Vadim Hey.
Vadim
"Hey."
Preston's voice drifts in behind me. I stop staring at the monitors and spin around.
He's dressed in a loud Hawaiian-print button-down over white shorts, the closest the casino souvenir shop could do by way of vintage. It stands out in here, a stark contrast to the gray of the control room.
I nod to the guard who accompanied him, and he goes to stand by the door, giving us some privacy.
"Hey."
"Sorry to interrupt."
"You're not interrupting me at all." I push away from the workstation to make my point. "How did you sleep?"
"Good, thanks."
I look him up and down. "Not normally a fan of Hawaiian shirts, but it looks good on you. Brings out your eyes."
He lets out a small chuckle. "Shut up."
"I'm serious."
There are a couple of staff in here, including W?adek who isn't being as discreet as he thinks he is, his eyes drifting my way every so often. I could dismiss them all, but instead, I use them as a reminder to myself to keep things professional with Preston.
He's just had his home blown up, so I can be nice to him. But just nice. Nothing more. I have to remain focused. That's the deal I've made with myself. At least until Farkas is contained.
"Busy day?" Preston asks, eyeing off all the monitors.
"Not really. We evicted a drunk at four a.m. That's about all the excitement so far."
"So…better than yesterday?"
Something twists in my gut. Guilt, probably.
"How are you feeling? Is there anything that you…or Ellie need?"
"No. But thank you for asking."
"It's the least I can do."
"Um, look, I won't keep you. I just wanted to tell you I'm going to spend some time with my parents."
He explains his father's deteriorating condition, even tries to spin what went down yesterday as a good thing since it gives him a chance to spend some time with his dad.
I don't want to be a downer and point out that he didn't need to have his house blown up in order for that to happen, so I keep my mouth shut.
"How long will you be gone?"
He gives a half shrug. "Not sure. Maybe a little while though.
I want to hang out with Dad…" He swallows.
"While I still can. And I want to make sure Mom is okay, too.
She's a trooper and loves to act like everything is fine, but I know she's struggling with all of this. It has to be a nightmare for her."
"I bet it is." I give a small nod. "Sounds like you're doing the right thing. Just so you know, you will still have a guard and be under protection when you go back, so please don't fight me on it."
He stares at me for a beat.
"Is that it?"
"What?"
"You seem more concerned about my safety than you do about me."
I… I don't know how to respond to that. I scratch the side of my face and stay silent.
"Are you going to miss me at all?" he asks, a trace of resentment in his voice that he even has to ask.
He's not making this easy for me. I grind my back teeth together and reach out, brushing the backs of my fingers against his jawline.
"I will."
"Good. You have my number."
"And you have mine."
He inches closer, his head bobbing slightly. "We'll stay in touch?"
"Definitely."
"Okay. So…"
He's throwing out every signal in the world that he wants me to kiss him, but I can't. Not because I care about what anyone will think, but because I've let him down three times already.
If I'd dropped him off just five minutes earlier yesterday, he wouldn't even be standing here in front of me, looking at me with those pretty hazel eyes.
But he's going away for who knows how long, and I am clearly not as strong-willed as I like to believe I am. So I close the remaining gap between us, cradle his cheeks in my palms, and kiss him on the mouth.
Quick, firm, steady. And then it's done.