Page 8 of Catch Me (Becoming Us #4)

Roman

After Travis sent me a text saying he’d be gone for a couple hours, I ventured out of the room. It was already weird that I was in his house, and I sure as hell wouldn’t feel comfortable being around him the whole time I was here.

He was doing too much. I didn’t know why he’d offered to fly me out on his dime.

Now, he was letting me stay in his spare room instead of the sketchy hotel I’d booked.

It was the cheapest place around, and for good reason.

I couldn’t say I hadn’t been considering my chances of contracting a disease from the sheets, but I was going to take my chances until he made me question it.

Whatever his motive was, I didn’t want to play into it.

I wondered if Til told him . . .

No, he wouldn’t. He’d made threats about exposing our past to make sure I didn’t fuck up Alex’s birthday in February, and I knew that he didn’t give a flying fuck if anyone knew.

Being a rebel was burned into his DNA, and he wasn’t afraid to disappoint his family or anyone else.

Telling Travis our history, though, didn’t benefit him. Til wasn’t a bad or vindictive person.

Brooks, though . . .

I shook my head and walked around the island. It didn’t matter what anyone said. This was business, which was the only reason I’d agreed to stay here. It didn’t feel right that he spent money for me to do this, so there was no way I could let him pay for a hotel.

Looking around this place, his words about having money held a lot more meaning.

It was incredible, to put it lightly. Whereas Brooks lived like he had money out the ass and wanted to flaunt it, Travis wasn’t flashy.

Sure, his house was probably worth at least half a million—probably closer to a full million—but it also made sense.

He had land, which I imagined was partly because of Tessa.

The house was immaculate but in a comfortable way.

It didn’t seem like he had nice stuff just to have nice stuff.

His Jeep wasn’t even new; it was a soft top and probably fifteen years old, which meant he’d kept it from before he made it into MLB or he bought a used one.

He could walk in and pay cash for a fresh one right off the lot, but he didn’t.

Why?

It didn’t matter. I still didn’t like him paying for my flight, so I was taking one for the team and staying at his place.

I intended to be back in the bedroom before he got home, and tomorrow, I’d have a meeting with the Braves management team.

Afterward, I’d be back in my shitty but comfortable apartment.

Remembering that my mom had texted me, I decided to call her.

I didn’t have a chance to make it home often enough, and I felt bad about it.

Sometimes, I tried to make myself feel better by telling myself she had three step kids to keep her company.

It actually ended up making me feel worse most of the time.

“Roman,” she answered excitedly. “How was your flight?”

“It was good. Pretty short, which is cool.”

“Are you checked into a hotel?”

I hesitated, tapping my fingers on the counter. “Yeah. Atlanta is cool. Busy, but I’m used to that.”

“I bet your dad is excited.”

“I haven’t told him yet. I wanted to have something to show him first or he’ll just...”

When I didn’t go on, there was a short stretch of silence.

“He’ll be so proud, Roman. It’s his favorite team. ”

“Yeah. I just want to make sure I actually get the commission first. And if I have some sketches to show him, maybe he’ll think it’s serious.”

“Ross and I are really excited for you. I can’t wait to see what you do with it. It was so nice of Travis to get you this project.”

“Mhm. I don’t really know why he did.”

“Til says he’s a warm person. You know he’s a good judge of character.”

“Sure.”

“Thank you for coming to the game. I should’ve said that earlier, but it slipped my mind.”

“Why wouldn’t I go?”

“Well...” She trailed off, then let out a little breath. “You and Til have never gotten along, and both of you try to avoid each other. He’s easygoing, but I know there’s bad blood between you.”

“Has he said anything?”

“No, he never really did, even back then. He took everything you gave him and didn’t let it get to him. I love you, and you’ve grown so much. I just worry when you’re around each other. He deserves to be happy, and I know how you feel about him being... so thank you for coming anyway.”

Wandering onto the back deck, I stared at the setting sun. It was really peaceful out here. I understood why Travis liked it.

“I don’t care that he’s gay, Mom.”

“Since when?”

“It’s just not my business. Regardless of how I feel about it...I guess I’ve realized that I don’t want to act like Dad.”

“If he did something—”

“No, he’s just a dick sometimes. You know that.”

She sighed. “Yeah, I do.”

“Anyway, I’m just living my life, and everyone else can live theirs. I’m glad that Til found someone who can make him happy.”

My throat was being an asshole, and I could barely get the words out.

I thought about that whole friend group.

I’d heard things from my mom, but seeing them all together was jarring.

Jocks, a law student, a baseball player, a musician, a welder.

..And they were all gay. It was fucking weird and didn’t fit with the stereotypes I’d once believed .

“That’s really good to hear,” she said. “Without you two at each other’s throats, maybe we can plan a big dinner or something.”

“Sure.” I paused, watching the leaves sway in the trees. “Don’t worry about me, Mom. I’m twenty-two, not a reactive teenager.”

