Page 84 of Fish Out of Water

As if Mier itself were confirming Robbie’s statement, a downpour of rain broke out above, instantly soaking them to the bone. Robbie took Jake’s bag from him and tied it up while Jake hugged his arms over the sweatshirt that was far too exposing for the current weather.

“Come on,” Robbie called over the din of the rain, “we’ll drive somewhere warm and dry before they close the roads down.”

“Would they do that?” Jake sputtered on the water that dripped from the tip of his nose and philtrum into his mouth.

Robbie nodded vehemently. “Let’s go, Jake.”

Jake didn’t have to be told a third time. He fished his keys out of his pocket and started the car while Robbie dumped what little trash they’d managed to collect. He joined Jake in the carseconds later, his hair hanging limply over his eyes before he pushed it out of the way.

“Fuck me,” Jake said, “this is awful.”

“And rare,” Robbie assured him. “Let’s go to the bookstore. We’ll be safe there for a while.”

Jake fought against the pouring rain in his little sedan, and after a few painful minutes, he was in the bookstore parking lot, steeling himself for having to get out and bear the flood again while Robbie unlocked the door.

They ran together to the front of the building. Robbie let Jake inside first, where he stamped his feet and shook his shirt out. Water rained down on the little brownWelcome!rug. Robbie flicked the lights on, then got the heating running and disappeared into the back for a minute. When he returned, he had two light gray hoodies withEaton’s Book Nookemblazoned on the front, alongside a stack of books and a sleeping cat.

“This is even worse than the tote bag,” Jake told him, but he didn’t hesitate to strip off his wet shirt and put the warm, soft hoodie on.

“You’ll survive,” Robbie said, shooting him a withering look.

“What about our pants? They’re soaked too.”

“Well, it’s not like anyone’s going to come in here, and the door is locked anyway. Unless you’re afraid of what might happen if you take them off in front of me, I don’t care.”

“Afraid?” Jake laughed. “Robbie, Robbie, haven’t we moved past that by now?”

“You were so resolute on that fucking rule a few months back. How is practically every day okay with you now?”

Jake didn’t respond. Robbie’s question had been pointed, and not without venom. It was a tone he hadn’t heard in months, and it was almost shocking. But it was his own fault for building their relationship on the crumbling bricks of a rule that would never hold up to someone like Robbie.

In silence, he peeled off his jeans and laid them out across one of the reading chairs to dry off. The store had already warmed up a bit, and he didn’t feel nearly as chilled as he had when they first stumbled inside.

He waited for Robbie to take his pants off too, but Robbie didn’t. He just stood there, looking at the front counter as if once he blinked, it would all disappear.

“Want some help?” Jake asked.

“Hm? Oh, no, thanks.”

His light flirting had been lost on Robbie entirely.

“What’s wrong, Robbie?”

Robbie shook his head. When he looked back at Jake, his eyes were brimming with unshed tears.

“Oh God, what happened?”

“Nothing important,” Robbie murmured. “Forget it, Jake. Everything’s fine.”

“It’s not. Something happened between when I left your place this morning and when we met up at the beach. What is it? You can tell me.”

Instead of speaking, Robbie took his phone out of his pocket, opened an email, and handed it to Jake. Jake’s eyes roved over the tiny words, his brow furrowing more the deeper into the email he got. He recognized at least part of the name on the signature: Harry Brown, Esq. He remembered the day Robbie took him to his parents’ house to drop off some documents, and Madeleine was on the phone with Harry the lawyer.

“They’re going through with it?” he asked, handing the phone back to Robbie.

“Of course they are.” Robbie wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “Why wouldn’t they? It’s more profitable to turn this place into a cafe, and they don’t give a rat’s ass about what I would want in this situation. I should never have believed they would.”

“I’m sorry.” Jake didn’t know what else to say. He put his hand on Robbie’s shoulder and squeezed. “I’m really sorry, Robbie. I know how much this place means to you.”