Love Is Always Write Volume 4

gratitude than he should have. It was coffee , for fuck's sake, but still, it was a nice gesture. "Thanks."
    Jory slipped out the door and looked in both directions before weaving through a line of cars stopped at the light. Cursing him under his breath, Bob followed, trying not to spill his coffee. "Will you stop jaywalking?" he hissed when he caught up.
    Jory laughed. "You really are law-abiding, aren't you?"
    "What's wrong with that?" Bob demanded.
    Jory gave him a look that on a close friend might have been described as fond . "Nothing. It's cute. Hey, bus!"
    Nonplussed, Bob hurried after him. The bus was only partly full, and Jory made his way to the back of the vehicle where he sprawled in the rear-most seats. Bob sat on the side-facing seat near him and watched warily out the windows for their pursuers.
    "Who are Snyder and Mallory?" Bob asked.
    Jory tipped his head back and looked at the ceiling as if planning to shut his eyes and go to sleep. "I'll tell you at your place," he said.
    Bob shut up and drank his coffee. It was only a two minute ride to the stop closest to his apartment, so he was not finished by the time they exited. They walked back to Bob's apartment in silence and took the stairs to the second floor.
    The doorjamb was splintered, and the door was loose in the frame, but it was still locked and could not be forced open. Bob realized his keys were sitting on his bedside table—inside the apartment. "Um…"
    Jory seemed to realize the problem without Bob speaking. He guzzled the rest of his coffee and handed Bob the empty cup. "Wait right here." He walked down the hall to his own apartment, used a key to open the lock, and disappeared inside.
    Bob wondered what he was doing. Getting something to jimmy the lock? He was just about to walk down the hall and ask when the door to his own apartment opened. Jory smiled and gestured him inside with a flourish.
    "How did you get in?" Bob asked.
    "Fire escape. Out my window and in through yours. I figured it was still open from your escape earlier."
    Clever . Bob walked to the kitchen area to throw away the cups; he spotted Mariah on the counter. "Here is your cactus. Good as new. Are you going to tell me what this game is all about, or are you going to disappear with your plant?"
    "Do you want me to disappear?" Jory asked in a quiet voice.
    Surprised, Bob made a show of rinsing out the cups and tossing them into the recycle bin. Did he? Did he really want Jory to leave so that he could go back to his boring life? What had Bob intended to do before Jory had thrown his day into disarray? He had planned to do laundry and get caught up on homework for his online accounting class, maybe watch a movie.
    "No. I don't want you to disappear."
    Jory beamed and then sat on one of the barstools. Bob turned on the water and washed his hands while Jory began to talk.
    "We're all online gamers. Hardcore. I had to specially insulate my apartment to keep the noise level down; sometimes I get worked up and end up screaming through my headset. Neighbors don't like that at two in the morning."
    Bob laughed. "No, I imagine not." He wondered how one went about "specially insulating" an apartment, but did not want to interrupt Jory. "Hey, want something to eat?" Bob hadn't eaten all morning, and it was approaching ten o'clock. His stomach was rumbling.
    "Sure, thanks. Anyway, I got my hands on a special code for this one game, a code that hasn't been released to the general public yet. It opens up some amazing new features and is going to blow the lid off the gaming universe. Do you play?"
    Bob pulled out some ingredients from the fridge. Eggs, bacon, and some fresh veggies. He selected a knife from the block and started chopping. He shook his head with an almost guilty glance at the television.
    "Not much. I fail at online shooter games. I tried a couple of times, but I always end up getting yelled at and called a noob, so it turns out not being fun. There are a few solo adventure games I like." He gestured toward his lone gaming system, which had been collecting dust for a few weeks. Ever since he'd started his online classes, he felt guilty whenever he was screwing around instead of studying.
    "Such a loner," Jory said and tsked. "It's more fun when you have someone to show you the ropes. Hey, you're really good at that."
    Bob glanced up and smiled. He might have been showing off his knife skills a bit while chopping the onions and peppers. He loved to cook and had