“Easy. I’ll throw some of my clothes in the garbage.”
Ryan snorted and shook his head. He took the books to the counter so Wyatt could pay for them.
“Well,” Wyatt said a few minutes later when they were standing outside the store. “We could just go back to the hotel. Or...we could go check out theworld’slargest gavel.”
“What?”
Wyatt looked at his phone. “It’s outside the Supreme Court Building.” He frowned. “Oh. It’s only thesecond-largestgavel now. They built a bigger one in Illinois.”
“That’s disappointing.”
“Yeah. Fuck that. I’m not lugging these books around Columbus just to look at thesecond-largest gavel. Largest or nothing. Let’s head back.”
It seemed Ryan would have time to daydream about kissing Fabian after all.
Chapter Eleven
When Ryan arrived at the café on Monday night, Fabian was nowhere to be seen. There was a small stage—really just a slightly elevated corner of the room—which was empty besides a stool and a microphone stand. A few patrons sat at tables, but it was mostly quiet in the room.
Ryan did not likethissituation at all.
Maybe he should text Fabian to confirm that this open mic was still happening, and that Fabian would indeed be coming to it. Maybe Ryan had gotten the location wrong. Maybe he should just leave and apologize later if he needed to.
Oh god. Ryan had just been standing, frozen, at the café entrance and now people were staring at him.
He made a decision, and went to the counter to order something. He could sit and nurse a beverage for a bit, and if Fabian didn’t show up, he could leave.
The barista was a young woman who looked far cooler than Ryan could ever hope to be, but she smiled warmly when he approached the counter. “You here for the open mic?”
“Uh, yeah. I was worried I was in the wrong place maybe.”
“Nope. It’s not usually a big crowd. Mondays, y’know?”
“Right.”
“Are you playing tonight?”
For a moment, Ryan thought she recognized him and was asking about a hockey game. Then he realized what she was actually asking him.
“Me? God, no. No. I’m here to see a...friend.”
“Ah. Can I get you something?”
Ryan ordered a tea, and wished he had noticed before that the café was licensed. He would have preferred a beer. But she was already preparing his orange pekoe, so he didn’t say anything.
He found an empty table, sat, and waited, staring at the steam rising off his tea like it was the most fascinating thing in the world. Then he remembered that he had an e-book on his phone he could read. Thank god for books.
He had been comfortably reading for about half an hour when he heard Fabian’s voice behind him. Ryan turned and saw both Fabian and Vanessa, and a third person—a young Black man—who Ryan didn’t recognize.
Fabian spotted him immediately and waved. He seemed to have brought only his violin tonight.
“You came!” he said cheerfully when he reached the table. He fell into the chair next to Ryan while Vanessa and the other man pulled chairs over from nearby tables to join them. “Have you been waiting long? I should have warned you that this thing always starts late.”
“It’s okay. I was reading.”
“Oh good. You remember Vanessa? And this is Marcus, her roommate and one of our very best friends. Marcus, this is Ryan.”
Marcus extended a hand. “Oh, I have beendyingto meetyou.”
