“Maybe you should leave,” the waitress said.It wasn’t a suggestion.
Celeste dropped their forehead to their hand with a groan.“No, no.That’s not—”
Only then did they look properly embarrassed.Ryan glared out of the window in chagrin, ignoring them.
“That’s not necessary, I’ll go.Don’t kick them out, I was the one starting shit,” Celeste insisted.They looked over at the rest of the table.“‘M gonna go ahead and call an Uber.You guys have fun—”
“Are you gonna be okay to get back on your own?”Blake asked, concerned.He looked to his left at Marin, who was being uncharacteristically silent.He was staring down at the front of the menu, tracing the Dawn’s Diner logo with a fingernail.
“Yeah, you should have someone in the Uber with you,” Matt insisted.
“There are some creepers out there,” Noel chimed in.
“No, no,” Celeste stood, groping around the many folds of their skirt for their phone.“I got it.I’ve Ubered home way drunker than this—”
“No,” Ryan sighed, shaking his head and gesturing for Marin and Blake to move out of his way.“No, babe.I’ll go with you.”
“No, you’re fine,” Celeste insisted, already toggling the Uber app.“You’re right, I ruined shit and I need to go home.”
“Celeste—” Ryan groaned, sliding out of the booth.
“I’m gonna go get some fresh air,” they said, turning away from the rest of the group.Blake was able to spot the side of their hand dashing up to their cheek, smearing away a tear.They shot a watery smile at the rest of the group.“You know what?You guys feel free to come crash at my place afterwards—I’ll text you the door code.”
“Celeste,” Ryan huffed.
Without another word Celeste took off towards the front door, Ryan close behind, leaving the four remaining members of their group sitting in stunned silence.
“Wow!”Matt quipped after an extended pause, tone chipper.“That was really awkward!Who wants pancakes?”
18
There was little to do in Midtown Sacramento in the middle of the night, but Matt Nghê had an incredible ability to entertain himself with the most meager of means.Blake had a sneaking suspicion, however, that it had something to do with Matt wanting to keep Noel out and social for as long as possible.
They ended up at an old shooting-range style attraction on the Historic Waterfront.It was inexplicably themed to the Winchester Mystery House, which was about a hundred miles away.Matt struck a sexy pose with one of the fake pistols, determined to put the picture up on his social media.
During a bathroom break, Blake managed to check in with Marin: “Hey, are you doing okay?”
Marin blinked in bewilderment, in the midst of playing with the industrial-strength hand dryer.“Yeah?”
“Good.”Blake deflated in relief.“You seemed… really uncomfortable when Celeste and Ryan were fighting—not that there’s anything wrong with that!”he added.“I mean, we were all pretty…”
“Yeah, I get what you mean,” Marin provided him with a wan smile.“Sorry.I didn’t mean to draw any attention to myself.”
“Oh!No, no, no that’s not what I meant at all,” Blake waved his hands, dismissing the notion.“You don’t have to apologize.I was concerned about you, is all.You looked really upset.”
“It’s fine,” Marin shrugged, looking like he wanted to put the issue to bed.“I think I’m a little sensitive to shouting.”
Blake made a mental note to never raise his voice around Marin—not that he was prone to yelling, but he knew he sometimes came across a bit rougher than he intended.
Back at the shooting gallery, Matt sidled up to Blake while Noel and Marin were having a one-on-one shoot off.
“Hey Big B,” he greeted with a wide, sleepy smile.
“Hey Little M,” Blake bumped him with his elbow.“You gonna be able to stay conscious much longer?”
“Nope!”Matt returned with a sloppy shrug.“Hey, is Ryan doing okay?He and his datemate were all over the place tonight.Hope they got home safe.”
“Yeah, Ryan texted me that they’re back at Celeste’s place.I…” Blake trailed off, dropping his voice to a lower register.“Don’t tell anyone, but I think they’re having some problems.”
