Page 9 of Catch Me (Becoming Us #4)

Roman

Surprisingly, I slept pretty well last night. It was quiet out here, and the mattress was too comfortable to be legal. What shocked me out of sleep was being body slammed by a hyperactive golden retriever.

“Jesus,” I mumbled. She licked my face, so I conceded and started petting her. After a minute, she laid down with her head on my chest.

“Shit.” Travis stopped in front of the door. “Sorry, she knows how to open doors. Come on, monster. Go do a lap around the house.”

She didn’t budge. His lips thinned, and he looked a little awkward. When he brought his coffee cup to his lips, he shoved his free hand into the pocket of his jeans.

“It’s fine,” I assured him. “I like dogs, remember?”

“Right, yeah. I’ll be in the kitchen, but if you tell her to go, she will. She should . Depends on her mood.”

After offering me a smile, he left. I dropped my head onto the pillow and continued to scratch Tessa’s ears .

“He calls you monster. Are you a monster?” Her tail wagged and she army crawled a little further up to use my pillow. “Maybe he’s a monster, huh? You’re just perfect.”

She made a playful growling sound and batted me in the face with her paw.

“Okay, don’t insult your dad. Got it. Sorry. Can I get dressed now?”

When she just stared at me, I maneuvered out of the bed.

She rolled onto her side, apparently content to take over.

I chuckled and grabbed my clothes before I locked myself in the bathroom.

It was a lot simpler than I’d expected. It had a moderately sized shower in the corner and a claw foot tub, which was dope.

I was more than a little tempted to take a bath in that thing, but I decided not to waste time on that.

Once I was ready, I looked at myself in the mirror.

My hair was pretty short, so the waves in it weren’t all that noticeable, but I fussed with it, trying to make it seem professional.

I didn’t know what the expectation was for this meeting.

Should I have worn a suit or something? That seemed dramatic for a conversation about art.

Whatever. All Travis said was to bring a portfolio, which I did. I was dressed pretty business casual, so I figured it was good enough.

When I returned to the room, Tessa was gone, which wasn’t surprising considering dogs’ short attention spans.

Being around her made me miss having a pet.

Before my parents divorced, we had a beagle.

Ross and my mom got a dog a few years ago, but I only visited three or four times a year.

With school and my shitty apartment, I wasn’t in a place to have a pet.

Travis was at the kitchen island, drinking coffee while he did something on his laptop. When he saw me, he set the cup down. “I got a mug out for you if you want some coffee. I just use milk, so I don’t have any creamer.”

“Milk is fine.”

He offered me a tight-lipped smile, then returned his attention to the computer. I poured myself a cup and leaned against the counter. There was a plate of bacon on the island along with a bowl of fruit and some toast. I hadn’t eaten last night, so it looked really damn good .

“Let me send off this email, then we can head out,” he said without looking away from the screen.

I drained my coffee and tapped my fingers on the ceramic while I waited. The amount of awkwardness I’d experienced in my time here was nauseating. This was probably how Til felt with all of his anxiety. Unlike him, I didn’t smoke, so I just had to exist in this state until I got home.

Since he was still typing, I went back to my room and grabbed my portfolio.

It had only been, like, thirty seconds, but he was already standing and twirling his keys around his finger when I got back.

The t-shirt he wore today was dark blue, and it hugged his broad shoulders, then was a little looser around his slim waist.

“Grab some food.” He gestured toward the bacon. “Bring it with you.”

“I’m—”

“Don’t say fine. Look at you. Obviously, you eat, so eat something.”

With a curt nod, I grabbed the paper plate he’d set beside the food. Once we were in the Jeep, I started eating. It wasn’t anything fancy, but right now, it was a five-star meal.

“How old are you?” he asked.

I glanced sidelong at him and smoothed my palms down my pants. “Why?”

“It’s called small talk. You slept in my house, so it doesn’t seem weird.”

“I didn’t ask to.”

“I gave you the option to stay in a hotel. Were you uncomfortable?”

“Why would I be?”

He was quiet for a couple of minutes. When he pulled onto the freeway, he looked at me briefly.

“You know, you don’t answer questions head-on. It kind of reminds me of Tilian, but you’re not quiet or introverted, are you?”

Being compared to him made me wrinkle my nose. With my friends, I was outgoing enough, but that wasn’t any of Travis’ business.

“I don’t need you to figure me out,” I said dismissively.

“I don’t care about figuring you out. ”

Looking out of my window, I tried to see his face in the reflection. It wasn’t enough for me to understand what he was getting at.

“You heard what West said to me,” he went on.

“He’s wrong.” I kept my tone inflectionless and continued to avoid looking at him.

“Okay, cool, but whatever issues you and Tilian have are not my business. I just want to clear the air and talk about the obvious tension here. I’m happy to give you a room to sleep in when you’re here, however many times that is.

If you’re not comfortable around me because I’m gay, I’ll get you a hotel. ”

“I never said—”

“You didn’t have to. And look, if you have some sort of issue with gay people, I don’t want to get into all of that.

I’m not interested in trying to change your mind or anything.

That’s your deal. I’m trying to establish a professional relationship in the hopes that it’ll have reciprocal benefits for you and the team.

In the interest of doing that, be straight with me.

I’m not offended by your opinions, and it doesn’t change any of my offers. ”

My ears felt hot, and I couldn’t decide if I was angry or embarrassed about being called out.

I was definitely confused about his stance.

He hadn’t so much as implied that I was a bad person, even though he probably thought it.

I’d been called a homophobe and a bigot before.

When I was younger, my dad told me he had too, so I hadn’t thought it was a problem for a while.

