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Mom: Where are you?
Me: Almost to Pennsylvania.
Mom: What are you doing there? I thought you were in Vegas.
Me: I was. A marketing firm wants to talk to me about working exclusively with them.
Mom: I thought you liked being a freelancer.
Me: I do, but getting wined and dined for once is nice.
Mom: Have fun, please be careful.
Me: Always. Love you
Mom: Love you
I could lie to her and let her believe I’m still in Nevada, but I don’t see the point. Just because she knows where I’m gonna be, doesn’t necessarily mean she needs to know the truth about why I’m going there.
Me: We’re almost to the hotel.
Jez: Reservations are under Kyle Gruber.
Me: Who’s that??
“Me,” Thorn says over my shoulder.
“Ah!” Startled, I jump, and I lose my grip on the phone. It slips through my fingers and lands with a thud on the floor of the vehicle. “Fucking shit, you scared me. What are you doing reading my messages?”
“You were reading your messages out loud.”
“No, I wasn’t.”
“Yes, you were.”
Both Mark and Thorn reply simultaneously.
I lean over and grab my cell just as another message from Jez pops up.
Jez: Thorn. Thought you knew that.
Me: I do now.
“Why didn’t you tell me your name was Kyle?” I ask, my brows narrowing. “I hate liars.”
“Whoa.” Thorn holds his hands up. “I never lied. Yes, the name my parents gave me is Kyle, but I haven’t gone by that since I joined the club. I’m not Kyle anymore.”
“Oh.”
What else can I say? Based on his explanation, it makes sense, and I, more than most, understand. I’m not the carefree, happy-go-lucky Delaney I was before my twenty-first birthday. She died the night her twin did, and in her place, a cold bitter female emerged.
People change. Life forces them to.
Check-in is a breeze because it’s all done on an app. Thorn and I have an adjoining room with Mark so we have some privacy but are able to get to each other fast if we need to. We keep the door between the rooms open while we get settled so we can talk.
“What should we do tonight?” Mark asks.
Thorn throws his bag on the bed. “I asked the concierge about the nightlife while you unloaded the car. He said there’s a couple bars down the block.”