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“You get used to it. Did you need something?”
“Yeah. Think we’ll be able to turn the power on? We’re throwing a party tonight and we need to get set up.”
Looking over my shoulder at him, I frowned. “A party? It’s Wednesday.”
He flashed me a grin. “Yeah, we don’t really give a shit. We just wanna have some fun. So, power?”
“Should be fine. Let me just finish up a few things.” I turned the power back on after I was done every evening anyway. But since they probably had to set things up for their party, I finished early so that they could have the power back on.
I was just climbing back down the ladder when Riley came down the hallway. She waved at me, coming to join me as I brushed myself off. A few prospects were already waiting to move the ladder and my tools out of the way for the night. I’d complain if they didn't put everything back in the mornings.
“Hey! Did you hear about the party?”
Nodding, I brushed the dust off my jeans. “Yeah, I’ll turn the power back on. Just give me a minute.”
“No rush. I was just asking because I was wondering if you wanted to hang out. You’ve been working like crazy. You deserve a break.”
I bit my lip, and my gaze dragged towards the stairs. “Is Clink going to be there?”
Riley’s eyebrows drew down. “Um… probably. Why?”
Despite my attempt to mask it, Riley must’ve seen the dejected look on my face. She looped her arm through mine, tugging me towards my room. “Come on. We’ll talk.”
I let her lead me away, mostly because I was lonely. Tyson was a great friend, but I didn’t really feel comfortable talking about boy problems with him. He already seemed guarded here. He’d also been quiet since the near miss on the road. The only thing he’d been doing outside of working on my laptop was making phone calls to the people he sponsors to check in on them. I didn’t want to upset him. A small part of me hoped Riley had some insight on what I did to upset Clink enough to drive him away, but I also didn’t want to know. What if he just didn’t like me anymore?
The room was empty when we went in, like usual. Clink said he wanted me to stay with him, but he was never here, so it didn’t feel like I was. Other than his clothes in the drawers, there was no sign of him.
Riley sat on the bed, pulling me with her, and raised her eyebrows. “Okay. Spill. What’s got you in a funk?”
I dropped my gaze to my hands, fidgeting. “I don’t know.”
It was a lie, and she didn’t fall for it. She put her hand on my shoulder, tipping her head to catch my eyeline. “You can talk to me, Sam. I know these guys can get obnoxious, but they’re not all bad. Did someone say something to you or–”
When I shook my head, she frowned. “Then what’s wrong? You look really unhappy.”
Heaving out a sigh, I lifted my shoulders helplessly. “Clink’s been avoiding me. I don’t know what I did, and I haven’t really dated in years, so I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do about it. I thought about apologizing, but I don’t think I should apologize for something when I don’t know what I’m apologizing for. And he doesn’t stay in the same room as me long enough for me to ask.”
The confusion on her face only grew the longer I spoke. When I finished, she pulled out her phone, sending out a text message. She noticed me frowning at her and shrugged.
“Playing games is stupid. He needs to be a man and tell you what’s bugging him. Just give it a minute. I’m pretty sure he was outside.”
My mouth fell open. I didn't want her to force him to talk to me. That wasn’t going to help. If he was avoiding me like this, he probably didn’t want to see me. Forcing him would only make things worse.
“Riley, I don’t think–”
The door flew open and Clink rushed in, his eyes wild as he took in the room. He was breathing heavily, like he ran here, and he looked freaked out. He stepped up to me, looking me over, before shooting Riley a confused look.
“What happened? You said she was hurt.”
Riley nodded. “I did. You’re hurting her feelings by ignoring her. Is there a reason you’re avoiding her?”
“You told him I was hurt?” I demanded.
She lifted a shoulder again, not even a little apologetic for scaring the hell out of Clink, or lying to him. Even when he started seething, she just looked bored, lifting her eyebrow with an expectant look.
Clink scowled at her. “That’s fucked up. I thought she was bleeding or something. Want me to do that to you? Tell you Croy was hurt on a job so you can show up when I want you to?”
Her look was droll, and she pushed to her feet. “Try it and I’ll tell Croy you’re purposely trying to upset me. I wonder how he’d feel about it.”
