Page 54 of Here & There

“I worked with a music label once,” I say casually. “Learned a bit about Fenders.”

His eyes widen slightly, but he still looks like he very much wants me to leave.

“Well, Cal dropped some Chinese food off,” I say. “And I just wondered if you wanted to come down and eat with me. There’s cashew chicken.”

Nate looks deeply conflicted.

“We could eat and then do a guitar battle after?”

His expression shifts to horrified.

I bite my cheek to keep from laughing. “I’m kidding. But come grab some food, and I promise I’ll leave you alone.”

I turn on my heel and head back downstairs, unsure of whether he’s going to follow me.

But a moment later, Nate comes into the room. I twist my mouth to hide my smile.

“So, what’s your favorite video game?” I ask as he opens one of the cartons and peers inside.

Nate doesn’t look up. “You wouldn’t know it.”

“Let me guess, the Fire series?”

Nate’s eyes snap to mine. “Yeah, I guess.”

I did a not-insignificant amount of work with the owner of the company that makes that game. I know how hugely popular it is—my company helped with their visibility problem, and they blew up after working with us.

I tuck this little piece of knowledge about Nate into my pocket.

Nate finds the cashew chicken and dumps it onto his plate, then adds rice. He’s clearly heading back upstairs. I don’t know why, but some small part of me hoped he might want to stay down here with me.

“I don’t bite, you know,” I say.

“What?”

“I mean we could hang out for a bit if you want.”

“I’m good, thanks.”

I try not to take that personally. Deanie’s dad remarried when she was a teenager, then started a new family. I know abit about teenagers from her siblings, who have much bigger attitudes than Nate.

“I was thinking maybe if your dad has a night at home before I leave, I’d make dinner.” My insides scrape at the thought of me quietly leaving here next week without even seeing Mac again. How stiff would we be together at the bar? Would it be like starting over as strangers? I clear that thought for now. “I thought dinner would be a good way to thank him for letting me stay with you guys. It doesn’t honestly seem sufficient, but I’m not sure what else Mac might accept.”

The guy is thankless.

Nate’s silent for a minute. Then he says, “Are you leaving soon?”

Ouch. Okay, that one hurt. To his credit, Nate glances away after he says it, like he might have heard how that sounded.

I smile anyway. “Yeah. As soon as those guys leave the inn, I’ll be out of your hair.”

The thought of going back there even without the ATV dudes makes that hollow feeling scrape a little harder. But I don’t think about that now.

“Maybe you could help me cook?” I ask hopefully.

“Mac likes cooking. Why don’t you ask him?”

Now I have to work hard not to snap back. “Because I’m asking you. You seem cool.”

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