Patrick glanced around, suddenly uncertain, but having already committed himself to the “talk.” He nodded. “Yeah, uh… do you want to go get a soda or something?”
“Sounds good.” Brian walked around to the passenger door. “I’ll ride with you and pick up my car later.”
Patrick drove them to a small diner that recently opened a few blocks from the church. In the back corner of the quaint establishment was a vintage jukebox stocked with a mix of classic and modern music. The two boys ordered drinks at the front counter and took them to a high-backed booth near the jukebox. The other rear booths were empty, offering privacy.
When Patrick didn’t immediately start talking, Brian initiated the conversation. “What’s on your mind? You’ve been distracted all morning. Do you even know what the sermon was about?”
“No,” Patrick whispered. “I tried to pay attention, but…” He let out a shaky breath.
“What?” Brian asked. “What’s going on with you today?”
Patrick twisted his glass and stirred the ice with his straw. “I, um… I wasn’t out driving around last night. Not… Not the whole time.”
“What?”
He chewed his lip, his stomach churning. “I… I saw… Derek.”
Brian blinked, stunned. “What…?”
“Nothing happened,” Patrick hurriedly explained. “We just… we had a soda at the restaurant and talked a little bit and… and that was it.”
His brow knitting, Brian lowered his eyes to his drink. “You said you weren’t going out with him.”
“I wasn’t. I-I didn’t mean to.”
Brian shook his head. “What?”
“I drove by the restaurant like forty minutes after I was supposed to meet him. I thought he would be long gone… but he wasn’t and… and we just ended up having a drink.”
“Uh-huh.” Brian sighed. “Are you going to see himagain?”
“No. I… I sort of took off when he was in the restroom.”
“You did?”
“Yeah.” Patrick glanced around the diner. “But I feel bad about it now. It was a rotten thing to do. I… I should apologize.”
“You should…?” Brian stared at him. “No, I think that would be a really bad idea, Patrick. You’re playing with fire here—like,hellfire. The best thing you can do is stay away from him. Youdon’twant to contact him again. He’ll read the wrong thing into it and try to keep a line of communication open. Just leave it alone. He’ll be fine, he doesn’t need your apology. In fact, walking out on him was probably the best thing you could do. I’m sure he got the memo.”
“The memo?”
“That you’re not interested.”
“Oh.”
Uncertainty etched Brian’s face. “Youaren’tinterested, right?”
Patrick flinched at his own hesitation. “No… no, of course not.”
“Good. Don’t contact him.”
“I can’t,” Patrick mumbled. “I deleted his number from my phone last night.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Brian nodded. “That was a good move. Remove all means of contact.”
