Someone called the kid’s name, another person apologized, but William wasn’t really paying attention. Adathan had picked up his phone and was staring at the big crack on the screen.
William pulled him into his arms. “Don’t worry about it,” he said in his ear. “It’s just the screen protector that’s cracked.” He glanced up, suddenly getting flashbacks from twenty years ago. From what he could recall, the next room was a lot bigger. Hopefully, the layout hadn’t changed.
“Let’s go.” He wrapped an arm around Adathan as they escaped the crowd.
The room they stepped into was huge. Two gigantic glass walls, at least three times his height, separated them from an aquarium where hundreds of fish swam. William spotted a bench and sat down with Adathan, letting out a breath of relief.
“You okay?” he asked.
“I’m sorry. I—”
“Don’t be. It’s that asshole kid’s fault, not yours. Besides, I have a replacement screen protector at home; it’ll be like new in no time. Don’t worry.”
Adathan rested his head against William’s shoulder. He handed William the phone, his hand trembling slightly.
William wrapped his arm around him. He took it and unlocked it with his free hand. “See? Still works.” The selfie showed up on the screen, making his heart flutter again. Whatever denial he still clung to dissolved as he studied it. That was no poker face. His feelings were written plain as day across his features—and with how warm his cheeks felt now, they likely still were.
“It’s a, um, good picture.”
Adathan nodded against his shoulder.
The crowd from the penguin room spilled into this one, steadily hiding the bottom of the aquarium from view. The noise, unfortunately, followed.
“I hadn’t realized there’d be this many people,” William mumbled. “I should have known. Saturday morning.” He looked at Adathan, who was worryingly quiet. “Would you rather leave?”
Adathan shook his head. “I’m happy to be here with you.”
There they were again. The flutters.
William caressed Adathan’s arm as he admired the unobstructed view. They could just stay here a little while until the crowd was no longer so suffocating.
Five creatures that looked like hybrids of fish and shark glided slowly across the aquarium. The behemoths were as big as grown men. And very ugly.
William felt a strange sense of awe as he watched them drift in the waters they no doubt dominated. So calm and unremarkable, yet their presence radiated undeniable power.
The article he still hadn’t read came to mind. Richard had always been the obnoxious kind of powerful—like a peacock possessed by the spirit of a vengeful three-year-old. William hadn’t realized until now how strange his behavior was. Martin, the CEO of FIS Poker, had just as much money but none of the attitude. In fact, if William hadn’t known the man, he wouldn’t have guessed how loaded he was.
It’s almost as if rich people aren’t a monolith, William thought drily.
Turns out, Richard wasn’t an asshole because he had money oozing out of his pores. He was just an asshole.
An unexpected calm settled in William’s chest. To his utter bafflement, he realized he didn’t give a single shit about Richard or his family—and had zero desire to read the article.
“I thought about your offer,” Adathan said. “About the manual.”
William glanced around, but people clearly had more interesting fish to fry. “Yeah?”
“I was thinking... maybe we could write our own.” He scooted closer, took the phone from William’s hand and slid his own in its place, interlocking their fingers.
“Write our own?” William asked, staring at their joined hands.
Adathan nodded. “A William manual and an Adathan manual.”
“That’s...” William’s eyebrows arched slowly as he considered Adathan’s suggestion. As ridiculous as it sounded,it could work. All his previous relationships had failed because he sucked at communicating. Writing a manual about himself would not only help make sure they understood each other but also force him to reevaluate the person he wanted to be—a kind of contract with himself.
He smiled, gently stroking Adathan’s hand with his thumb. “I think that’s a really good idea.”
CHAPTER 18
