Don't Tell (Don't 1)

Ryan had apologized for being out of touch, but he had been out in the field. I didn’t think I could feel this guilty. I was a grown man. I should be able to sleep with the woman I wanted to be with. But everything about this situation went against the code I stood for.

Ryan hoped to be home in two months. I wrote a few lines back. I hadn’t mentioned Kaitlyn. Maybe that’s why the guilt felt stronger. I was breaking code and lying. Fuck.

I looked down when my phone rang. It was Amber.

“Hey. What’s going on? Grayson ok?”

“Yeah. Yeah. He’s good. Where are you? You sound like you’re in your truck.”

I crossed over the bridge. “Headed to the hardware store on the mainland. Are you sure everything is ok with Grayson?”

“Well, actually I was hoping we could talk.”

I slowed the truck at a stoplight. “Amber. What is it?”

“Maybe it would be better if we met in person. Grab some drinks or something.”

“Can’t we do it over the phone?” I asked.

I wasn’t interested in spending any time with her.

“Come on, Cole. Less than an hour. I promise. It’s important for Grayson that we can work these things out. Don’t you think?”

“Of course that’s important. You know he means everything to me.”

“Ok good. So. Peabody’s?”

I looked at the clock on the dash. “I’ll text you when I’m headed back over to the island.”

“Perfect. See you soon.”

I hung up. I already had a feeling I wasn’t going to like one fucking thing about this conversation.

19

Kaitlyn

I couldn’t keep pacing in my room. This wasn’t good for me. My heart was about to beat out of my chest. Cole had been gone for hours. I didn’t really know where he had to go on the mainland and I wasn’t exactly sure where that was. It was over the bridge, but other than that, it was like a big geographic black hole.

I pulled open the drawer. Inside the bedside table was a yellow writing tablet. I scribbled a note and crossed the parking lot to shove it under Cole’s door. Everything had happened so quickly with us that it never occurred to me to swap phone numbers. This must have been what my parents felt like when they met. They loved to tell me stories about dating in the age before email, cell phones, and social media. How did anyone ever meet up or know where the other person was? I folded the note in half and slipped the corner under his door before tapping the rest under the threshold.

If Cole made it back to the Dunes before I did, at least he would know I was at Peabody’s getting some dinner. I wasn’t sure why I bothered to tell him, but I wanted him to know I was worried—that it mattered, that he mattered.

He had shown me that much when I went to Bottoms Up.

A Jeep full of grads passed before I crossed the street and trekked through Peabody’s parking lot.

I pushed open the door to my new hangout. There was something comforting about one of the bar’s cheeseburgers. I had skipped lunch altogether, but there was no way I was going to skip dinner too. Comfort food was exactly what I needed.

“Look who’s here.” Hank smiled sheepishly from behind the counter. He fidgeted with the towel over his shoulder. He seemed uncomfortable to see me, but I brushed it off, knowing I was hypersensitive at the moment.

“Hey, Hank. I could really go for a margarita and one of those burgers that are so good.” I slid into the first open seat.

The cowboy next to me smiled. Unlike Bottoms Up, I felt comfortable here. I knew I didn’t have to worry about assholes trying to paw at me. I would not be going back to the club scene the rest of the week.

“Sure thing, Kaitlyn.” Hank looked over my shoulder. Something was off with the bartender. I was certain.

He typed in the order for my cheeseburger and reached for the tequila. I watched as he rimmed the glass with lime then a heavy dose of thick salt.