Page 24 of Weekends with You

“Do we have to worry about that now?” He sounded just on the wrong side of tired.

“Who’s worried?” I smiled, but he was slow to return it. “Let’s enjoy this weekend, yeah?”

“I like that idea.”

Note to self: Say nothing to Henry about his impending move.

Outside, 2C already had a roaring fire going, complete with cases of beer, sausages on sticks, and a Bluetooth speaker. I’d met these neighbors once or twice since I moved in, and while they were a decent bit older than we were, they were still a good time.

After some pleasantries and the distribution of warm beers, we settled in and turned our collective gaze toward the fire. There was a certain magic in the air on Guy Fawkes Night, and I wasn’t sure it was because we were actually celebrating that some dudes stopped some other dudes from blowing up Parliament four hundred years ago.

The fire popped and crackled, demanding our attention and warming our cold fingers. The rose reds turned to dandelion yellows as the flames climbed higher into the dark, and I imagined what it’d be like to stack those colors in a centerpiece. Above the fire the night was clear, the moon a bent sliver carving through the blackened sky.

“Jan used to shag that guy,” Liv said, sitting beside me on a bench I thought had been stolen from a local park and interrupting my musing at the cosmos.

“And he’s gonna do it again tonight if he’s lucky,” Jan whispered, clearly not out of earshot. The guy in question was covered in tattoos, and I wondered if Jan had done any of them.

“Any other pressing gossip I need to know?” I asked Liv.

She chewed her manicured thumbnail while she considered my question. “Okay, don’t tell her I told you this,” she said, leaning in, “but Margot was dumped pretty bad last year by some girl she had back home in Leeds. None of us think she’s really recovered.”

That explained her comments to me in the studio about my situation with Hen. If she had firsthand experience withlong-distance relationships, maybe it was worth heeding her warning after all.

“Ooh, and that guy punched Finn in the face over the summer,” she continued, gesturing to a guy who looked like he was trying way too hard to look young. “Stupid pub fight. Some misunderstanding or something. But they’re mates again, so we can keep hanging out with them when they have parties out here.”

“I can’t imagine Finn in a pub fight. His poor little face,” I said, and we both laughed. Finn wasn’t all that much younger than we were, but he felt like the resident little brother.

I pretended to survey the rest of the crowd, but really I was scanning for Henry. A head taller than almost everyone except for Cal, he was an easy find. He looked impossibly relaxed, with one hand curled around a beer and the other in his pocket. I allowed myself a minute to study him from the back: shirt stretched gently over his broad shoulders, hair curling up at the nape of his neck, jeans perfectly cut above his boots.

“Sausage?” Raja interrupted my daydreams, standing over me with a skewer. Good timing.

“Please. I’m starving.” We both put our skewers directly into the fire, snuggling together on the bench for warmth. “How’s this for a break?” I gestured to the party, which was beginning to fill up with friends who didn’t live here.

“Exactly what I needed,” she groaned. “You must have needed one, too. I feel like I’ve hardly seen you these last few weeks.”

She was right. I had been working excessive hours, partially to keep the Lotus afloat and partially to keep my mind occupied.

“Yeah, we’ve been swamped lately. What with cuffing season and all, people are getting engaged left and right. Or dying. People seem to die a lot when the holidays are approaching.”

“That’s really positive, Lu. I’m so glad you shared that with me.” I looked at her and we both burst into laughter.

“I have no idea why I said that,” I said, catching my breath. “But that’s kind of how it’s been feeling in there lately. One minute, everything is fine and we’re working on celebrations, and the next, Renee is morbid and stressed. I think something’s going on that she isn’t telling me.” I took a long swig of my beer, hoping to clear my mouth of the bitter taste left by those words.

“Like what?”

“I’m worried the Lotus is going under. I mean, I doubt it is, because I think Renee would have said something, but she’s been crunching a lot of numbers lately. Spending a ton of time on the books. That kind of stuff. I’m trying not to dwell on it, but it’s hard.”

“Didn’t you just do that big Octoberfest thing? Why don’t you do more stuff like that if you need more money?”

“I’m trying, but Renee doesn’t seem so excited about the idea. She was kind of hands-off with the Fall Fest stuff, which is unusual.”

“Maybe she has something personal going on and she’s burying it in her work.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “Maybe you’re right. Either way, I don’t want to think about it tonight. We’re supposed to be taking a break.”

“You’re right, you’re right. Let’s get back to drinking a lot of beer and flirting with our roommates, yeah?”

“Yes, please.”

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