Ryan: What are you really doing today?
Wyatt: I was thinking about doing literally anything else. Wanna grab lunch?
Ryan: Yeah!
“Holy shit! Check it out, Pricey!” Wyatt held up a seemingly random issue of a comic book that he’d pulled out of a long box crammed full of comics. When Ryan didn’t respond with the level of excitement Wyatt obviously thought this treasure warranted, Wyatt explained, “I’ve been looking for this for years. It’s the only Norm BreyfogleBatmancomic I don’t have.”
“Oh. Cool.”
Wyatt kissed the plastic wrapper on the comic. “I love Columbus!”
Ryan laughed and followed Wyatt to another box of comics. It had, in fact, been an enjoyable afternoon. Wyatt found a really nice brewpub for the two of them to have lunch at, and after lunch (and a couple of beers) they’d wandered around downtown Columbus, which wasn’t a bad place at all. Then Wyatt had led them to this comic shop, which Ryan suspected had been his plan all along.
The afternoon had been a good distraction. If Wyatt hadn’t invited him out, Ryan probably would have spent the day in his hotel room, daydreaming about Fabian. He needed to stop wishing for impossible Fabian-related things, like kissing his sexy mouth. Fabian, he was sure, hadn’t wanted to kiss him now any more than he had when they’d been teenagers. Fabian probably had a boyfriend. Or a lineup of beautiful men who wanted to kiss him. Or, most likely, both.
And Ryan was still a dumb hockey player. Still much too large, much too awkward, much too boring for brilliant, gorgeous, confident Fabian.
“You heard about the party, right?” Wyatt asked as he inspected another bagged comic.
“Party?”
“Yeah. Kent’s birthday party.”
Ugh. “Oh. I think I heard some of the guys talking about that. Are you going?”
“Sure. Team party. Of course I’m going. Aren’t you?”
He almost said no, but he remembered his coach’s warning that he wanted Ryan to be a team player off the ice, as well as on. “When is it?”
“Next Friday at Kent’s house. Kent’smansion, I should say.”
Next Friday. Why did that seem like a significant day? Ryan pondered it as Wyatt moved on to examining the shelves of colorful books that lined one wall of the comic shop. Ryan pulled a book with a bright pink spine off the shelf and flipped through it. The story looked very weird and confusing, full of bizarre-looking alien characters and floating heads yelling things in outer space. He put it back.
“Maybe there will be a cute guy at the party for you,” Wyatt said with a grin. Ryan rolled his eyes. “What? You never know.”
“I’m not going to meet someone at Dallas Kent’s fucking birthday party.”
Birthday party.Right. Next Friday night was when Fabian and his friends were going to that club to celebrate Tarek’s birthday. Damn. It was probably unlikely that Ryan would have actually joined them at that club anyway. But it sure sounded more appealing than a party celebrating Dallas goddamned Kent.
“You should read this,” Wyatt said. He handed Ryan a thick book that saidDaredevilon it. “It’s about a sad sack who sacrifices his body every night to save others. You’d like it.”
Ryan attempted a menacing glare. “I’m not a sad sack,” he lied.
“You know what? Most superhero comics are about self-sacrificing sad sacks, now that I think about it.”
“You saying I’m a superhero?”
“No question.” Wyatt grabbed another book off the shelf and added to a small stack he had built on the floor. “Speaking of, have you thought any more about visiting the community center with me?”
Ryan hadn’t thought about it at all. “You still want me to?”
“Definitely. Like I said, the kids will love you. I’ll let you know next time I go, okay?”
“Sure. I guess. If you really think they’d want me there.”
“Trust me, it’ll be great. You’ll love them.” Wyatt hefted the stack of books off the floor and handed it to Ryan with a playful smile.
Ryan rolled his eyes and accepted the heavy pile. “How are you even going to fit these in your suitcase?”
