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“He’s like a brother to me,” he said. “I really couldn’t picture my life without him. He might be a little irritating at times but he has a good heart and he always has my back. I know that if I’m ever in trouble, he’ll be there standing beside me.”
I envied their relationship because it was one that I had never had. Training for the Olympics had left me without friends. I had pushed everyone aside trying to get to the top. Now, I was paying the price for it.
“Well, hold onto him then because there aren’t many people in this world that you can trust these days.”
Landon’s eyes softened as he reached out and pinned a strand of hair behind my ear. It sent a tingle of warmth running through my spine. Our faces gravitated towards one another and our foreheads collided. He kept his hand on my cheek, thumb running across my skin. “You can trust us.”
Chapter 9: Jane
All week, my mind wandered back to my movie night with the guys. I hadn’t been expecting it to turn out so well but it was, without a doubt, one of the best nights I had experienced in quite a while. Just spending time with them had put me in such a state of ease. I had loved every minute of it and now that I hadn’t seen them for a while, I almost felt hollow inside.
Sure, I had seen them in passing as they went in and out of the hotel. They always looked so busy — concerned even — and it made me realize that I didn’t have much idea of what they did or who they truly were, outside of their general personalities. They had enough money to pay for the hotel but where did that money come from? What were they doing now? Some nights, when I worked the graveyard shift, they didn’t return to their rooms until three or four o’clock in the morning.
Doubt started to plant itself into my subconscious. What if they were drug dealers or something? Was I getting myself involved in a great big mess I wanted nothing to do with?
I tried talking to them about it but their answers were vague. There was definitely something they were hiding from me and if they wanted to hang out with me again, then I was going to need some serious answers.
“Jane? Earth to Jane!” Homer waved a hand in front of my face and it jolted me from my jumble of thoughts. I would just need to sort them out later on in the day. “Jane!” This time, he snapped.
“What?”
“Is everything okay? You were like, on another planet or something.”
“Just… thinking.”
“About?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
He frowned. “You know, it’s not good for you to internalize. They say it’s healthy to let things go and I’m all ears.”
“Shouldn’t you be cleaning the rooms o
n the fifth floor?”
“Speaking about the fifth floor…” he started but then he looked over his shoulder like he half expected someone to jump out from the shadows. Once he had made a full sweep of the area, he returned his attention to me. “I’ve noticed that you’ve been talking a lot with the guys from room 512.”
“Yeah, so?”
“So…” he grabbed a complimentary candy and popped it into his mouth. I gave him a glare because he knew he wasn’t supposed to take what was meant for paying customers but he rarely followed that particular rule. I was refilling that dish every other day. Somehow, I have a knack for attracting guys with a serious sugar addiction. “I don’t like them,” he said at last.
“And why is that?”
“I can’t quite put my finger on it but something about them feels… off.”
“I see.”
“And it doesn’t make me comfortable seeing the way they look at you.”
“How do they look at me, exactly?”
“It’s like they’re hungry.”
“Hungry?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “That might not be the best way to describe it but it’s this, almost, predatory look, like they’re just looking for the right moment to pounce.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I said. I didn’t even think twice about defending them, which was weird, considering that I was having doubts of my own. Yet, I couldn’t stand the thought of Homer thinking ill of them. “Look, I appreciate your concern and the fact that you’re trying to look out for me but I think I can handle myself.”
