I glance around him and see that the owner of the bike shop has disappeared. Damn.
“I should keep moving,” the man says, and then mumbles to himself, “don’t know why I agreed to come to this thing in the first place.”
I shrug. “It’s a beautiful day to spend in the park,” I offer. “Although I’d probably be sweating my butt off if I were in a leather jacket.” I hesitate, fishing to see if he happens to work at the bike shop before he goes. “Did you ride your motorcycle here?”
The man tugs on his jacket. “I’m fine,” he says defensively, although I see there’s some perspiration on his brow. “And no. I walked. I’m new to town. Guess I thought Buffalo was going to be colder.” He huffs. “Just couldn’t find a place to put the jacket down.”
Nicholas and Kavya have disappeared into the crowd, too, so I decide to be friendly to the newcomer. “I’m Finn,” I say and offer my hand.
“Riley,” he answers with a brief, firm shake.
“We’re colder most of the year, but we still get hot summer days. Thankfully!” I add with a smile. “Half of the businesses here rely on the summer tourism.”
Riley adjusts his jacket. “Hell of a lot of businesses,” he says as he looks around. “Every owner in the neighborhood must be here.”
“Pretty much, except for Xander. That’s the proprietor of the lube shop at the top of the hill. He’s kind of a recluse. But we’rebasically a small town in a big city. Most everyone is friendly and welcoming.”
“The lube shop? Is that the old building with the sign, Glub or something?”
He says it in a way that rhymes withnub, and I chuckle and shake my head. “It’s supposed to be a combination ofgooandlube. Glube. And yes, that’s the place.”
He frowns. “Sounds like glue lube.” The frown deepens. “Ouch.”
“The name is probably not doing the business any favors,” I acknowledge with a laugh. “I’m not even sure how it stays open. What’s your business, by the way?”
Before he can answer, there’s an explosion of pop music. Across from us, someone has turned on a speaker, and a small group dances in a clearing, a few drag queens leading the way with cheers.
Riley glances at them. “What the hell,” he grumbles.
“Not a fan of dance parties, either?” I venture. His energy is standoffish. I should just part ways and continue mingling, but I’m remembering what it was like when I was first navigating this world. I had two great friends to help me, and it feels good to pay the favor forward.
If it weren’t for the obvious grumpiness, I’d decide Riley was hot. He’s burly and maybe a little geeky, too, which is a plus. I like the faded dragon on his shirt, and the fact that he’s wearing his jacket and sweating because he can’t figure out where to leave it is almost charming. A slight social awkwardness that I would find endearing, if it weren’t paired with a constant scowl.
“No. Guess I’m just a music snob,” he says. “Pop music is fine, but seriously, ‘Thunder?’ We’re starting off this party withthatImagine Dragons song?”
Definitely the record shop guy.
“If you’re new to the neighborhood and trying to make friends, word of advice, don’t criticize the music. Especially when it was selected by drag queens.”
He snorts. It’s halfway to a laugh. “Noted. Although I never said I’m trying to make friends.”
I lean forward a little and lower my voice. “Truthfully, I agree with you about the song. You should always open with a pop diva, in my opinion.”
He opens his mouth to reply, but before he can get a word out, an orange-and-blue butterfly flits between us, circles his face once, and lands on his nose. Riley goes cross-eyed and tilts his head to the side, and I blurt out a surprised laugh.
“What the hell, bug?” he says under his breath. He remains still as a statue as I laugh in delight.
The butterfly flutters its wings. That’s one way to deal with a scowl.
“That’s got to be good luck!” I offer.
Riley raises a hand slowly toward his face.
“Don’t swat it!” I yelp. “Oh my god!”
“I’m not an asshole,” he grunts at me, then waves his hand around frantically near the butterfly, causing it to gently rise and float away. “I just don’t like bugs on my nose.”
It amuses me that he keeps calling it a bug.
