Chasing the Wild Sparks (39 page)

By Tuesday night, I’m tempted to go over to Finn’s apartment just so I can give him a goodbye kiss, but then I wouldn’t want to leave. Does that really matter, though?  Should I surprise him? Maybe I’d better not do that twice in the same week. I’d probably be pushing my luck.

Picking up my phone, I hit the speed dial for Finn’s number and he answers on the third ring. Sounding somewhat distracted he greets, “Hey, Becks.”

“Hey. What are you doing?”

He pauses to say something to someone. “Um, I’m over at Ricky’s. Why?”

“Oh. I was just wondering if you wanted a sleepover buddy tonight.”

“What? You want to stay with me tonight? Why?”
Why
? He wants me to stay with him any other night of the week. Hell, he wants me to
live
with him.

“I miss you. I thought I’d stay with you before you have to go to Philadelphia.”

He blows out a sigh into the phone. “Uh, well, I do, but I’m staying over at Ricky’s tonight.” He sounds like he’s being less than truthful. Why? What’s he hiding from me?

“You are? On a work night? Are you drinking tonight or something?”

“No. I’m not. We’ve both had a couple, but we’re sober. Tesco
begged
me to stay the night.” He laughs and I hear murmuring in the background. The noises become even more muffled and I suspect Finn is covering the phone.

He then says, “We were shooting some pool when you called, so now we’re taking a break.”

Disappointed, I say, “Oh. I thought maybe you wanted me to stay with you.”

I hear him take a deep breath and mumble something. “Becks, I want you to, but I can’t tonight.” He lowers his voice. “Ricky’s going with us tomorrow and I told him I’d stay here with him. I’m sorry, baby.”

“Will Ricky be staying at your mom’s, too?”

“Uh, yeah. Actually, he might. He hasn’t decided if he wants me to put the rental car in both of our names and he’ll bring it back with him Friday, or if he wants to tag along to Dover.”
I hope not
. I’ll never get Finn alone if Ricky’s with him all weekend.

“He said if he does stay, he’ll bring along some movies we can all watch. I have no idea what crap my mom has.” He chuckles. “I’ll bring
Rocky
.” I roll my eyes. Now I might not even get a kiss from my boyfriend the whole time we’re there. “My mom mentioned that Jack will be out of town this weekend for work.” Jack is an architect and Finn’s stepdad. I like him. I’ve only been around him twice, but he always tries to make me laugh. “Chrissie and Simone will be there.”

“Are you sharing a bed with Ricky?”

“Hell no! He snores.” He laughs and I hear Ricky talking somewhere near Finn. “You’ll be sleeping in my old bed with me, if that’s okay with you?” Stupidest question ever.

I tease, “I’ll have to think about it and let you know. In the meantime, tell Ricky to move over.”

He laughs and mutters, “Fuck. Like
that’s
happening. Get back to me on what you want to do. I’ll be waiting ever so patiently for your decision.”

I giggle and sigh. “I will. It’s tempting, but I had plans to share a bed with a cop, since he’ll probably have his handcuffs.”

“What the hell?” Finn loudly laughs. “You’re going to get it now, sweetheart. I’ll make sure you pay for that.”

“What are you going to do to me, Finn Wilder?”

“You’ll see.”

“Another secret?”

He clears his throat and says, “Possibly, but I can’t tell you. It’s a secret.”

I laugh. “You think you’re so cute.”

“There’s that word again. I’m not
cute.”

“Always.”

“Never.” I hear him laugh, his voice faint, as if he moved the phone from his mouth.

“Well, I just wanted to tell you to have a safe trip tomorrow and I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you, too. So much. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Call me as soon as you get there, Finn. I want to know that you made it there without any problems.”

“I will. Have a good day at work tomorrow. I love you to the stars, Becks.”

“I love you beyond. Have fun in Philadelphia, Rocky.” I giggle.

“Just you wait, baby. I’m going to run those steps for you and do a victory cheer at the top.”

“Are you going to wear really sexy shorts and a tank top?” Now
I’m
thinking of him with less clothes.

“I will, just for you.”

“I can’t wait for that. Get Ricky to play ‘Eye of the Tiger’ when you do the climb.”

He laughs. “Yeah, I will.”

“Get it on video, too. I want to see that on
The Wild Side
.”

He chuckles. “Are you daring me, Becks?”

I grin. “I am, baby.”

“You know I can’t resist a challenge, especially when it comes from you.”

“Really? Hmm. Finn Wilder, I dare you…”
to marry me
, “to run the steps and do that victory dance to ‘Eye of the Tiger.’”

“You got it. Challenge accepted, baby. I will have Milo film me doing it then. I’ll get a permit if I have to. I’ve been waiting for you to dare me,” he says with a touch of sarcasm.
I have been daring you for three years, Wilder.

“So, that means that you’ll actually tell everyone my name and that I was the one who challenged you to run up the 50-some steps?”

“There are 72, Becks. I’ll also start from down the street, so it’s more challenging than just a run up the steps, not like Rocky, but I think it’ll be enough. Then, when I get to the top, I’ll do some sort of dance, humiliating myself, just for you.” He laughs. “And, yep. You’ll be next week’s
Wild Side
dare.”

“Game on, Wilder.”

This ought to be good.

Wednesday morning I’m so antsy for Friday that I can’t even concentrate.

It’s also the day I notice that Rod has been avoiding me.

