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He pulled a face and smiled a grin that showed all his teeth but definitely wasn’t happy. “I kind of had to make a hasty exit.”
I stared him down and waited for him to elaborate.
He didn’t.
I decided then and there that the little gift I gave to myself for surviving the night would be to radically accept never knowing the rest.
Something shifted the moment we exited the elevator and set foot onto Fortuna’s massive outdoor parking deck. It was like the feeling of exiting a movie theater, mind buzzing and body a bit stiff, unsure of what time of day it might be outside or what may have happened while you were inside.
And then you realize that life had gone on as usual even as you sat inside, unaware.
I took a moment to breathe in the humid, salty air from the Gulf and then choked on it when Liem, whose pallor I had been relieved to note looked much less sickly, mused, “I think I should get a moped before you go back to Alabama. Unless you want to leave me your Rav4, of course. I’ll take care of her. If you teach me to drive a manual.”
I flicked my gaze to Bree, who’d done a good job of masking the confusion at Liem’s statement, but not quite fast enough for me to not catch it. She opened her mouth as if to ask for more information, but then shut it.
I didn’t offer more either. It felt presumptuous to do so, which was probably the conclusion she’d landed on too.
We owed each other nothing, but the brew of feelings that roiled my insides at the idea of going back to my life in Gulf Shores and leaving this one behind was... potent.
I quietly told Liem that I would yield my precious ‘97 Rav4 to no one, ever, and we could discuss his future transportation needs later. We had almost made it to the stairway entrance to start our climb to the fourth level where I’d parked said Rav4 when Liem and I both realized Bree was no longer with us. We turned around in unison, finding her hovering a few feet away, looking uncertain.
“I can take it from here,” Bree said so quietly that I almost didn’t hear her.
“Take what?” Liem asked as he approached her. “The perfect ending to my birthday but not letting us see you safely home?”
I smirked, proud of Liem’s smooth handling of an obviously spooked Bree.
Accepting no argument, Liem looped his arm through hers and pulled her toward the stairs. “I would like maybe one more thing for my birthday to mark the night,” he stated, his tone a bit serious.
I followed them into the stairwell. “Whatever it is, does it have to happen tonight? Also, I’m not getting you any more food, so you can forget it. You look better, but I’m taking you home for antacids and a giant glass of water.”
Our footfalls reverberated loudly in the echo chamber we were climbing, and Liem huffed. “Lord have mercy, I’ll tell you when we get to the car.”
And a short while later, we did, Liem insisting that Bree ride shotgun as I pulled out my keys. She agreed, but when she went to open the door, I nudged her aside with a chuckle. “No automatic locks on this baby,” I explained as I put the key in the door and unlocked it.
The flash of heat in her eyes nearly had me dropping my keys, but I covered the fumble by clearing my throat and opening the door for her.
On our way out of the garage, Liem spoke up. “It doesn’t have to be tonight, but I’d like to finish up that tattoo above your elbow. And I’d like your opinion on one of my new ones,” he’d said.
Bree whipped her head to look at him in the backseat. “You’re a tattoo artist? And you—” Her gaze shifted to me, but I kept my eyes on the path illuminated by my headlights, doing my best to ignore the trippy too-low concrete ceiling as we made our way down several levels of the parking garage. “You’re an artist?”
“I draw some,” I answered succinctly before Liem jumped in.
“He’ll downplay it to his dying breath, my brother. He can do a lot of things, but he mostly spends time on his computer, being a keyboard warrior.”
I snorted at Liem’s description of my job and corrected it so Bree didn’t take his word at face value. “I am not a keyboard warrior, Liem. I don’t engage in self-righteous fights on the internet. I’m a software engineer.”
“That still doesn’t explain it. I’ll never understand what you do.”
“And that’s okay,” I assured him, internally cringing at how condescending I sounded as I glanced at the rearview mirror to see a slight frown on Liem’s face and quickly amended, “You can tell people I’m a keyboard warrior if you want. I don’t mind.”
Bree seemed amused by our back and forth, and silence fell over us as we finally made our way out of the garage. Bree and I both glanced up at the sky bridge as we passed under it, our time together on it already feeling like another lifetime. The only sounds for the rest of the drive had come from the busy streets around us, mostly thanks to the crowds gathered outside the various casinos we passed, and Bree’s quiet murmuring of directions.
We pulled partially into the driveway she indicated, and Bree hopped out of the car as fast as possible. Liem got out too, and they hugged goodbye in front of the still-open passenger side door.
“Goodnight, Liem. And Happy Birthday again,” Bree rasped as they broke apart, then she ducked down and offered me a wave goodbye.
I returned it and watched as she trudged up the path to her house—her massive house, from what I could see illuminated by just the streetlights—and Liem slipped into the front passenger seat that she’d just vacated.
