I held the phone to my shoulder with my ear as I packed my laptop into my bag. “Don’t you make your own luck?”
A short silence, and then, “Make a toast with me: to the most unforgettable night.”
I scoured around and picked up a glass of tepid water I’d had at my bedside. “To the most unforgettable night.”
I swallowed the water, but it left an acrid taste in my mouth. Closing my bag, I asked, “Have you talked to Shannon yet? Quinn said he tried, but things are still awkward.”
I trudged into the living room and grabbed my keys from behind the cookbook stand on the bench. Quinn had marked an eggplant lasagna he wanted to try out on an unwilling me.
“I tried a couple of times,” Hunter said, his voice thin down the line. “Both major fails. But I’m sure things will pick up between her and Quinn soon.”
As if he heard his name, Quinn, lying on the couch talking on his cellphone, looked my way. He covered the receiver and mouthed, “Off to the office?”
“Tonight’s the night.” After a week of interviews and research, I’d drafted my article. And it was good. In need of fleshing out, and possibly rearranging in some parts, but I liked where it was going. “Scribe, here I come.”
Hunter was the first to respond, “Fuck, dude. You’ll rock this. If what I saw was anything to go by, you have this in the bag.”
Quinn hummed something into his cell and hung up. “And the party of the week? If you like, I can go somewhere and write notes for you?”
I checked my pocket for my notebook and pen. There. There. Good. “I’m pushing that to tomorrow, unless I’m feeling particularly sprightly come midnight.”
Hunter snorted in my ear. “Sprightly. Love it. Get cracking onthat article, and send me and my buddies a copy when you’re done, yeah?”
He disengaged, and I slipped the phone into my bag. Quinn was there the moment it slid into the snug pocket. “No matter what happens with your report, whether or not you get features editor and what your dad does or doesn’t say,Ialready think you’re amazing.”
A soft, brief kiss punctuated his words. “But I know how much this means to you, so...” A sudden slap sizzled my ass. “Get cracking, Liam.”
The night wasthick and chilled, so of course my bus came late and I climbed on with chattering teeth and my jacket done up to my chin. I could have walked to campus faster, and now that I’d had three self-defense lessons, I was confident enough for it too.
By the time I arrived, the church bells in the distance were chiming eight o’clock. Never mind. At least I’d gone through my outline on my way over and knew exactly how I’d tackle it. It shouldn’t take me longer than an hour to finish. And atScribe—the reason I’d packed myself up to go there—I worked best. Something in the atmosphere of the place really kick-started my engine. Besides, this moment I wanted to remember for a long time, so along with the email I’d also lay a copy of the article on the chief’s desk.
Outside the ugly concrete block that was my destination, my phone trilled, vibrating in my bag.
Quinn.
I answered, “You miss me already.” His chuckle was breezy in my ear. Beeping came down the line. “Are you going out for the night?”
“How’d you know?”
“Street noise.”
“Right. Well, I’m heading to that cathedral party.”
“Not to interfere with Hunter’s date, I hope.”
“Nah. Shannon called and told me her date was a bust, he never showed up. So I have to get my ass down there. I’m using any opportunity to get us on the right footing again. I bought her blue roses, her favorites. Any other advice?”
I used my key-card to get inside. “If you dance, let her lead.”
“Damn, but I really can’t figure out how the steps go in reverse.”
“Bye, Quinn.”
He grumbled and disconnected.
I climbed to theScribefloor, expecting to have the office to myself this late on a Friday evening, but milky light came throughScribe’s fogged glass doors. I let myself inside—
A large grunting sob echoed through the room, tensing my limbs. Stiffly, I searched where the sound emanated from. I was never one to deal well with other people’s tears, and when my gaze settled on Jill, head tucked into his elbow at his desk, I was even less prepared.
