Page 16 of Catch Me (Becoming Us #4)

Travis

“Jesus,” I exclaimed, putting my hand over my dick. “Why are you jumping on me?”

Tessa barked and wagged her tail as if she hadn’t just pounced on my junk first thing in the morning. It was always when I was sleeping really well that she wanted to wake me up.

“Fine. I know that you know how to open the door, but sure, I’ll do it for you.”

I pulled on a pair of sweats and padded into the hall, already yawning. To my surprise, there was a pot of coffee made. It was too early to question it, so I made a cup before I headed toward the back.

Through the sliding door, I saw Roman standing on the deck. Well, he wasn’t really standing. It looked like he was doing yoga. Poorly.

His phone was leaning against his mug and there was a video playing on it—a yoga routine. That was interesting.

I opened the door, and Tessa darted through, which made him stop suddenly. As I stepped out, I gave him an apologetic look .

“She must’ve known you were up. She woke me earlier than usual. Violently.”

“Sorry,” he muttered.

He wouldn’t meet my eyes as he rushed to turn off the video. I sipped my coffee, unabashedly watching him.

“What?” he snapped.

“Wanna do yoga together?”

“No.”

“I can give you better lessons than her. I already saw you doing it, so what’s the harm?”

His lips were set so tightly that I worried the skin would crack. I went back inside, grabbed two mats, then set them on the deck. He was glaring now, and it made me laugh.

“Relax, Roman. You didn’t receive a hundred pounds to the dick this morning.”

He blinked slowly enough that I worried there was a glitch in the matrix. Finally, he stepped onto the mat and stared at me expectantly.

“You’re already warmed up, so that’s good. We’re gonna do Vinyasa. You’re fit, so it shouldn’t be too hard, but the flow of your breathing and the way you move your body are important.”

Starting slowly, I gave him time to mimic my movements. He was big and he didn’t move gracefully, but I hadn’t either when I first started. We shifted from downward dog into plank, and I heard his breath shudder out of him.

“Breathe,” I instructed. “You’re not used to this type of control in your movements. Think of when you lift weights and you time your breaths.”

He nodded, then continued to follow me. After a few sequences, I stopped to give him a break.

“I think this makes me angrier,” he grumbled.

Grabbing my coffee cup, I smiled. “Eventually, it won’t. You learn to let things go with every exhale. Release it back into the universe.”

“Sounds like bullshit.”

“Sure, but it’s just about mindfulness. There are a bunch of ways to tame your emotions, but I like how peaceful this one is.”

His eyes moved across my bare chest, then back to my face. Silently, as usual, he brushed past me toward the house .

“Come on a run with us,” I suggested.

There was a tight set to his brows when he turned to look at me. “Why?”

“It seems more your style, and you’re obviously still angry.”

“I’m not angry.”

“Something’s bothering you.”

His lip curled. “It’s not your business.”

“Well, I didn’t ask, did I? Whatever’s eating at you doesn’t interest me unless you want to involve me. So, put your pissy attitude away and come for a run.”

“I’ll put on a shirt.”

“Just wear shorts. Leave your phone. Trust me.”

His tongue poked against his cheek and he noticeably dragged his gaze down my body, not for the first time. When he met my eyes, he just nodded.

I smiled. “Cool. I’ll get changed. You should know that Tessa will embarrass both of us, so don’t feel bad when she taunts you from a distance.”

As I passed, his lips pulled upward. I didn’t want him to know that I’d seen it, so I just continued into the house to put on some shorts.

*****

“You weren’t kidding,” Roman panted.

I stared at Tessa and laughed. She ran back and circled us, then darted ahead.

“She likes to gloat. The competition is what keeps me going.”

“Why not find a running partner?”

“She is my running partner. Now you’re running with us.”

I shot him a smile. He didn’t look at me like I’d shit in his cereal, so that was good, I guess.

“How far are we going?”

“Getting tired?” I winked, then sped up. I heard him swear, and when I glanced behind me, he was right on my heels.

Tessa got excited when she saw us running faster. She knew where we were going, so she led the charge. Her ears flapped up and down as she raced through the trees.

“Trust me!” I shouted.

“What? ”

I didn’t have the breath to respond, so I just kept going. My lungs were on fire and my thighs burned, but I refused to lose. Plus, if he wasn’t following me at high speed, he wouldn’t do what I needed him to.

The edge came into view, and I drew in as deep of a breath as I could before I leapt off.

I couldn’t tell if he followed me before my head went underwater.

When I came up, I sucked in a long breath.

Every time I did this, I wondered if it would kill me someday.

It was too cold for this shit, but hey, I was still young.

I turned around to look for Roman. I’d felt the vibration of the water when he hit it, so I knew he’d jumped. He breached the surface in front of me and took a second to catch his breath before he slammed his hands into my chest.

