Page 35 of Fish Out of Water

Jake stepped aside just in time to avoid getting pushed out of the way by two men leaving. He stumbled the rest of the way to the counter, eyes still on Robbie. He hadn’t noticed Jake yet, but he would. It was only a matter of time.

“Can I get you something?”

Jake looked up at the bartender, as dazed as if he’d just been thumped on the head. “What? Oh, yeah, vodka soda.”

“You got it.”

He immediately turned his attention back to Robbie, who finally glanced up. Their eyes met, and as recognition dawned on Robbie’s face, Jake shook his head.

Not tonight,he mouthed.Stay the fuck away.

9

BRICK WALL

It was hard to ignore the elephant in the room, but Jake tried his best. He stayed at the bar, eyeing a guy who had just sat down next to him. The man smiled, and Jake smiled back, drawing a little closer. But then he caught Robbie in his periphery again. Robbie had purposely turned away from him, but even then, he must have sensed Jake’s eyes on him, because he looked back just long enough for their gazes to meet before Jake could avert his eyes. It was excruciating.

“Come here often?”

Jake jerked his head back. “Sorry?”

The man sitting next to him laughed. He had a nice laugh—clear and warm and not too forced. “There’s a lot of pretty faces here to distract a man tonight.”

“Oh, no, I just… saw someone I know.” Jake took a sip of his drink. It burned just enough to bring him back to reality.

“An ex?”

“God, no. A friend.”

The man nodded. “I’ve never seen you here before.”

“I just moved here about a month ago—well, not here, but Eventide.”

“Wow, that’s a small town.”

“It is,” Jake said, “but I have family in the area. And I won’t be staying permanently anyway; just a few more months.”

“Gotta make the most of your time here then, huh?” The man slid his hand across Jake’s thigh, waiting for Jake to react.

Jake smiled. “That’s exactly what I had in mind. My name’s Jake, by the way.”

The man’s hand slid farther up. “Ryan. My place isn’t too far from here.” Ryan glanced back. “Or we could head to the bathroom if you can’t wait.”

Jake looked toward the bathroom too, which happened to be directly in the sightline of Robbie. Except Robbie wasn’t sitting at the little table anymore. He had gotten up and was on his way over to the bar.

“We should go to your place,” he said quickly, keeping an eye on Robbie.

“Great. Lemme just finish my drink.”

Jake bit down hard on his lower lip. He turned around, hoping, praying, that Robbie stayed at the opposite end of the bar, and he and Ryan could leave in peace. Instead, Robbie slid in next to Jake, setting his empty glass on the countertop. Jake fidgeted with his hands in his lap. He couldn’t look to his right. He wouldn’t allow Robbie to ruin this night for him.

“Fancy seeing you here.”

Jake squeezed his eyes shut. He waited a moment, as though that would get rid of Robbie, but it didn’t work. When he finally opened his eyes, Robbie was staring straight ahead, waiting for the bartender to finish serving the other patrons.

“I thought you were going home to read.”

Robbie shrugged. “I changed my mind.”