Page 61 of Catch Me (Becoming Us #4)

Roman

The breakfast in this place was incredible.

I’d just taken my first bite of the best Belgian waffle of my life when I heard Travis’ laughter.

He was with West, who had two heaping plates of food that he set down beside Linc.

I realized that the only empty seat was next to me.

Because the universe declared a personal vendetta the moment I was born.

After Travis sat down, I pushed my eggs around my plate. I hit the hotel gym hard last night, and I was hungry today, but I didn’t know if it was worth it to stay down here. Maybe I’d just bring the food back to my room.

I started to scoot my chair back, and Travis looked at me. “Are you gonna run every time I’m around?” he asked quietly.

It was obviously a jab to the past, judging by the arrogant look on his face. I maintained eye contact while I brought a piece of waffle to my mouth. He looked away and started a conversation with Brooks. Feeling eyes on me, I scanned the table and found Kai watching me.

I gave him a ‘what the fuck do you want’ expression, and he just smiled. Or smirked. It was hard to tell with him sometimes. He looked down at his lap, then my phone buzzed .

Kai: You’re giving him fuck me eyes

Roman: I’m really not

Kai: He’s giving you fuck me eyes

Roman: Stop

Kai: You should push him

Roman: Off a cliff?

He laughed and ignored the looks he got from the group. I tried not to smile so I wouldn’t reveal myself as involved with this fucker.

Roman: I don’t want to push him and it wouldn’t matter

Kai: Lies

Roman: Three weeks don’t decide the course of someone’s life

Kai: It did for me

Roman: You’re different

Kai: So is he. You wouldn’t both be acting like this if it didn’t matter

Roman: Doesn’t matter

Kai: What’s it worth to you?

I dropped my phone on the table loudly, then took another bite of my food.

“You good?” Sen asked.

“Ask your fiancé.”

He shot Kai a look. Even though he didn’t know what happened, he could always assume he was being a meddler. Everyone in the group was too similar. They just presented in different ways.

After I drained my coffee, I pulled out my tablet and stretched my legs underneath the table.

I’d finished a sketch of the game creature, whose species I couldn’t remember because it was made up and sounded like gibberish.

With it uploaded, I could finish it digitally and pray to god that it matched their vision.

Spine is wrong , I wrote off to the side. It was supposed to have these talons that came out of its back like Wolverine’s claws or something, but it looked too much like the spikes on a dinosaur.

More bone-like. Spine extension ?

I needed it to be perfect. Even though the game wasn’t made by some huge company like Bethesda, I wanted whoever played it to think the creatures and characters were impressive.

Glancing to the side, I saw Travis looking at the tablet. I just continued, not really caring if he watched. He’d seen me obsessively draw pictures of him, so this was nothing.

People began making their way back to their rooms, but I continued to work. Another coffee had been dropped off, so I was content. It was only when the staff began to clean up that I decided to leave so that I wasn’t in their way.

I turned the corner into the hall and saw Travis standing in front of the elevator. Fucking universe.

Neither of us looked at each other as we stepped on. I watched the numbers rise and wondered if they were moving in slow motion.

“What’s the drawing for?” he asked, still staring ahead.

“Who says it’s for anything?”

He huffed and shifted his feet. When I realized he was facing me, I turned.

“A game,” I said. “Happy?”

“It’s really good.”

“I know.”

The corner of his mouth twitched, but he reined it in quickly. As soon as the doors opened, I rushed into the hallway. I was halfway to my door when I thought about what Kai said.

What was it worth to me? I wasn’t exactly sure, but I wanted to find out. If we were going to keep having these weird interactions, where both of us seemed to be holding back, maybe I was interested in seeing what he was holding back.

I turned around and found him already looking at me, which gave me more courage. He watched me approach and didn’t take his eyes off me when I stopped in front of him.

“Hey.”

“Hi,” he replied.

Oh, the way that pissed me off.

“I still want you,” I said, ignoring my racing heart and the way my words were too breathy.

His eyes widened briefly. When he tried to step away from me, I put my hand on his chest. He stopped and stared at it .

