Question of Trust. Laura Caldwell

of music reverberating around us.

      In all the time since we’d broken up, we had never simply run into each other.

      Sam’s blond hair had grown a bit long, darkened a little in the months since I’d seen him. His skin, too, was more fair than usual, but all this only made his green eyes more intense, like emeralds dropped in the snow.

      Seeing Sam someplace random was something I’d feared for a while. What if we bumped into each other and he was with new/old girlfriend Alyssa? It would be so awkward, so … sad.

      But thankfully my fears never materialized, and, in fact, I had stopped fearing it all together. And yet, here we were—Sam with his green, green eyes, and me in a booth with Theo, his father, his father’s friend and some very, very hot, young girls.

      Sam looked at our little group, blinking. I glanced past him, fearing the sight of Alyssa, but only saw R.T., Sam’s musician friend, who wore a small smile that he was clearly trying to stop from spreading across his face at this amusing turn of events. I waved at R.T., and he waved back, then pointed toward the back, gesturing that he’d return in a minute.

      I climbed over LaBree and Brad, careful not to flash anyone. For a moment, I regretted my dress and high-heeled boots. But when I saw Sam’s eyes drag up and down my body, revealing what I knew to be pure lust, I was grateful.

      I took a step toward Sam and we embraced—a kind of brisk, pat-pat hug that was more like something you’d share with a cousin.

      Theo stood from the booth, too, and I felt his presence next to me. I gestured between the two men. “Theo, this is Sam. Sam, Theo.” I almost giggled inappropriately, the moment was so weird.

      Theo knew who Sam was and said, “Oh, hey, man. Great to meet you.”

      He stepped forward and shook Sam’s hand, pumping it congenially, if a little forcefully.

      Sam had heard about Theo this past summer when I was in Italy and Theo had come over to visit me. He knew I’d been dating someone, but I’d never used Theo’s name when we’d briefly discussed it. In fact, Sam had seemed uninterested, as if he preferred to not know the details. But now the details were right in front of him.

      Sam’s eyes squinted for a moment, as if trying to figure out or remember who Theo was. Recognition broke across his face and he seemed to take in all of Theo then, all his gorgeousness. He shot me a look that I actually couldn’t read, then turned back to Theo. “Hi. Nice to meet you, too.”

      “So what’re you doing here?” I asked.

      “R.T. is the sound guy for some band that’s playing in the back room. Some party.” He said nothing further, asked nothing of me, and so we stared uncomfortably, my mind scrambling for conversation and finding none.

      “What about you guys?” Sam said finally, the phrase you guys ringing like a self-conscious bell.

      “We’re just hanging with my dad,” Theo said.

      Brad disentangled from LaBree and slid out of the booth so Theo could introduce them. Sam reached out to shake hands when Erin/Karen barreled through from the dance floor with Kent in tow. She clamored into the booth, apparently not caring whether she flashed anyone her underwear (which matched her dress—what little there was of it). Kent dove in after her, grabbing her ass on his way. Karen/Erin giggled and reached for a bottle. Sam seemed to be waiting for an explanation of their presence as I tried to force my face into an expression less appalled and embarrassed.

      “Brad Jameson,” Theo’s dad said, his voice loud in order to be heard over the music, offering Sam his hand.

      Sam responded by shaking Brad’s hand, smiling gamely. “Nice to meet you. So you guys—”

      But Sam was cut off by LaBree, who scooted between them, then reached up and planted a wet kiss on Brad’s neck, her hand sliding down his back. She whispered something into his ear and walked off toward the dance floor.

      Brad stared appreciatively at LaBree’s body.

      “Very nice to meet you,” he said to Sam earnestly. But then his gaze drifted. “Excuse me for a moment,” he said without looking at any of us, then headed off after LaBree.

      Suddenly, I found myself alone between Sam and Theo again. I looked from one to the other. Strange, strange, strange. I liked both of them so much. They were two of my favorite people in the world. I felt like saying to Theo, Isn’t he great? Isn’t he cool? To Sam, I wanted to say, Okay, how hot is this guy? And isn’t he so sweet and smart?

      I knew that wasn’t the way to go, however, and so, uncharacteristically, I once again found myself mute. A long awkward moment ticked by.

      Theo was the one who finally spoke. He gestured at the table. “Can I get you something to drink?”

      “No, I’m cool. Thanks.” Sam looked at me. “I should find R.T.”

      “Right. Yeah.”

      Theo looked between the two of us, giving me an expression I couldn’t read, then excused himself and left.

      Sam and I just smiled at each other. “So how’s …” I stopped. I couldn’t say it. How’s Alyssa?

      But Sam, apparently, could still read me. “I’m not sure.”

      “You’re not …?” I glanced down at his left hand. No ring.

      “Alyssa and I broke up. After we …” He pointed between himself and me.

      After we almost got back together this past summer.

      I felt bad at how happy I was that he wasn’t with Alyssa anymore—perfect, tiny, blonde Alyssa, his high school sweetheart, who seemed to love Sam even more than I had.

      Sam glanced behind him. “I should see if R.T. needs any help.”

      “Sure. I’ll come back there later and say hi.”

      But when I did, there was no sign of Sam.

      13

      When Theo and I got home from the club, Theo turned on his Xbox to play Madden NFL Football. He played against people around the country and won a lot. Still, it was almost one in the morning.

      “You’re playing now?“ I asked him.

      “Yeah, I just need to blow off a little steam.” Theo scrolled through the Xbox menu, trying to find an opponent at his level.

      I sat in my favorite yellow-and-white chair, yet it failed to comfort me as it often did. “Did you have fun with your dad?”

      After Sam had left, I’d spent an hour trying to listen to LaBree and Brad, who were talking about the patent LaBree was working on and that Brad was helping her with—some kind of invention to hold bra straps in random places. The product actually sounded rather smart, but I couldn’t focus. Kept replaying over and over my run-in with Sam. Then Theo and his dad began having what looked like a serious discussion, and soon after that he had been ready to leave.

      “Fun probably isn’t the word for it,” Theo said now.

      “Right,” I said. Then, “What is the word for it?”

      He didn’t reply, just clicked a button to enter a game.

      I put my head against the back of the chair for a minute. Then I lifted it again. “Hey, have you ever given anyone the code for the door?” I asked him. “Talking to Vaughn yesterday made me think about it.”

      “I haven’t given it to anyone.” Theo mashed a few buttons. “If you think about it, anyone from the street could watch and see us using the code, then use it to get in when we’re not around.”

      “But why not steal something if you’re going to all that trouble?”

      Theo stayed silent, his jawline set.

      “What