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Aiden stares at me with a dubious look. “A game?”
I shrug, suddenly feeling embarrassed. Did suggesting a game make me sound childish? “We’ve got time, right?”
He seems to think about this for a moment. “I usually only play games that involve alcohol.”
I give him a wry smile. “Why does that not surprise me?” Looking around the train, I try to think of something we can do to pass the time. My eyes land on the cat lady again, and I smile to myself. “Have you heard that cat urine is good for cell growth?”
Aiden blinks. “What?”
“It’s the game! You’ve never played it?”
“Have I ever played a game about cat piss?” His dark eyebrows pull together. “Uh, no. I can’t say that I have.”
I let out a laugh. “No. The game is that you start a sentence with ‘Have you heard...’ and then you either make something up or say something true. Then the other person has to guess if it’s fact or fiction.”
He’s staring at me with untrusting eyes. “Okay...and it’s fun? Because it sounds sort of dumb.”
I frown. “Well, what do you suggest then?”
“Can’t we just ride the train?”
Leaning back in my seat, I pull out my phone. Without looking at him, I say, “If that’s what you want.”
It’s probably for the best anyway. I have a lot of research I need to do before I get to Florida. I know we’re going to St. Petersburg, but I’m not sure how far the beach is once we get there. Not we, I. I’m not sure how far the beach is once I get there.
I open my Airbnb app and start looking for a place to stay. If I had planned this trip, it probably would have been too expensive to stay close to the beach, but thanks to last-minute timing, prices have dropped. I’m able to find a small two-bedroom bungalow for a price that doesn’t break my measly bank account. With it being the end of the semester, I’ve gotten paid for a lot of extra tutoring sessions these past few weeks, so I at least have a little extra cash to work with.
But how long will I stay?
I know I can stay at least the weekend. Everything past that is unknown at this point.
I’ve just finished booking the Airbnb when my phone shows an incoming message from Garret and my heart drops.
Garret: Where are you? I went back to look for you and the bartender said you left with some guy?
Shit.
My hands shake slightly as I stare down at the message. I have no idea how to answer him. Should I even answer him? Part of me feels like I shouldn’t, but another, larger part feels compelled to try to explain myself. My stomach ties into a knot as I picture him storming back into the bar and questioning the bartender. He’s probably assuming the worst right now. He has to be really angry. My thumbs hover over the keypad, but I can’t think of what to say. The blood pounding in my ears won’t let me think straight.
“Have you heard that more people die in train accidents than plane crashes every year?”
I jump at the sound of Aiden’s voice and look up at him, feeling dazed. “What? That’s terrible. Why would you tell me that when we’re on a train?”
His lips twitch and as soon as the realization hits, I can’t help the small smile that comes to my lips. “You’re playing the game.”
He laughs. “I think I just won. You should have seen the look on your face.”
I drop my phone in my lap and turn to face him. “I have a fear of dying in some type of freak accident.”
His face falls. “That’s morbid.”
With a roll of my eyes, I say, “I’m not saying I think I will. It’s just a fear. Like every time I ride the subway, I think about how terrible it would be if something went wrong with the tracks and we collided with another train.”
“You think about that every time you get on the subway?”
My cheeks burn, and I backpedal. “Well, I don’t dwell on it or anything, but it usually crosses my mind at some point.” I wave my hand in the air dismissively. “Not the point. The point is that you want to play my game.” I don’t know why it makes me so happy, but it does.
Shaking his head with a bemused smile, he says, “Yeah, I’ll play, but I want to change it.”
