Chapter 4

Together. The faces smeared in Tanner’s vision. Too many dark eyes gazing back, too many teeth bared. Tanner gripped his scotch glass and swayed a little, the dark hallway closing around him like a cell.

“Nice Sophia has the family to help her now.” It was Marco, his small eyes drifting over the photos.

“Yeah,” Tanner managed.

“When Shante first brought me here when we were dating, I used to look at this wall and think, ‘God, don’t ever let me be so tied down.’ And now I look and I’m glad for all of us. We’ve got each other.”

“Right.” Tanner sipped his drink. Paul’s even features flashed in front of him, green eyes sad. He saw himself: not loose and cool and free but unconnected and alone.

Paul had tried and Mitch had fucked it up. The thought bobbed, like a child’s raft in the surf.

“You okay?” Marco asked.

Tanner clenched his jaw. “I’ll catch you later.” He let Marco shoulder past him to the bathroom, glared at the wall for a few seconds more then turned away.