“What the fuck?” he yelled.

Swimming backward, I laughed and stared up at the sky. The trees on either side of the swimming hole were large enough that they blocked some of the light, but the sun streamed through the gaps. I’d been here at night a few times, and it was one of the most beautiful things I’d seen.

“You mad?” I asked, straightening so that I could see him.

He was treading water, looking really pissed. I splashed him, which I knew could get me murdered, but we were in a swimming hole, god damnit, and people weren’t allowed to be angry here.

“I can’t stand you,” he muttered.

“Good thing I don’t need external validation.”

He continued to glare, but then his lips twitched. After a second, he laughed and splashed water at me. It slapped me in the face and made me sputter. I returned the attack and ducked underneath to gain a few feet of distance. His gaze landed on me as soon as I surfaced, and it made me pause.

It was rare for there to be anything but anger in his eyes. Sometimes, there was tentative amusement or an ounce of interest, like when we’d talked in the kitchen. Whatever dwelled there now was hard for me to decipher. It was serious but not hostile.

I splashed him again, breaking the intensity that had come over him. He laughed when Tessa swam over to him and licked his arm.

“My shoes are going to be wet when we go to the field,” he said.

“You only brought one pair?”

“No, but I wanted to wear these. ”

“Aw. Looks like you have to change your plans. Are you gonna survive?”

“Only if you buy lunch again.”

“Do you doubt me?”

He rolled his eyes before he started swimming on his back. I did the same, letting the tranquility seep into my bones. There was something about water that was relaxing, especially in a natural place like this. A pool could never bring me this kind of peace.

“What are your plans after school?” I asked.

“I want to do character design, like for movies, games, books, or anything, really.”

“That sounds fun. Why’d you choose that?”

“I started drawing because I liked the way animated movies looked. I would recreate the characters, then I started changing them and making flip books.”

“Those’ve always been interesting to me. It seems like a lot of work.”

“It is, but I love it. Drawing is literally one of the only things I do, even in my free time.”

I looked over at him and found him already staring. He turned away immediately, assuming a stoic expression. It was enough to tell me that he probably wouldn’t tolerate more questions.

Casually, I swam over to the small cliff we’d jumped from. I leaned my head back against it and flattened my palms behind me. The smooth stone felt good against my hands.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“I like the feel of it.”

“It’s just rock.”

With a smile, I held out my hand. He came over, keeping enough distance that we couldn’t touch.

“When you’re walking by a chain-link fence, do you run your hand across it?”

He shrugged. “Sometimes.”

“Or the smooth bricks in the hallways in high school. A really fuzzy blanket, sand in the sea, hair when it flows underwater, flower petals. I like the feeling of wet stone; it’s smooth and colder than the water.”

“That’s weird. ”

With a laugh, I turned around and pushed off of the rock with my feet. “We’re tactile creatures. The feel of something helps us figure it out, decide if it’s safe, and solidifies our memory of it.”

“You were the kid who touched everything , huh?”

“We don’t have to talk about it.”

When he came up beside me, he was smiling.

“Are you making fun of me?” I asked, putting a hand on my chest in mock offense.

“It’s easy.”

“Oh, fuck off.” It seemed like he was trying to scowl, but his lips were still turned upward. “How is it easy?”

“You’re like a crazy cat lady, but with a dog.”

“I think Tessa takes offense to that. She’s nothing like a cat.”

“Exactly my point. You’re a little cuckoo.”

I splashed him, and he darted to the side. “Okay, to be fair, I talk to animals like they’re people too.”

“They’re better than people and smarter than most give them credit for.”

“Agreed. People suck.”

I headed for the edge of the water and he followed.

“Not all people suck,” I replied. “I spend a lot of time at home, but it’s not because I dislike socializing.”

He didn’t respond as we pulled ourselves out of the water. Tessa shook out her fur, then started going in circles.

“The not so fun part is running back in wet shoes,” I noted. “Usually, I bring a backpack, but I suggested this on a whim and forgot. My bad.”

“Next time.”

I was going to take that as a positive statement, even though he was grumpy the entire way back to the house.

Granted, I wasn’t enjoying the two-mile trek either, but following an impulse was a sort of thrill that couldn’t be matched.

Some turned out badly, but making Roman unwittingly jump into a pool of cold water was worth it.

He’d been angry about something, then he was smiling for a minute.

If I ever had the opportunity to make someone’s day better, I liked to think that I would take it.

Under normal circumstances, I’d say that Roman and I could be friends someday. Even if he became comfortable with me, despite my sexuality, that wouldn’t happen. He held views that were misali gned with something I felt deeply about. Views that stood staunchly against my very existence.

Working with him was one thing. Attaching myself emotionally, like with Sen and his friends, wasn’t in the cards.

Not that he’d be interested in friendship anyway. A few smiles did not an agreeable pal make.