Page 15 of So I'll Know
Reallylike it.
He’s obviously going through something with his sexuality; that much is clear. It reminds me of me before I met my friend Trey in high school—a scared little queer boy trying to navigate an unforgiving world alone.
But then he accidentally kicks my leg, and like a child, I kick him back. Harder.
“Ow!”
Tris reappears with three glasses pinched in one hand and a bottle of amber liquid in the other. “Everything okay?”
Marcus flushes, cutting a look my way.
I bat my eyelashes at him.
His gaze darkens. “Sorry, just banged my knee,” he mumbles.
I hate to admit it, but he’s so big and awkward that it’s cute.
Tris places the glasses in a line and pours the whisky. “Sorry,these will have to be neat because the ice machine isn’t working yet.”
We both shrug, and I feel his shoulder graze mine. For the life of me, I don’t understand why he doesn’t scoot his chair over. I guess I could move mine, but I’m not the one with a proximity problem.
Tris raises his glass. “Cheers to our newest team member, Jeremy.”
I smile, and we clink our glasses together before taking a sip. The alcohol immediately warms my belly and spreads through my limbs.
Tris leans on the bar and smiles, his eyes bouncing between us. “So the design meeting went well?”
Marcus doesn’t say anything, so I answer, “I think we have a good start. Marcus is okay with letting me take control.”
Marcus’s jaw tightens. “That’s notexactlywhat I said.” Tris gives him a questioning look, and Marcus continues, “But being that design isn’t my strong suit, Jeremy will make a lot of the decisions, yes.”
“I meant to ask earlier,” I cut in, “who decorated the pub in Vancouver?”
“My friend Norah did most of it, actually.” Something about the way his expression changes makes me think Norah is or was more than just a friend.
“And why isn’t Norah here to help you now?” I take a long pull of my drink.
“She . . .” Marcus’s hands are clasped tightly together in his lap. He’s so fucking tense. “She was only in town for a few weeks. She lives in the Midwest.”
“And she didn’t want to make another business trip back to the West Coast?”
Marcus looks away and shakes his head. “Er, no, it wasn’t a job for her. She just has a really good eye for these things, so I asked for her help at the time.”
“Well, she did a fabulous job,” I say honestly. I don’t know who Norah is to Marcus, but she’s clearly a sensitive subject, so I choose to be a little nicer. “I hope I can live up to her vision.”
Marcus just nods, still avoiding my eyes.
Tris’s phone buzzes on the bar, and he looks down at it with a frown. “Shit,” he says, looking up apologetically. “I’ll be right back.”
My cheeks feel hot, and I realize that I probably should have eaten something before I started drinking. Marcus takes a swallow of his whisky, his throat making an audible noise in the silence.
This is going great. I love listening to people swallow.
“It’s good whisky,” Marcus offers.
I nod, giving a stilted “Yeah.”
Kill me now.
