He glanced up sharply at Paul. Had he said that out loud? “Sorry, someone I know is here and texted me.”
He wasn’t sure how to reply. Cool? Casual? He went with just the facts.
Hudson
I have a booth at the expo tomorrow
It took a long time for Jack to respond, the dots coming and stopping and reappearing, before finally he got:
Jack
Cool.
Shit. Was that the reaction he wanted? Or was he just being an asshole? He felt like an asshole. He was panicking a little inside and swallowed against the nervous, tight feeling in his chest.
Hudson
I’ll be there to watch the show tonight
He’d started to say “to watchyoutonight” but changed it last-minute. God, he was bad at this hard-to-get crap. It felt more like lying than anything else.
“Food’s here.”
He looked up from his phone. “Sorry. Oh, that looks amazing.”
“No worries, it’s a working weekend. It’s not like this is a date.”
The server set their plates down and offered them parmesan and black pepper, then was on his way.
He met Paul’s gaze. “Right. It’s not a date. We’re working.”
His phone buzzed.
Jack
Need a ride back from the arena? I’m at Mandalay Bay
Oh. Jack was in a nice hotel. He’d like a lot more than just a ride to the hotel, but?—
Hudson
I have a colleague with me
Another long pause, then he got:
Jack
Understood. Holler if you need anything.
He sighed and read that again and again. This was— something was off. This wasn’t how he’d planned things to go. He hated texting, he needed to see Jack’s face, understand what was going on. Jack’s words only ever said half what he was thinking. He was much easier to read in person.
If he’d fucked up, he wasn’t going to get a chance to fix it until… maybe tomorrow after the expo? Maybe not until after the show tomorrow.
Shit.
And Paul was still sitting at the table with him so he couldn’t go find Jack right now like he wanted to.
“Everything okay, man? You look like that was bad news.” Paul leaned in and met his eyes.