"Close enough." He brushes past my comment, dropping the bag of food at one of the round tables and plopping onto a wrought-iron chair. "So, you really have off today?"
I laugh awkwardly, taking the seat across from him. "I really do."
"You sure you didn't get canned again?" he teases, reaching into the bag.
I glare at him as I lean my forearms on the table. "Very funny."
"I'm kidding." He smiles and hands me a taco wrapped in white to-go paper. "But I did think it was funny."
I raise my brows, unrolling the paper, and attempting to find anything to talk about that's not my recent job history. "There was talk about me going with them on their away trip this weekend."
He pauses, his taco mid-trek toward his mouth. "Why would you go with the Gators to Grand Oaks?"
I part my lips, staring at him. "Seriously?"
He glances around the open courtyard, then back at me. "What? For the kid? I thought she wasn't a baby." He lowers his voice, the rest of his argument trailing off into a mumble. "You made that very clear at the store the other night…"
I roll my eyes quickly enough that he doesn't notice. "She's eleven, and her dad is working all weekend."
He drops his chin. "He's playing baseball."
My eyes grow wide as I set my food down. "Yeah, the same game you've been obsessing over for weeks."
Trevor's eyes flick to mine. "What does that have to do with it?"
I shake my head, clearly in a mood, and calm my voice. "Nothing, I'm just saying. It's still work for him, and it's still my job to help with Ruthie."
Trevor takes a bite of his taco, avoiding my gaze. "Just not now, apparently," he mutters under his breath.
I blow past it. "He avoided it anyway, so I probably won—"
"Well, good," he mutters between chews. "Because you can't. We have my work trip this weekend."
I lean back in my chair, the cool metal a much-needed reprieve from the sudden warmth radiating through me. I stare at him, undeniably thrown, that annoyance creeping back in subtly.
He scoffs, dropping his taco onto the open paper in front of him. "You forgot, didn't you."
I sit forward hesitantly. "I did not… remember." Trevor's mouth drops open. "But things have been crazy," I add quickly. "With the new job and my siblings blowing me up all week…"
"Come on, Tess. How am I supposed to golf with Charlie and convince him that I'm good for this promotion if you're not there to make sure his wife's at the hotel three cosmos deep and waiting for him?"
I laugh out of frustration. "Wow, really? That's why you don't want me to miss it?"
He looks at me like he has no idea why that'd be offensive and the lingering annoyance turns full on irritation. If this is a mood, that mood's name is Trevor, and if you ask me, it's been a long time coming.
"Well," I say, pushing my food away from me. "I'm sorry I wouldn't be able to babysit your boss's wife, Trev. But I'd have an actual child to watch."
"Yeah, sounds about right. You always have someone else to take care of—your brothers or sisters or someone else's kid. What about me, Tess?" His voice softens, his jaw tight. "What about us?"
There's no real strength behind those last three words. Just that quiet resignation we've both been pretending not to notice.
I exhale a breath it feels like I've been holding for weeks. “What about us, Trevor? Really? You say that, but then I show up here to spend time with you, and you act like… like…”
"Like what, Tessa?"
My eyes grow. "Like this."
His shoulders reach his ears. "It caught me off guard."
