Page 46 of Pretend I’m Yours
But I had to find him first.
I grabbed my purse and headed out the door, resisting the urge to call him again. I didn’t want to be that girl – the one who blew up his phone when he clearly didn’t want to talk. But it was hard not to. Every passing minute that I didn’t hear from him made me think that I was never going to hear from him again.
In all reality I knew I would have to hear from him again. His things were in my apartment and I owed him money. If for nothing else, he’d come for that. If I couldn’t find him, I’d just have to wait for him to come to me to collect his things and his payment. Then I could convince him that we belonged together for real.
At the moment though, I couldn’t just sit there and wait. I needed to do something. I needed to at least try to find him somewhere. He had to know how serious I was about how I felt about him. I shut and locked the door behind me and ran to the elevator, jamming my finger at the down button impatiently.
I hailed a taxi and hopped in, giving the cab driver the address to the club where I’d met Drake weeks before. I was sure after what he’d heard he wouldn’t want to do anything that had anything to do with me, so he wasn’t likely to be going to any venue that needed my card to get in.
If there was one place I would go if I was upset like that, it would be somewhere simple. The club seemed to fit the bill in my mind. It was such a step away from the kind of life we’d been living recently, and that was exactly what I wanted. Hell, it was the whole reason I would frequent the club myself when I had some free time.
My phone rang and my heart leapt to my throat, but it was Teisha.
“Hey, I can’t talk right now,” I said frantically. “Sorry.”
“What’s going on? You sound upset,” she said. “Everything okay?”
“I think I just messed things up with Drake for good,” I said. “He overheard a conversation I was having with my parents and I’ve got a lot of explaining to do.”
“Shit,” she said. “Sorry to hear that.”
“Can I give you a call back? I’m not trying to blow you off or anything, I’ve just really got to find him,” I said. “Where would you go if you were him?”
“I couldn’t even begin to tell you,” she said. “Maybe try the club where you guys met?”
“That’s where I’m heading, but I’m afraid he’s not going to be there and I’m just going to lose my shit over it,” I said.
“Calm down, girl. Think. You’ve been living with him for a while now, I’m sure you have some idea of his habits,” she said. “Good luck, okay? Keep me posted.”
“Thanks,” I said. “I’ll call you when I’ve got something to report.”
I hung up the phone and sighed, sitting back in the seat of the cab. She was right. I had to think. If he wasn’t at the club, then where would he go? The bars seemed to be my best bet. A nice cold glass of something to help him forget my harsh words probably sounded pretty damn appealing.
But he wouldn’t be anywhere that was too fancy. Nothing that would remind him of my stupid parents and our conversation.
The driver dropped me off and I thanked him, dashing out of the cab and into the club. But my fears were realized when I saw only strangers inside. The only familiar face was that of the bartender, and he hardly glanced my way when I stepped in.
I didn’t have time to waste. I turned and headed back out, walking up the street with my hands in my pockets. All the bars along this set of blocks were cheaper than where he had been hanging out. I would just go through them one by one until I found him.
And if I didn’t have any luck, I’d go home and wait for him. He had to come back at some point, right?
The first three bars didn’t produce anything, and I tried not to let my heart sink when the fourth was nearly empty. It wasn’t until I found him in the fifth that my heart leapt to my throat.
He was in the corner of the room shooting pool with another man.
Must be one of his friends, I thought. I walked over to him and put my hands in my back pockets. “Hey.”
His posture went rigid and he didn’t take his eyes off the table to look my way. “Hey,” he said, his voice stony. He lined up another shot, but I could see his hands were shaking as he tried to hit the ball. Clearly, my presence was having some sort of effect on him, but I wasn’t sure how to read it. He didn’t seem angry with me, and his friend appeared entirely neutral.