Not until I stopped wanting to be like him.

“I don’t have an issue with gay people,” I said quietly.

“Okay.”

He didn’t seem to care either way, but I continued anyway. “Yeah, like, even if I don’t agree with it, I don’t care.”

“Don’t agree with it...” He nodded his head slowly. He didn’t expand on his words, and it just made me scramble for something else to say.

“We’re cool. As long as a guy doesn’t...” Fuck, that was going to sound dickish.

He swiped a hand down his face, and it took me a moment to realize he was laughing. With the sun shining through the window, the lighter streaks in his hair stood out. His smile was brighter, though. I tore my gaze away and looked outside again .

“As long as a guy doesn’t hit on you, right?”

I just shrugged.

“I have a question.”

“I’m good,” I said shortly.

“Why would a gay man have any interest in hitting on a straight guy when other gay men exist? Do you think we wake up every morning and think, ‘Today, I feel like getting rejected and possibly punched in the face?’”

I rolled my lips as I thought about his questions. Nobody had ever responded like that and it...made sense.

The back of his hand hit my chest lightly. “Lighten up, Roman. I have zero interest in hitting on you. It’s entirely up to you how we go forward.”

I scooted a little closer to the door. “Okay, just don’t touch me.”

He shook his head a little, but I didn’t turn to see his expression. I refrained from touching my chest, even though it felt like his hand was still there.

*****

“You must be Roman. I’m Pete Callihan.”

He held out his hand, and I took it firmly. Pete was old enough to have mostly grey hair with some brown sticking around. He looked healthy enough to run out on that field and play the game. His blue eyes were bright and the smile on his face felt genuine.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I replied with a smile of my own. “Thank you so much for the opportunity.”

“Trav said you’re talented, and I trust his judgment. You brought some of your work?” He nodded toward the folder, then motioned for me to take a seat at the rectangular table.

“Yes, I have illustrations to show you my style and the type of things I typically draw.” I flipped it open and scooted it toward him so he could browse through it. “Those aren’t the only things I can do, so if you have something different in mind, I’m positive I can accommodate it.”

“You’re versatile,” he noted as he looked at one of the pictures and nodded appreciatively. Travis opened the door to leave, but Pete spoke again. “Stick around, McKinney. This was your idea.”

“Whatever you say, boss.” He painted on a smile that looked mischievous .

He took the closest chair, which was next to me. I thought it would make more sense for him to go around and sit by Pete, but it was fine. We were supposed to be acquaintances, and according to him, none of the other stuff mattered.

“Where’s Tessa?” Pete asked.

“Mallory intercepted us as soon as we walked in the door, so she’s in good hands.”

“She’ll be happy when practices start again, I bet.”

“Yeah, she loves to get in the way.”

Pete chuckled. “Good thing everybody loves her.”

Travis shifted in his seat and stretched his legs out under the table. His scent was a mixture of floral and earthy; there was something calming about it. I casually leaned my arm on the table to get some distance from him.

“I really like your style,” Pete said. “I can see why Travis thought this would be a good direction to take. It’s different, which is always a plus.

The teams do things so similarly, and we have quite a few new players, younger ones, which makes me want to change things up a little. Move forward, you know?”

“I like that vision,” I agreed. “But I’m probably biased.”

They both laughed, which eased some of my tension. I was glad this wasn’t something formal with a bunch of other people. Even though I did well in most situations, I would’ve needed to prepare more for that.

Pete folded his hands on the table. “Here’s what I want to do.

I’m not the deciding factor for this, but I have spoken with a couple people, and they’re open to it.

They wanted me to meet you first and feel the whole thing out.

I’d like to show them your portfolio and an example of what you’d do on the project. ”

“An example?”

“The whole idea is a bit unconventional for us. You’d have creative freedom on this.

Each picture would have to be approved, of course, but overall, it’s your decision.

Poses, background, props, and all that. So, I want to be able to show them your vision because it’ll be a better sell than me trying to explain it. ”

“I can do that. When do you need it by?”

“Wednesday would be ideal since I’ll be meeting with them anyway. Is that enough time? ”

If he wanted it completed and polished, it would be a pain in the ass, but I was sure that I could do it. Sleepless nights were nothing new to me.

“I’ll have it by Wednesday.”

Pete grinned. “Wonderful. Trav, are you willing to be his subject?”

“You sure you don’t want one of the prettier guys to do it?” Travis asked. His playfulness seemed to bring out his accent, reminding me that he’d grown up in Texas. I wondered if it was much different than Georgia.

“Oh, stop,” Pete drawled. “You’re practically the face of the Braves at this point. I wouldn’t be surprised if the big wigs up top want you on the cover instead of all the guys.”

“Maybe I can get my own calendar.”

“It’s not a half bad idea. You know they love to capitalize on everything they can.

” Pete got to his feet and held out his hand to me again.

“Roman, it’s really great to meet you, and I can’t wait to see what you come up with.

If I could offer this to you on the spot, I would, but I’ll go to bat for you with the suits. ”

“I appreciate that. If you ever want something made, I’d be happy to do it.”

Travis smiled at me. “You’ve gotta stop offering your services for free, man. You’re an artist.”

Casually, I looked away from him. “I enjoy drawing, and usually I’m just making useless pieces anyway.”

“Keep them all. Your name may be worth something someday.”

“Before you go,” Pete said, looking at Travis. “I’ve gotta talk to you real quick.”

He nodded. “You cool to wait, Roman?”

“Sure,” I replied before I headed to the door. When it closed behind me, I leaned against the wall and blew out a breath. A smile formed on my face, and I pulled out my phone to call my mom while I waited for Travis.