Gravity (Greenford #2) - Romeo Alexander Page 0,21

unpacking, trying to figure out how he was going to be a professor, and asking after some of the better places in town to eat or drink.

Samuel had no idea why Caleb was back or what his life had been like outside work while living in Portland.

The thing was, that was precisely what happened for the rest of the week whenever they ran into one another. Samuel would find himself chatting with the other man for a little while before one or both of them had to go back to their jobs, and only on departing did he realize that they’d talked quite a lot but had said very little. The worst part was, each time it happened, Samuel swore he would find a way to slip a meaningful conversation into the mix, and every time, he found himself caught up in idle chit-chat instead.

“I don’t know how he’s doing it!” Samuel complained loudly to Lucas as the two of them walked along an empty path through the campus. “I swear to God, he was never this tricky before, I mean, he was a pain in the ass, but he wasn’t a tricky pain in the ass.”

Lucas sighed and Samuel was reminded that he’d been explaining to Lucas his annoyance with the past weeks’ worth of interactions with Caleb. He winced at the thought, thinking it had been less explaining and more actively complaining for almost an hour.

“So your ex-boyfriend is playing nice, and you think...what?” Lucas asked, taking a sip from his travel mug. “He’s enacting some kind of conspiracy to drive you crazy?”

“When you put it like that, I sound fucking crazy,” Samuel grumbled, finding himself wishing he still smoked. He’d quit after leaving Portland, and much to his dismay, the cravings never quite went away, just grew further apart from one another.

“No, you sound like...well, you,” Lucas said.

Samuel scowled at him. “Thank you, Lucas. I knew I could count on you for your support in this.”

Lucas chuckled, bumping him with his shoulder. “Look, you know the guy, right?”

“We’re acquainted,” Samuel said dryly.

“Is he really the type to actively go out of his way to try to drive you crazy by being elusive or avoidant?”

“Well…”

Come to think about it, no, Caleb wasn’t that sort of person. He could be infuriatingly stubborn, overly critical, and reserved to the point of being self-restraining, but he wasn’t the sort for mind games.

Samuel sighed. “No, he wouldn’t do that. Not really his style, and even if he tried, he’d give up within five minutes and be mad at himself for days afterward. He always hated lying.”

“Okay, so what could possibly be the reason a guy like him would be avoiding talking about his life?”

Another pause.

Lucas sighed. “Why would you avoid talking about your life to him?”

“But I’m not.”

“Based on the very brief synopsis of your relationship history with him, I’d say you have.”

Samuel scowled. “Look, when we were in Portland, things were weird. Okay? I wanted to be closer to him but after the first time...I don’t know.”

Of course, he’d wanted to have a more meaningful relationship with Caleb while they’d been sort of together in Portland. Sometimes, he even convinced himself that they were doing alright and things were going well. Deep down he knew, though, that things were not okay, and he was perpetually keeping Caleb at arm’s length emotionally. It wasn’t fair to either of them, but a fear of returning back to the bitter, combative relationship they’d ended up in the first time had gnawed at him, and he’d always drawn back.

“My point is, you had your reasons for doing that, whether they were right or wrong,” Lucas said patiently. “So I’m thinking, maybe he has his reasons too?”

“What, like he doesn’t trust me?” Samuel asked in annoyance, feeling a stab of guilt that that had been his exact reason.

“Or maybe something really bad happened,” Lucas said. “I mean, the guy suddenly shows up in Greenford without warning, all mysterious despite the fact that apparently his life was settled out in Portland? Sounds like things went south for him, and hard.”

Which only served to send another uncomfortable twist of guilt through Samuel’s guts, followed swiftly by a sudden wash of concern. If Lucas was right, it was a lot better that Caleb talk about what happened to him rather than keep it to himself. It really looked like Samuel was his only friend, and if Caleb wasn’t going to talk to him, then he was going to do