Say You'll Remember Me(13)

Jesse replied immediately with Hotel?

Mike responded with a laughing emoji and then Movie?

Not a movie. I wanted to talk to her.

A second later Chris came through with a link to a miniature golf place open until 1:00 a.m. on Fridays. Mother Putters.

I clicked on it. Cheap beer and pizza, arcade, laser tag, hokey golf courses.

I hated places like that, but I’d hate dropping her off more.

I saw her coming from the bathroom from the side of my eye and slipped my phone back in my pocket.

“You know what they had in the ladies’ room?” she said, sitting down. “This little ancient Pomeranian who doesn’t like men, so they put him in the women’s bathroom to meet people.”

“That’s Renegade. He’s fourteen.”

“Does he like you?” she asked.

“Yes.”

She smiled. “Of course he does.”

I cleared my throat. “The boat docks in ten minutes. I was wondering if you’d like to play some miniature golf after this. There’s a place in—”

“Yes. I’d love to.”

The corner of my lip quirked.

“Do you mind if we stop at my apartment so I can change?” I said.

“Are you still wet?” she asked, looking sorry.

“A little. It’s fine. You can stay in the car. I don’t expect you to come in.”

“What if I want to come in?”

I arched an eyebrow. “Do you?”

“I want to see what your place looks like,” she said.

“I wasn’t expecting company.”

“That’s the point. You didn’t have time to clean between getting off work and picking me up so I’m seeing you in your natural habitat.”

I thought about it. “Can I have a ten-second start?”

“No. You can hide a lot of stuff in ten seconds. Wedding photos, clown costumes, ridiculous amounts of flip phones that you have absolutely no explanation for—”

I smirked. “Flip phones? You think I’m a drug dealer?”

“I think if you were you’d one hundred percent swipe those into a drawer before I got there to see it.”

“I think I’d prefer to stash the clown costume first, but that’s just me.”

She laughed.

I didn’t have anything in my apartment that she couldn’t see. Maybe a few dishes in the sink or a wet towel that fell off the rack. I’d still like to be able to show her the best version of it though. Oh well.

Thirty minutes later we were at my place. My dog met us at the door.

“Who’s this?” she asked, crouching to pet him.

“This is Jake,” I said. “From State Farm.”

She laughed and pet him.

“Give me five minutes,” I said. “Feel free to look for clown costumes.”

I left for my room. The marina wasn’t exactly the cleanest water the lake had to offer so I decided to take a quick shower. I threw on fresh clothes, messed with my hair, brushed my teeth, and came back out. She was sitting on my sofa with Jake’s head in her lap.

“You only have French’s mustard in your fridge,” she said.

“I’m sorry,” I said, crossing my arms and leaning in the doorway. “I’ll do better next time.”

“I hope so. It’s all fun and games until you ruin your wiener.”

I coughed out a laugh.

She was smiling. “I like your dog,” she said. “Weird haircut though.”

“Did you find any burner phones?”

“I didn’t. And I really looked too. Your place is nice. But you’re not here much, right?”

“Not really.”

She put out her lower lip. “Poor Jake.”

“I take him to work now. It’s not ideal. Hoping nobody recognizes him.”

“Put a pink bandanna on him,” she said. “In case someone takes a picture. Throw the mafia off the tracks.”

“Not a bad idea.” I looked at my watch. It was almost 9:45.

She was in her summer dress still. She hadn’t brought a sweater. I didn’t know if the place would be chilly. I turned back to my room and grabbed a hoodie for her. “Ready?” I asked, handing it to her.

There was a small moment where she didn’t move, and I almost wanted to ask if she just wanted to stay here. I could make us drinks, we could sit outside on the patio… anything really. But I worried that was too forward and she’d feel trapped or like I’d planned to get her here, so I didn’t say anything. I drove us to Mother Putters instead.

I couldn’t tell you why, but the second I got out of the car something felt off. Some deep, strange foreboding premonition. When we walked inside, I found out what was causing it.

My friends were here. Every single one.





6





SAMANTHA


XAVIER HAD GONE dark. Well, darker than usual.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“My friends are here.”

I turned to look around. “Oh, which ones?”

“All of them.”

A group was approaching. Three men and one woman, all smiling.