AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The ride to the airport, where I’m meeting Jez, seems to stretch on forever. Several times, I think about heading in the opposite direction, but I don’t. I’m not a runner. Never have been, never will be.
After parking next to Jez’s car, I lower the kickstand and throw my leg over the bike to stand, all the while pretending that I don’t see her stalking toward me with a scowl on her face.
“Took you long enough.” Her hands fly as she signs, her movements stiff.
I roll my eyes. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
Jez grabs my hand and practically drags me toward the entrance. Truth be told, she couldn’t drag me anywhere, and she knows it. If I didn’t want to go, I wouldn’t.
It takes a few minutes to get to the gate, and when I see that Matt and Paul’s plane doesn’t land for another hour and a half, I spin Jez around to face me.
“What the fuck, Jez? We had plenty of time.”
Her shoulders sag. “And you know as well as I do that if I’d told you the real time, we’d be late.”
Jez leans against the wall, and I move to relax next to her. As the minutes tick by, the space fills in with people who are here to greet their own friends and family, and Jez moves to stand in front of me.
She rests her head on my chest, and a pang of guilt slithers through me. Jez and I have spent the last three years traveling, living out of duffel bags in cheap motels. She bought a house two years ago, and every once in a while, we’ll stay there to catch up on some rest, but it doesn’t happen often. I’ve run her ragged, and it shows.
I don’t know how much time passes, but fast, heavy footsteps snag my attention, as well as Jez’s. We both lift our heads, and she steps to the side right before a large fist connects with my face.
“What the hell, Matt?” Jezebel screeches.
She turns and lifts her arm to inspect my chin, but I push her hand away and glare at Matt.
“That’s the one and only time you’ll get away with that.” My signing is stilted as fury burns me from the inside out.
Matt flexes his fists at his sides and narrows his eyes before glancing at his sister. “Why didn’t you tell me he was coming?” he demands. His ASL is as perfect as ever, and my heart warms slightly that it still seems as natural for him to sign now as it was the last time we saw each other.
Jez flits her gaze from me to Matt to Paul and then back to Matt. “I wasn’t aware I had to warn you that your best friend would be here,” she snaps. “Jesus, Matt. Why would you hit him?”
“He thought I was here with you,” I sign. When she appears confused, I continue. “Like,with youwith you, Jez.”
“That’s ridiculous. Me and John?” She shakes her head. “I mean, we’ve shared a bed or two, but nothing has ever happened. He’s practically my brother.”
“Shared a bed or…” Matt steps closer to me, and I cross my arms over my chest, silently daring him to hit me again. “What the hell does that mean, shared a bed or two?”
Jezebel waves her hand dismissively. “Get your mind outta the gutter. John is always the perfect gentleman.”
“Still didn’t answer my question.”
I step in front of Jezebel as if to protect her from Matt. “Unlike you, she stuck around. We’ve worked on some things together while you two were out chasing down terrorists, and sometimes our work means staying in whatever motels we can find. Nothing happened. End of story.”
“John, you know why we couldn’t stick around.” Paul doesn’t speak out loud, instead relying on sign language to help keep our secrets.
I narrow my eyes on Paul, desperately wanting to argue but knowing it’s futile. Instead, I nod curtly. “I do. Doesn’t mean I like it.”
“Can we get outta here?” Jezebel asks as she glances around the airport at our surroundings. “Too many people.”
“This discussion isn’t over,” Matt insists.
“Keep on telling yourself that, brother of mine.” Jezebel smacks him playfully on the cheek.
As we walk through Harry Reid International, I watch my friends closely. They seem to be on high alert, every little noise garnering their attention. Tension rolls off both of them, and I hate that whatever they saw over in the desert seems to have followed them home.
Home.
It’s so fucking good to have all four of us in one place again, but I won’t admit that to
