Page 14

Chapter

Nine

My phone buzzes, stirring me from my daydreams.

It’s a wild Saturday night: I’m curled in bed with my tablet propped on a pillow, anime on my laptop, and a purring Howard pressed against my side, his orange eyes slitted in blissful half sleep.

Noah:

what are you up to tonight?

It’s not the first time Noah has texted me since I sent him my website. That text came through shortly after our last D&D session, a stealthy pic of Liam scowling at a handful of poor dice rolls. Noah had captioned it the wizard ponders his orbs.

Since then, we’ve eased into a casual daily cadence of exchanging links to funny videos, theorizing D&D plot twists, and curious how’s your day going?

s. Perfectly friendly, I tell myself. Our conversations have been a nice distraction throughout the ups and downs of a fairly slow week, so I’ve avoided thinking about whatever intentions might be behind them—mine or Noah’s.

On the good days, when I was bolstered by the hope of receiving news on the mural front soon, I had enough energy to carry me through commission work, more sunny runs, and handling errands for Liam before he even had to ask.

And though the bad days didn’t come as often, I still had them—days where I lay in bed until lunchtime, scrolling idly through my phone until my eyes bled.

Today I find myself somewhere in the middle.

Watching anime, drawing cartoons, you know the drill. You?

Brandon took my shift tonight, said he wanted some extra hours, so I’ve got nothin to do now

take me somewhere? :)

where? do you need a ride?

lol no

i mean let’s hang out, let’s do something

we’re both new here, let’s explore!

Oho.

Whatever distraction-free promises I made to myself dissolve like clouds in the sun. I scrub a hand across my mouth as if to wipe away the smile already curling there. I start to type back, and—

And I take a breath, pausing first to wrestle down my expectations to something more manageable.

My phone vibrates again.

what do people do for fun around Heller?

Allow me to poll the room.

I’m lucky Liam hasn’t left yet. He’s also got a date tonight— not a date, I correct myself, I am not going on a date —but when I open my bedroom door, I can still hear him crooning along with his playlist as he gets ready.

I pad downstairs, through his room, and into the master bathroom.

Again I’m startled by all of the fake fish mounted to the walls, as horrified as I was when Liam gave me the first house tour.

I can’t imagine what possessed his grandfather to decorate like this.

People don’t usually take nautical bathroom themes so literally.

“This is heinous, Liam,” I remind him.

“I know.”

“You have to take them down. They watch you while you shower.”

“I know.” He sounds resigned.

I sit on the edge of the tub and challenge a plastic catfish to a staring contest while I wait for Liam to finish cleaning up his beard. Finally he rinses his razor and turns to me with an expectant look.

But I stall. “Who is it tonight?”

He adjusts his glasses, and his eyes go unfocused as he tries to recall. “Andrew—no, he prefers Andy. Works for a consulting firm in Austin. He’s taking me to a speakeasy downtown.”

“Bit of a drive, isn’t it?”

“Worth it. God, Sadie, you would love Austin. We’re going, before you leave.”

I hum my agreement, but I’m too distracted by my own plans for the evening. “I’m trying to go out tonight, too, but I don’t know where to go.”

Liam’s brows bounce up. “In Austin?”

“In Heller.”

He snorts. “With who?” Okay, rude. He turns back to the mirror and gets to work styling his hair in its usual wave. “Is it a date ?”

“No,” I say too quickly. “Noah and I are just…bored.”

“Uh-huh,” he deadpans. “Well. There are a few options for a not-date. The mall has movies and bowling, though it’s ancient and full of preteens.

You could grab blizzards at DQ, or hit up the Applebee’s happy hour.

I’ve taken boys on walks around the park, but at this hour, that would come across as awfully suggestive.

” I’m sure he only says this so that he can snicker at my reflection as my cheeks glow red.

But then he slaps the green marble of the sink, and I jump.

“I’ve got it. Take him to the diner. It’s open 24/7, has pancakes to die for, and it’s cute as hell without being too oppressively date-y. It’s called Mama’s, it’s down on…”

He keeps talking and giving directions, but I’m already bent over my phone, making the pitch to Noah.

listen I’d kill for some pancakes rn

fuck yeah

want me to drive?

pleeeeaaase i’ll buy you pancakes

deal

how’s 8?

see you then!

