Free Siempre by Tessa Cárdenas Page A

be able to sleep anymore. Sean pushed back the blankets and climbed out of bed as his phone buzzed again. At least there would be the coffee Travis always made. The shower was running when he slipped into the living room, so he hurried to pour a cup of coffee and sneak back to his room before Travis could come out and ask why he was awake and complain that the coffee was just going to make him jittery and annoying. He took a sip before reading the next message.
    Sorry. You don’t have to answer. Or say yes.
    The phone buzzed again in his hand as he finished reading.
    I miss you.
    Sean put the phone down and finished half the cup of coffee, and the message was still there when he picked the phone up again. When he couldn’t come up with anything to type back for five minutes, he gave up and hit the call button.
    “Hey,” Jaime said, and then nothing.
    “You never say hi when you answer the phone.”
    “I didn’t know what else to say.”
    “Okay. How about you just tell me what’s going on. How am I supposed to take this? That you miss your friend ?”
    “No.”
    Jaime paused, but Sean decided to wait him out instead of answering.
    “No. I was stupid, and I’m sorry it took Lexi pointing it out five times a day for me to realize that. The guy at the club was just my friend. He was really just my friend, and I haven’t been thinking about him at all for a week except that I was stupid to think you were the same when all I can do is miss you. I miss you telling me that I’m talented and I’m wasting it. I miss making a serving at dinner that isn’t spicy, because you can’t handle it. I miss waking up with you as much as I miss fucking you, and I’m going to hate it if I’ve lost you because it took me too long to figure that shit out. And I’m sorry for not realizing why you wanted me to come to the show tonight when you asked, but I get it now. And that’s why I want to come.”
    Sean opened his mouth to answer, but couldn’t come up with anything.
    “Did I just make an idiot of myself?” Jaime asked.
    “Do you care if you did?” Sean asked.
    “Not really, but I’d feel better about it if it did me any good.”
    “It did.” Sean took a deep breath. Alana and Travis were going to freak out. “I still want you to come, but we have to talk about this, and we won’t have time tonight with the show and Lupe being there.”
    “Okay. I can come over tomorrow night if you want. After tomorrow’s show, when there’s no party. If you want me to.”
    “You’ll come over here?” He hadn’t realized it until the past week, but Jaime had never come to the city just to see him, even after avoiding Travis shouldn’t have been an excuse anymore.
    “Yeah. If Travis isn’t going to kill me on sight now.”
    “Worry more about Alana. She’s got nails.”
    Jaime was quiet for a moment before he asked, “You’re joking, right?”
    “I should probably warn them that I told you it was okay to come.”
    “I’m bringing Aleksandra.”
    Sean laughed for the first time since Alana had told him about Jaime’s kiss in the club a week ago.
    “I can control them when I need to,” Sean said.
    “Thanks. If you can’t,” Jaime said, “I know I kind of deserve it.”
    “I should probably argue with that, but I’m not awake enough to be a better person about it.”
    “That’s okay. I’ll see you tonight?” Jaime said.
    “Yeah. We’ll figure something out,” Sean said before saying good-bye and hanging up.
    Travis’s knock on the door a minute later made him jump. He’d heard Travis walking around the living room while he was on the phone and he hadn’t thought to lower his voice.
    “You’re up early,” Travis said when he pushed the door open.
    Sean held up his phone as an answer.
    “Tell me it was your parents. They can get away with calling you too early,” Travis said. When Sean shook his head, Travis brought his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Why did he call?”
    “He wanted