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Gulp.
“Sorry to interrupt your workout,” I say.
“Oh, you didn’t,” he says, motioning at the bar. “Just finished my daily thousand,” he claims, flexing his core.
“You do a thousand pull-ups a day?” I ask, sensing bullshit.
“No.” He smirks. “I do a thousand pull-ups twice a day.”
I snort. “I’m sure you do.”
He grabs a towel off the back of a desk chair. “You looking for Seth?” he asks.
“Uh, no,” I say, stepping forward into the room. It’s a medium-sized room, large enough for two twin beds, two desks, and a TV stand in the corner. Not a terrible arrangement. “I came to see you, actually.”
“Little old me?” He dabs the sweat off his forehead and drapes the towel over the back of his neck. “Whatever did I do to deserve this honor?”
I reach into my pocket for the one-hundred-dollar bill.
He nods. “Oh. That.”
I step closer, but not too close. “I can’t accept this.”
“Why not?”
“You tipped a hundred on a thirteen-dollar tab.”
“I appreciate exemplary service when I see it,” he says. I open my mouth, but he talks over me. “Hey, I’ve always said that if you can’t afford to tip well, then you can’t afford to eat out. It’s just a fact.”
“Except this feels less like a tip and more like a handout.”
“It’s payment for services rendered.”
“Thirteen-dollar tab.”
“It’s a gift, then. Put it toward your car.”
I sigh. “Is that why you did this? That dumb vision board?”
“I really don’t think it’s dumb,” he says. “And I enjoy helping my friends. What can I say? It’s my weakness.”
I pause at the word. “Friends?” I ask.
Drew hesitates, his gaze briefly dropping to my mouth. “It’s what we have to be,” he says.
I press my lips together as my stomach twists all over again. “Not acquaintances?”
He looks up again, his face showing as much confusion as I feel. “Hell, I don’t know.” He breathes a laugh. “Honestly, Heidi, last night’s got me all fucked up. With that kiss and what Seth said this morning?—”
“You told Seth about it?”
“No,” he says. “He doesn’t know, but he said some things that made me feel… guilty about it. He’s my friend. He’s always been loyal to me, and I should have done the same.”
“So…” I shift on my toes, “you regret it, then?”
“No.” His lips twitch into a smile that disappears just as quickly. “But it can’t happen again, so if I have to make gestures of friendship to you until that sinks in, then that’s what I will do.”
I swallow hard as I look at the money in my hand. “Friendship,” I repeat.