Noah sends through his address. Liam laughs, and I look up again, suddenly aware of the smile that snuck its way back onto my face as I stared at my screen. “Oh hush,” I say.

“I didn’t say anything.”

“I heard it all the same.” I stand and smooth down a few unruly strands of hair on the side of his head. “You look nice—have fun, okay? I’ll come pick you up if you need me to.”

“Probably not, but thanks, Sadie.” Liam pauses, and something in his expression softens. His eyes grow big and sentimental. Here we go. “Date or not, I’m glad you’re going. I’m glad you’re getting out more.”

I roll my eyes good-naturedly, even though I’m internally grateful for the same. “ Bye, Liam.”

Back in the guest room, Howard and I stand in front of the closet. A few days ago I’d finally emptied my suitcase and shoved it under the bed. Putting my clothes into the closet felt a little too much like the beginning of setting down roots, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable feeling.

That’s what scared me the most.

“I don’t know what to wear, Howard. Unless you think I should go like this?”

Howard blinks owlishly at my sweatpants and old tank top. I turn to inspect the hole that’s forming right on my ass.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so, either.”

I opt for a flowy patterned maxi skirt paired with sandals and an oversized T-shirt from my favorite coffee shop back in New York—Athena’s—which I knot behind my back into a crop top.

Staring into the mirror, I finger-comb through the loose waves of my bob until I deem them presentable and swipe on quick eyeliner wings over my brown eyes—it took me years to master that quick arch and pointed cat-eye style.

My glasses with the gold frames make me feel the witchiest, so I keep them on.

Liam’s on his way out when I get downstairs. We blow each other a kiss, hop into our cars, and drive away in opposite directions.

I pull up to a duplex right on time. Well, right on time after I circled the block because I arrived ten minutes early—it’s a lot closer to Liam’s than I thought.

I shoot Noah a quick text and wait, glancing at the charming blue camper van parked in the driveway.

It looks old as hell, but also like it belongs in some artsy Wes Anderson movie.

Eventually the door to the left side of the duplex opens to reveal Noah and a cute girl with long dark hair silhouetted in the doorway.

He wraps her in a warm hug before waving goodbye and jogging out to my Civic.

I don’t like the way my stomach twists, the way the tips of my fingers prickle with anxious and annoyed energy. She’s got to be his roommate, right? Is this even his house—is it hers? Did he linger in the doorway for a moment, stressing to her that I was just a friend from his D&D game?

I squeeze my thigh in an effort to ground myself, fingernails digging into the fabric of my skirt.

I am just a friend from his D&D game.

I jump a little when he opens the door and flash a quick, somewhat forced smile. “Hey!” Fuck. Too loud.

“Hey, Sadie.” The way he says my name calms me a little, and the sharp edges of my smile soften.

The smell of his sandalwood cologne or soap or whatever the fuck it is fills my nostrils as he slides into the passenger seat.

He’s wearing a pair of black pants and a dark red button-up shirt—not flannel!

—and his hair is smoothed down into that same half-up, half-down look.

Pretty nice for the diner.

“Thanks for coming out tonight,” he says.

“Thanks for inviting me.” I hope the tension in my voice isn’t obvious, and I try to relax as I pull out into the street. “From what I hear, these pancakes are worth putting on real clothes for.” I tilt my head back toward the duplex. “Your roommate?”

“Sorta.”

My stomach churns again.

Noah bends to retie the laces of his boots as he continues.

“Roommate’s girlfriend, Maura. She’s been staying here on and off for the last few months.

My actual roommate is Dan, the owner of Alchemist. Always feels weird calling him my boss, though he’s that, too.

” He straightens, his smile wistful. “We were actually roommates back in college.”

Just like me and Liam. I’m a little ashamed by how quickly I relax, my posture easing as I lean back into the driver’s seat. “Which college did you go to?”

“University of Colorado Boulder. Maura was visiting us for the week, but she’s heading back home to Boulder tomorrow. Not sure I’ll see her again before then, so I said goodbye just in case.”

“Oh! Are you sure you don’t want to spend the evening with them?”

Noah turns a long-suffering blue stare toward me.

His eyes are wide and pleading underneath his thick brows.

“Please, no. It’s their last night together before she leaves, and they’re doing all sorts of romantic shit—cooking dinner together, lighting candles, crying.

” He winces. “They were sweet to invite me to eat with them, but they need some time alone. And some, ah, privacy. ”