Yesterday, he managed to stay in his office all day. He only visited me once to deliver a wrongly delivered piece of mail and then he left. What the hell is his problem? I only hit him as a joke. Then again, it’s Rod. Maybe I did hurt him. Shit.

I pick up my desk phone and call his extension. “This is Greg.”

“And you know who this is because my extension comes across your caller ID, Rod. What is going on with you?”

“Nothing. I’m just working.”

“Do you want to grab some lunch together? Morgan has a lunch meeting today with a client, so it’ll be just you and me. I’ll treat. I owe you.”

“You also owe me a beer and some physical therapy for my arm.”

“Rod, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to punch you so hard. I feel really bad about doing that.”

“You should. I’m pressing assault charges, so I’m having Finn’s BFF coming over to arrest you in five minutes. I’m also suing. I’ll take you to Judge Judy. I know a couple lawyers.”

I smile. “That would be small claims court, Rod.”

“Yeah. So?”

“Never mind.”
And you work for a lawyer
. “I don’t think Ricky’s coming over since he’s on his way to Philadelphia right now.”

“He said he’ll stop over here before he leaves, just so he can put you in cuffs.”

“Yes, but his BFF might not like it since Finn would be with him.”

“Why? Are they conjoined twins? I bet Wilder would love to see you in handcuffs. I bet that’s one of his fantasies.” I smile thinking of my joke to Finn last night about Ricky’s handcuffs.

“Come on. Let’s go to lunch.”

“Give me a few minutes and I’ll meet you in the lot. We're brown bagging it, though. I don’t want to sit in a restaurant.”

“Okay…” I stop by the kitchen to grab my lunch bag and I contemplate what is going on with Rod as I walk to the elevator.

When I reach my car, I still haven’t figured it out. Is he really that mad about me punching him? Or is he mad because we made fun of him in those shorts? I didn’t mean to hurt his arm or his feelings. Why did I have to be such a bitch to him?

Setting my lunch bag on the trunk of my car, I walk over to the edge of the curb behind my car and watch the parking lot next door. I cross my arms as I watch people milling in and out of the building, parking cars, leaving the lot, talking on the sidewalk…just normal workday happenings.

Suddenly, an arm slinks across my shoulders and a head leans on top of mine. I angle my head to see Rod’s smooth jawline. “What’s going on, Greg? What’s wrong?”

“Let’s talk over lunch. I don’t want to do it here.” Rod pulls me over to my car and I unlock it. I put some music on to fill the awkward silence between us, but in a way, it makes it even tenser.

“Where do you want to go?” I ask, trying to find a safe question.” I add, “And please. No Hollywood Cemetery, Rod, or any cemetery for that matter.”

“Why not? Jefferson Davis has a bench near his grave.” I look over as I stop to wait for traffic to clear and give him a sour look. He throws his hands up. “It’s a nice place to hang out!”

“A cemetery?”

“Yeah. People usually leave you alone there.”

“Especially you. The last time you and I went there for lunch, you cussed so much that you almost scared two old ladies
into
their graves.”

He scowls. “You and the two old ladies were the only ones who were listening to me. Nobody else cared.”

“No cemetery.”

He huffs, “Fine. Let’s head down to Byrd.”

I barely have my black Toyota parked at the boathouse before Rod jumps out. I grab my bag and follow him over to a bench along Boat Lake. It’s also referred to as Fountain Lake because there is a big, lighted fountain in the middle of it. It’s really pretty lit up at night.

Rod slumps onto the black metal bench and drops his lunch bag on the ground. I take a seat beside him and stare at his face; a cold feeling of dread saturates my blood. Leaning forward, he puts his elbow on his thigh and his forehead in his hand. There is something very wrong with Rod. He’s never like this. I glance at the ground and then up to his face, hesitant to hear what is wrong because I know it’s my fault.

“Greg, what’s wrong? Tell me now.”

“I don’t know if I want to talk about it now, Hadley.” Oh, no.

“Why?” I look out at the water and swallow hard. I’m such a shitty friend. I hurt Rod and now he won’t even talk to me about it. Why in the hell did I ever think I deserved a friend like him? Val’s right. He
is
a gem and I was so mean to him. “I’m so sorry that I hurt you. I honestly didn’t mean to hit you that hard. I also shouldn’t have laughed at you at the gym. I’m such a bitch and a horrible, horrible friend. I don’t deserve you as a friend. I’m so, so very, very sorry, Greg. I won’t even call you
Rod
anymore. Whatever you want. I’ll do.”

He looks over his hand at me. “Whoa, there, Hadders.” His eyes fly up and down my face. “
Anything
?”

I nod. “Of course. I’ll do anything to make it up to you.”

He shifts and sits against the bench, his arms propped on the back with his legs stretched out. He crooks his finger at me and suddenly smirks. “Come on, then.” He nods down at his lap. “Hop on.”

My eyes widen in disbelief. “Rod, are you seriously kidding right now? You’re so pissed off about something and now you’re making sex jokes.”

He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. “Who says it’s a joke?”

I tilt away from him. “Shut up. I’m leaving.”

He relaxes and sits forward again. “I’m teasing you. Sorry. I shouldn’t even kid like that after Wilder apologized to me. He’s trusting me with you.”

I want to know what is going on with Rod, so I dismissively mutter, “Tell me what’s wrong.”

He shakes his head at the water, clasping his hands together at his knees. “It’s nothing you did, Hadders. Lighten up. I can take a joke.” He looks over at me, squinting from the sun. “Shit, I give you a hard time about everything. I deserve payback.”