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After he pays the man, he puts a hand to the small of my back and leads me to one of the little round tables and chairs that occupy the small space until he stops at one near the far wall, tucked near a corner, almost giving us the illusion of privacy.
But I know that’s not it.
I give him a tight smile, hating the coldness I feel on my back after he removes his hand from there, not realising how much I wanted it until it’s gone. We sit down and are instantly submerged in awkward silence. It is just awkward for me, or Riley as well? Is it awkward for the same reason?
I return to the conversation Ava had with me earlier today, where she seemed convinced that Riley felt more for me but, if that’s the case, why does it feel like there is a wedge between us? Yes, there are times when we click and it’s like we are one person, but those moments are always followed with moments like this, tense, awkward silence.
The silence is almost deafening and drags on for I don’t know how long until, finally, Riley shifts in his seat, looking uncomfortable as he leans forward on the table with his forearms. I shift in my seat until Riley breaks the silence, saying, “You did good today.”
I nod, seeing his words for what they are, a way to end the silence, but I want more, I want to know more. So I suck in a big breath, bracing before asking something I can't help but ask. “So did you ever have a girl back in Europe?”
He blinks, his eyes surprised before he thinks, trying to figure out a way to answer, which is not a good sign. “Um, I never had a relationship, no.”
I furrow my brow, knowing that is his way of saying he's only slept around, which I don’t blame him for. He was a musician travelling, and I'm not exactly celibate. “Why not?”
He thinks again, shrugging. “Well, I was never in a place long enough, but I also never met anyone I could stand to be around longer than a night.” I nod, taking in this information, understanding, as he winces. “That sounds bad, doesn’t it?”
I regard him with a thoughtful look. “No, I understand.” And before I can stop myself, I say, “You seem to be handling it around me very well.”
If I wasn’t looking at him, I would’ve missed the slight widening of his eyes before he composes his face. “You’re very easy to be around.” He pauses, and I can’t help my heart from doing a little backflip in my chest. He didn’t say that he liked me or wanted to fuck me, but I’m easy to be around, which means he wants to keep me around. In my mind, that is far more than just wanting him to fuck me.
I give him a small smile. “You’re easy to be around too.”
“I know.” He gives me a wink seconds before the man from the counter arrives at our table, dropping our burgers before us, its delicious smell increasing my hunger by a million as we happily devour our meals in joint silence.
CHAPTER 36
RILEY
Iguess I shouldn’t have been so honest with Mia, but what else was I supposed to say? That I hated having her around and wanted her to leave. That would be a lie and I knew that would hurt her, which would hurt me. That’s something I would never want to do.
She throws me a smile as I pull up outside the bar. Hopping out and throwing the gym bag over my shoulder, Mia comes around to me as we make our way into the bar.
When we enter, we stop at what we see inside.
Taking a quick look outside, I notice a cop car parked across the street, one I didn’t notice until now. I proceed to enter the bar with a furrowed brow and an increased heart rate as my eyes move over the two cops talking to Danny, one jotting down notes and the other talking to him and looking around.
Their eyes land on us and only then do I move, my mind going over all of the things that could be wrong right now as Danny excuses himself and comes to meet us.
“Danny, what’s going on?”
He turns a worried glance to the cops before looking back at us. “Someone broke in.”
“What?!” Mia and I exclaim in unison, drawing the attention of the cops.
“The registers have been cleaned out, bottles have been destroyed, and I have the boys going around and checking if anything else was taken.”
I feel Mia’s hand encircle my own, holding and squeezing mine as if it were a lifeline. I don’t let go, but squeeze her hand in return, knowing it is what she needs right now, even though it won’t fix anything.
Before I can say anything, I scan the now empty shelves behind the bar, broken glass, and spilled liquor everywhere, until suddenly we hear a stampede of footsteps coming from the top of the stairs as both Malcom and Travis appear with worried expressions. “Danny!” They look at Mia and I as Malcom says, “You guys might wanna come look at this.”
The cops stay downstairs, looking for any evidence on who might have done this, as we all run up the stairs, following Malcom and Travis until they reach the door to our apartment.
I stop, seeing the lock broken and the door ajar when Travis explains, “This is how we found it, but that’s not the worst part.”
He nods his head for us to follow him, pushing the door open to reveal exactly how I left the apartment that morning. Nothing is touched or moved or missing. I furrow my brow, looking at the boys for some kind of explanation, and they each frown, making their way down the hall until they open Mia’s door and stand before it.
Looking at Mia, I see a mix of worry and fear on her face as she carefully moves to stand before her bedroom door.
