My phone rings in my pocket, and a part of me wants to let it go to voice mail. When I see Royce’s ugly mug on the video chat, I almost do just that. I don’t even want to talk to him right now, let alone have him on video chat. The asshole will be able to read my features from a thousand paces, and that’s not something I want to get into right now. Right now, I just want to figure out how to get back to the airport. I didn’t book a return flight yet, in hopes that I’d be able to stay a few days with Cricket. But now? Now I can’t wait to get the fuck out of the city and home to Tennessee.
When the call hangs up, a text message arrives.
Royce:Answer the fucking phone, dickhead. I have something for you to see.
I’m pretty sure I don’t want to see whatever it is he wants to show me, and the moment the second video call starts ringing, I almost hit decline. But I know the jerk won’t let up and will probably keep calling and calling until I finally give in.
That’s why I swipe my finger over the screen and paste on my best ‘I’m fine’ grin.
“Hey,” I reply, taking a seat on the front steps of Cricket’s building.Or her former building.
Royce smiles so big, all I can see are teeth. “Hey, little brother. How’s it going?” he singsongs like a fucking lunatic.
“Fine.”
“Fine? Really? Have you been to Cricket’s place yet?”
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I could totally lie and tell him I haven’t made it here yet, or I could tell him the truth, that she’s not here anymore. Both options suck, if you ask me. I don’t make it a habit of lying to my brother, and I’m not really in the mood to listen to his “it’ll be okay, there are plenty of fish in the sea” speeches right now.
“Uhhh…” I reply, glancing around as if by some miracle, Cricket will appear.
“Listen, so the reason I was calling was to tell you a visitor just showed up.” He’s still smiling. I want to punch him in the face.
“Okay,” I reply with a shrug. What’s he getting at?
“Damn, what a hot little number she is too,” Royce says, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “And since you’re not here, I might as well keep her entertained, right? I mean, isn’t that what a good big brother does?”
“Stop torturing him!” I hear, just as a hand appears on the screen and hits Royce in the arm. That’s when I stop breathing all together.
The phone is jostled around until the most beautiful sight fills my screen. Way better looking than my brother. “Hey,” Cricket says, a gorgeous smile on her face.
“Hi,” I reply, sitting up straight and grinning myself. “What are you doing there?”
Cricket shrugs. “I was in the neighborhood…”
“Yeah? You just happened to be in Pittman Center?” I ask.Why am I smiling so big?
“Actually, yes. I just moved here.”
My blood swooshes in my ears. Did I just hear her right? “Really?”
Cricket nods. “Yep. I start a new job in Gatlinburg in a week.”
“A new job, huh? Doing what?”
“I’d rather tell you about it in person, but you seem to be…not here.”
I glance back at the front of her former building. “Yeah, I decided to take a little trip.”
“I see that. So…how long are you staying in San Francisco?”
I stand up, collect my bag, and start walking down the sidewalk in the direction I originally came. “I’m not.”
“No?”
“Nope, I’m headed home. As quickly as I can get there.”
Now she’s smiling again. “Good to hear.”