“This whole thing is stupid,” I went on. “It’s not too late.”

“I don’t want anything from you.”

“Bullshit. You unblocked me.”

“It was time to move on from it.”

“God damnit, Travis.” I pushed on his chest, forcing him against the wall. My hands moved up to his shoulders, then back down. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

“I believe you, but—” His breath stuttered as I moved down his abdomen.

“I still want you,” I repeated.

“I have a game.”

Holding onto the back of his neck so he couldn’t pull away, I moved my lips across his cheek. “Let me ride with you.”

He laughed bitterly. It pissed me off, and I curled my fingers into his chest.

“I still”—moving my lips to his ear, I let my breath waft across it—“want you.”

“You don’t get to decide that now.”

He shoved me back, breaking the connection along with the smidge of hope I’d let rekindle. He stepped to the side, then scanned his card at his door. It slammed behind him, and I pounded my fist on it once before I dropped my forehead against it, taking a deep breath.

When I turned, I saw Kai by the elevator, and when he noticed me, his brow rose. I tried to get to my room, but he stepped in front of me. “Did you guys fuck?”

“Jesus, Kai. Why are you always around?”

“Hey, I’m just going down to meet the others so we can get to the game. Travis’ room is that way, so what am I supposed to think?”

“Nothing. Mind your fucking business.”

His eyes narrowed. “Don’t get all angry like you used to.”

I threw my hands in the air and walked backward. “I am angry!”

“Whatever. Hurry up and grab your stuff.”

Travis walked out of his room and paused when he saw us.

“I’m not going,” I announced.

“Why?” Kai asked.

“I have shit to work on and my head hurts.”

“Okay. ”

There was worry on his face, and I didn’t want to deal with it right now, so I went into my room and grabbed my tablet. Being at the game would just make me ruminate. I didn’t have the energy today.

A knock made me toss the tablet on the bed. I flung open the door, ready to kick Kai in his nosey balls.

“I told you, I’m not—” I stopped abruptly when I saw Travis standing there. He looked just as pissed as before, which I wasn’t sure how to interpret.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey...” He trailed off, then shook his head. “Ride with me.”

“No.”

“There’s room on the bus. Nobody will care.”

“No,” I repeated.

“Seriously? You practically begged me a few minutes ago, but now it’s no ?”

“I didn’t beg. I opened up to you and told you what I want.”

“Just ride with me, Roman. I want you at the game.”

“You told me to go home,” I snapped. “I’m starting to think you don’t know what the hell you want.”

“Stop being an asshole.”

“Well, I am an asshole, remember?”

“Not anymore.”

“You don’t know me anymore,” I said through gritted teeth.

Shaking his head, he turned around and jabbed the button for the elevator. When the doors closed, shutting him away, I tapped my fingers against my leg. With a muttered curse, I grabbed my tablet and left the room, taking the stairs.

I reached the parking garage and saw the guys getting into the SUV they’d rented. Kai grinned at me, but I couldn’t muster more than a tight-lipped smile. After I climbed in, Linc leaned closer.

“How many times are you guys gonna do this before you give in?”

“I tried. Now, I’m done.”

“Want me to kick his ass?”

Despite everything, I laughed. “Even if you were serious, no. I guess we’ll just be stuck in this perpetual back and forth that never goes anywhere.”

“Let him come to you. ”

“He won’t.”

“That’s how I got West. Showed up at his apartment to fight roaches for him, he got pissed and left, then he was at my door that night, yelling some shit about King Tut.”

“Sounds romantic.”

“All of our relationships started out sort of unconventional. And there were points in all of them when one person could’ve walked away, but they didn’t.

Mine had a few and so did Tilian’s. People say it’s about the journey, but sometimes, the journey actually sucks. You still have to go on it, though.”

“Or we could have a movie night and forget all of our problems.”

“I pick Lion King II,” Kai chimed in. “It’s underrated.”

Sen snorted a laugh. “It has nothing to do with the guy lying and fucking things up, then having to prove himself not to be an asshole?”

“This is why you’re not invited to movie nights,” I muttered as I leaned against the door and stared out the window.