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Let me know if you find him. But don’t do anything without me. He knows me, and I think he’s harmless, but he’s jumpy.
Another ding. Her answer. But he’s hot, right?
Yes. A jealous twinge tweaks the back of my neck. I shake my head. Why would I feel jealous of Sophie? Most of the time, I don’t even want the same things — especially men — that Sophie wants; she’s wild, to put it lightly, and just as likely to disappear for weeks at a time with some random guy who walked into her coffee shop and said the right things, while I haven’t dated anyone since Jay, and likely won’t date anyone until after I finish my pharmacy degree and have the mental energy, plus the distance from Jay, to handle a relationship.
I’m going in. I’ll text you when I find him.
Matter settled, I go back into the store and back to the register. Thankfully, there are no other customers waiting for me. After the whole situation with Nick and the creepy older guy, everyone got focused on browsing as far away as they could, while still being in earshot. It’ll be some time before anyone feels ready to approach the cash register again.
The night drips on. A couple of hours, ten customers, and a lot of time spent wondering just what is Nick story and why he has that baby with him and if that baby is okay, later, the night ends.
Just as I lock the doors, my phone buzzes.
It’s Sophie. Two words.
Found him.
Chapter Five
Emily
“This is the place? Here?”
Even though I can see the truck right in front of me, complete with the same motorcycle in back as I saw before, my eyes don’t want to believe it. Here is not where I thought here would be.
“I checked that hotel. Then checked the other ones nearby, and there was nothing. I just got lucky that I drove by this place and saw it.”
“But why here?”
“Why a vacant home and not a crappy motel? Maybe he doesn’t want to share his bed with a few thousand bedbugs, Em.”
A light flicks on in the living room of the home, which is a small, one-bedroom, single story cottage. His broad-shouldered shadow moves in front of the windows, and it’s clear he’s cradling the baby, but in an awkward way. Something twinges inside me. Concern, I think. He’s broken into a vacant home and he’s got a sick baby. Something isn’t right. The baby could be in danger, and I need to find out more about what’s going on.
“We need to get closer. See what he’s up to.”
“I never figured you to be the type to go after a single dad, Em,” Sophie says. “Especially after dealing with Jay and all his crap. Why not take an easy way to get back into the dating pool, like find yourself a dumb frat boy or something? A nice, quick lay to get that creepy asshole out of your system.”
“I wish it were that easy.”
“It can be. If you need help, I can give you the numbers of a couple of guys who can help you out.”
“A couple?”
“Yeah. Well, more like three or four. They usually work as a group.”
“As in…?”
“As in, they take that old saying ‘many hands make light work’ and they’ll apply it to helping you get Jay out of your system.”
“I don’t think a gangbang is the answer to my problem, Sophie,” I say, my eyes going back to the shadow in the window as Nick — or whatever his real name is — awkwardly bounces the baby in his arms. “But thanks for thinking of me. I appreciate it.”
“So what’s the real play here? Do you want to go knock on the door and ask the stranger that you met for one minute and then decided to stalk back to the vacant home that he’s, probably, illegally occupying if you can do a welfare check on the baby he’s taking care of?” She says.
“When you say it like that, it sounds crazy.”
“Maybe it is. Maybe you need to just forget about this guy and let me call Dante, Ethan, and Will for you.”
Maybe she’s right. Not about the group sex, but about this being a ludicrous idea.
