“Because I want him to keep playing, and he deserves to be paid.” I say as I smile back at him.
He shakes his head at me in amusement when he walks over to the desolate man and drops a few bucks in his open guitar case. When he returns and sits down, he gives me a smirk. “Happy?”
Lifting my mug to my mouth, I murmur, “Mmm hmm,” as I take a sip of my coffee.
“I’ve been wondering about something.”
“What’s that?” I ask.
“I need to know that you’re okay with money. Since your parents aren’t helping you out and you just work part-time at a coffee shop, I’ve been worried.”
“Don’t be. I’m fine. When I turned twenty-one, I gained access to my trust fund, and my parents resigned as trustees.”
“I didn’t want to overstep, but I needed to know you’re okay.”
“I am.”
“Ryan, man! Where’ve you been?” a guy yells as he’s crossing the street toward us.
Ryan stands up and walks toward him, clasping their hands together before leaning in for a quick hug as they slap each other on the back. “I’ve been busy keeping the bar going.”
“Shit, man, last I heard that place was raking in the money.”
“Something like that.”
The guy looks down at me and back to Ryan. “Sorry, I’ll let you get back to your friend.”
“No worries. This is Candace.”
He reaches out his hand, and I stand up and shake it, when he says, “I’m Gavin.”
“Hey.”
“Sit down and grab a drink, man,” Ryan says, and Gavin pulls up a chair to our table. Ryan turns to me and says, “Gavin and I’ve been friends since I moved here for college.”
“Oh, yeah?” I say.
“Yeah, this guy left my ass behind when he decided to buy that fuckin’ bar.”
“So what do you do then?”
“I work in promotions and marketing at Sub Pop Records.”
“Really? That sounds like a lot of fun. Working with anyone good?” I ask.
“Ever heard of Washed Out?”
“Yeah, I have their album actually.”
“Within and Without?”
“Uh huh. So they’re your client?”
“Yep, one of them. We’re trying to get a tour set up right now, but that shit takes forever. Before this guy got so tied up with work, he used to always come out and listen to all the bands play,” he says, nodding his head at Ryan.
“You should give me a list of some of your guys, and I can check the lineup and see if I have space for any of them to perform,” Ryan says.
“Yeah, man. That’d be great.”
“So, Candace, what do you do besides hang out with this loser?” he says while laughing at Ryan.
“I’m a student, actually.”
“U-Dub?”
“Yeah.”
“What are you studying?”
“Dance. I’m a Fine Arts major.”
“No shit?!”
“Yeah, man. No shit,” Ryan jokes with a hint of possessiveness, and I have to laugh at his demeanor.
“Well, hey, I gotta run. I was actually on my way to a meeting, but I had to stop when I saw you.”
“I’m glad you did. Sorry I’ve been out of pocket for the past couple months.”
“No worries, but, hey, I’m throwing a party next month at my place. Everyone will be there. You should come by.”
“I will. I’ll call you next week.”
“Oh, and if you’re still around, you should come too,” he says, cocking his head my way, “At least you have decent taste in music.” He winks at me before saying, “Seriously though, it was nice meeting you.”
Ryan looks at me and jokes, “Just ignore him.”
“It was good to meet you too, Gavin.”
“Take it easy, man,” he says to Ryan as he starts walking off.
Turning to Ryan, I say, “So, why haven’t you been hanging out with your friends?”
“I’ve been a little distracted for the past few months,” he says with a grin, and I know he’s referring to me.
Grinning, I say, “Well, don’t let me keep you from your friends.”
“Don’t worry about my friends, I see most of them a lot ‘cause they hang out at Blur to hear bands play.”
“Oh.” I feel like I have isolated myself from a part of Ryan’s life because I never go to his bar. Maybe if I did, I would know his friends. Instead, there’s this disconnect. Ryan knows my friends, albeit, only Jase and Mark, but he also chats with Roxy frequently when he stops by the coffee shop when I’m working. Although I’ve met his family, it would be nice to get to see him with his friends as well.
“I didn’t mean how that came out,” he says.
“No, I understand. You guys hang out, I just didn’t know that.”
Reaching over and taking my hand in his, he says, “Would you think about coming up again? We can just go together during the day. No people.”
I stare at our entwined fingers, and I know that night bothers him. He hasn’t mentioned anything since or questioned me about it, but I know it hurt him that I bailed with Jase and didn’t turn to him. But, I don’t know if I can ever go there again.
When I don’t answer, he simply says, “Just think about it, babe.”
“I will. I promise.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
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Hey! You home?
On way now. Leaving gym.
Mind if I stop by?
Not at all. Be there in 10.
See ya!