And neither do you,” Richard added. “Let’s be cautious here, and let’s find out what the hell is going on so we can put an end to it and get this threat to all of us as far away as possible.”
Now that was something they could all agree on.
Richard headed for the door, with Terrance behind him. Gerome said good night and closed the door after them, realizing that Terrance had somehow grabbed the last beer on his way out.
GEROME SAT on the sofa with the television on, but he wasn’t paying attention. He thought of wandering down to the beach to watch the waves, but realistically, that was a futile exercise. He couldn’t constantly stake out the beach to try to figure out when a rendezvous might take place. They didn’t even know if there would be another one.
Footsteps sounded outside the door, and Gerome tensed, hoping it was Tucker. But there was no further sound, and he sank a little more into loneliness.
What the hell had happened to him? Gerome used to enjoy being by himself. He got so little time alone with his two friends working with him on a constant basis. They had been in each other’s business and at each other’s apartments all the time. Now Richard had Daniel and a family of his own, and Terrance worked two jobs and was gone a lot. Consequently, Gerome had plenty of time on his hands.
With a sigh, he pushed himself out of the chair, went to the door, and stepped into the hall. He was tempted to knock on Tucker’s door, but he didn’t want to wake Joshie and…. This was stupid. He turned to go inside as the door opened.
“Gerome?” Tucker said softly. “What are you doing out here?” He stepped into the hallway and closed the door.
Gerome shrugged because he didn’t want to seem like an idiot. “I thought I heard something.” That was a good cover, even if it sounded lame. “But I guess it was nothing. I didn’t mean to disturb you.” He was just going a little stir-crazy and needed to get outside. “Are Joshie and Cheryl asleep?”
“Yeah. They’re both out like lights. I was going to watch TV, but Joshie is a light sleeper and it would wake him up. I tried to read but didn’t have a great deal of luck with that either.” He sighed slightly. “I was going to come over, but then I wasn’t sure if I should and if it was a good time. I know you needed to talk with the guys, and….” He shrugged. “It felt different, and I didn’t know what you wanted me to do.”
“How about we go for a walk?” Gerome asked.
“That’s not a bad idea. I could use the chance to clear my head,” Tucker said. He went back into the apartment and grabbed an old sweatshirt from inside the door. Then he closed it again, and Gerome motioned him forward.
Gerome grabbed his keys and checked the door before catching up to Tucker and taking his hand. They didn’t talk about where they were going but ended up going toward the beach, the lap of the waves on the sand getting louder the closer they got.
“I always come down here when I need to think,” Gerome admitted.
“Me too. There’s something about the sound of the water that relaxes me and gets my head working.” Tucker squeezed his hand. “I don’t come down here very much after dark. I like walking on the beach at twilight. I’m usually afraid that I’ll trip or something.”
Tucker took his arm, and they slowly navigated the sand. There wasn’t a great deal of light. A few of the homes had lights on the beach side, and that provided just enough light for them to see.
“Yeah.” Gerome wasn’t thinking of anything right now but where Tucker held his hand and how close he was. The water was dark, and there was no activity tonight. The beach was deserted, as Gerome would have expected. It seemed like he and Tucker had the entire space to themselves. “Maybe it’s like getting back to nature, but the water seems to touch my soul.” There had been a time when he didn’t think he had one.
“When I first met Cheryl and Joshie, we were all living near the beach. It was just close enough that we could hear the waves at night.” Tucker tightened his hold, and Gerome slowed his steps. “I was so scared. I had no idea