“I’m proud of you, Roman. You’re going to do great things. And your dad will see that too.”

“Maybe.”

“Call me tomorrow to tell me how it goes.”

“I will. Love you, Mom.”

When I hung up, I couldn’t help but groan. Hopefully, we wouldn’t have to talk about that again.

As I leaned against the house, my stomach growled, but I didn’t want to raid Travis’ fridge, even though he said I could eat.

Since it was too early to sleep, I grabbed my tablet from the room and sat on the edge of the deck.

There was a hint of sun peeking above the horizon still, which cast a reddish glow over the grass.

To me, sunset was significantly more appealing than sunrise.

It was deeper, and as the sun sank lower, the colors gradually shifted and darkened.

In the morning, it just got more orange and yellow, then it was bright.

When evening fell, you never really knew what you would get, and since I hadn’t seen a sunset in Georgia before, I wanted to try to capture it.

After taking a couple of pictures, I stared at the horizon for a long moment, committing it to memory, then I began to draw.

The challenge was in the time limit. Within minutes, the sun could set, and I’d have to go off of memory and the pictures I took, but having it right in front of me was ideal.

I made a very rough sketch of the scenery so that I had the location right and jumped into the subject.

This one had some violet hues that were already beginning to darken.

Since there was no way I’d capture it at one specific moment, I started at the top, then moved downward, creating a sort of time progression that made it get darker.

In my mind, I saw the same thing in the yard—the bottom of the image would be lighter, cast in the reddish glow of the earlier phase of the sunset, then the darker parts would collide in the middle. The symmetry could be nice.

When the sun was no longer visible, I started blending the colors. I was so engrossed in it that the sudden appearance of Tessa over my shoulder made me jump. Immediately, I set the tablet aside and started petting her. When she licked my face, I laughed and used my shoulder to dry my cheek.

“He lives,” Travis said from the doorway. “Watching the sunset?”

I picked up the tablet and shrugged, not looking at him. He headed over to me, so I turned off the screen.

He stopped a few feet away and crouched to pet Tessa. “Did you eat?”

“No.”

“Well, that sounds like a bad way to live. I can order something if you want.”

“I don’t want anything from you,” I snapped.

He was silent, and I avoided looking at him. Not knowing what else to do, I turned the tablet on and navigated to another piece I’d started a few days ago. I wasn’t sure if I liked it, but it was something to focus on.

After a minute, Travis went back into the house. I hung my head, cursing myself for being so rude. There were better ways to respond, especially since he’d done all of this for me. But that was why I didn’t want anything else from him. I was still trying to figure out what his deal was.

Scratch that. I didn’t want to know. All I wanted to do was get this commission and sink into it.

When I was home, I’d have something to fill my time outside of classes and schoolwork.

Hopefully, I would only have to come out here one more time to get all of it planned out, make some sketches, and take pictures to refer back to while I worked on the pieces at home.

I got to my feet and decided to return to my room. There was nothing else for me to do out here and the lighting sucked for art. As I walked inside, I contemplated drawing Tessa. Since I’d offered to make something for Travis, it might be good to practice getting her perfect beforehand.

I stopped when I saw him in the kitchen. Earlier, I hadn’t looked at him, so I didn’t know if he’d just taken a shower or if it was before he came outside. Probably after since there were some drops of water hanging from the tips of his hair.

He was wearing a dark green athletic tank top that was cut low under his arms and revealed part of his ribs. Since he was facing away from me, I could see the muscles in his back. Those didn’t just come from throwing a ball. He probably did a shit ton of pull ups or something.

Dark grey sweats hugged his thighs, and when he reached for something in a cabinet, his top pulled up enough for me to see the curve of his hip. His skin there was just as tan as the rest of him, which made me wonder if it was his natural coloring. Or he sunbathed mostly naked.

I blinked a few times, then continued toward the hallway. I didn’t check, but I swear I could feel him looking at me as I passed. Once I closed the bedroom door, I leaned back against it.

Travis was an attractive person. That wasn’t weird to notice.

I mean, I had eyes, so obviously I could see that.

It was normal to look at people and appreciate things about them.

His muscles, for example. I worked out a lot and we had similar builds, which was why I’d wondered if he did pull ups to achieve that definition. I did them almost every day.

“You’re the one who’s terrified of anyone knowing about the deviant things you do in bed. Do you still do them, Roman?”

I tried to shake off Tilian’s words. I’d been trying since he said them at Alex’s party. He didn’t know me. Not anymore. We hadn’t even talked when we lived in rooms that shared a wall. It was nothing, not a big deal.

If my dad knew, he’d lose his fucking mind. But there was nothing to know. It was just sex. It was a weird phase I had to shake. I was figuring it out, and when I got back home, I’d hit up Irene. She was always down to give things another go.