but are you and Gunner okay?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah...why?" I racked my brain for reasons why he would even ask that. Sure the discussion that started lunch had seemed a little sketchy, but it was Gunner. He was always out with his friends late.

Bryan shook his head. "Nothing, the two of you just seem different." He leaned his hip against her desk. He couldn't help but worry. He felt like she was his sister and he just wanted her to be treated right.

I shook my head. "We're okay Bryan. I just saw him this morning."

He didn't look convinced.

I sighed and stood up. I placed my hands on his arms and nodded. "We're okay, alright? Thank you for looking out for me, you know that I love it, but Gunner and I are great."

He sighed and wrapped his arms around me, which I returned. "Okay." He breathed and pulled away.

"Now leave!" I shooed him out the door. "I've got deadlines and you aren't helping!"

He laughed as I shut the door in his face and returned to my seat.

I finished up the edits in maybe an hour and a half. I e-mailed them off for review and decided that maybe I could surprise Gunner over at his place. I couldn't help but think about him after lunch.

I left Riley with Bobby, knowing that both of them would be ecstatic.

Rekt wasn't filming so I figured he would be in his shared office. I stepped into it and turned on the light. Nobody was here. Gunner's desk was also empty. Had he gone home early? He could have just run out to grab something. I shrugged, again not totally bothered by it. Usually he texted me before he went out.

I turned on my heels and turned the light off as I left the office. I turned towards the door, looking at my feet as I thought.

I bumped into somebody. I quietly apologized and took a step back to see who it actually was.

Tanner looked frozen to his spot.

"Um...Earth to Tanner?" I chuckled quietly, waving my hand in front of his face.

He looked down at me, an expression falling over his face that I hated. Pity.

I raised an eyebrow and was about to just walk past him when Matt came out from behind him with the same look on his face. "Taylor, we need to talk."