Even as he said it, his eyes drifted toward Finn. Finn was sitting at Table Two with Gage still talking to him, still smiling at him, still not looking his way. Maurice adjusted his shirt, that same strange clench he didn’t want to name.
Maurice cleared his throat. “I have a question for you. Do you like David?”
“Yes. A lot. Do you approve?”
“That depends.” Maurice leaned back, studying him. “You know David lives and works in Charlottesville and you live in Philadelphia. How would you make that work?”
Theo didn’t answer right away. Instead, he traced the rim of his punch glass, thinking, not stalling, but choosing his words with care. When he finally spoke, his voice had a quiet steadiness to it.
“Well…” He gave a small, almost shy smile. “Last month I rearranged my entire class schedule just so I could help a friend train for his librarian certification exam. Three weeks of flashcards and late-night coffee runs.” He shrugged lightly. “When I care about someone, I show up. Even when it’s inconvenient.”
Maurice felt the weight of his words, not a promise, but a pattern.
Theo leaned forward a little, eyes bright with curiosity. “Does David always get that serious look when he’s thinking? The one where he presses his lips together like he’s solving a murder case?”
Maurice laughed. “Yes. Constantly.”
“And does he always talk with his hands when he’s excited? He did that earlier when he was telling me about his job.”
“He does,” Maurice said, warmth creeping into his voice.
Theo nodded, satisfied—like he was collecting pieces of David, not planning a future but wanting to understand the man behind the smile.
“I enjoy knowing how someone moves through the world,” Theo whispered. “Especially someone like him.”
Maurice didn’t miss the subtext. Theo wasn’t promising cross-state devotion. He was showing who he already was—someone who paid attention, someone who invested, and someone who didn’t scare easily.
And that, Maurice realized mattered more than any declaration. Maurice nodded slowly. “I hope it works out because you’re his type, and I can see him with you.”
Theo’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“I like you, Theo. I know I don’t know enough about you yet, but I have a good feeling about you two.”
“Thanks,” Theo whispered.
Before Maurice could say more, Mr. Santos’s voice boomed through the mic. “Time is over. Remember, if you want to connect again, give your token to the person. You have three tokens. Boys, switch.”
Maurice’s gaze shot to the board. Finn was number five. He was headed to Table Three next, to Caleb. Not Maurice’s table.
What if he never comes to Table One?
But before Finn went to his new table, he took the long way around the room. Purposeful. Slow. And then he stopped right at Maurice’s table.
Finn held out a token.
“I want to see you too,” Maurice said, voice low without hesitation. He handed Finn all three of his tokens.
Finn cupped them in his palm, grinned, and blew Maurice a kiss before moving on to Table Three.
Shortly after, a young guy with soft brown hair and big brown eyes plopped into the seat across from him. He had that restless, puppy-ish energy—legs bouncing, fingers tapping, smile too quick and too wide.
“Hi,” Maurice said, offering a warm smile. “I’m Maurice Dubois from Charlottesville.”
“Hey! I’m Sammy Garcia. From Long Island.” Sammy leaned forward immediately, forearms on the table, like he wanted to close the distance. “I’m workin’ on the Pride Train thing, but they gave me, like, a break. So I’m here. Lucky, right?”His knee brushed Maurice’s under the table—light, maybe accidental, maybe not.
Maurice laughed. “That’s great. Go ahead and take a card and ask me a question.”
Sammy reached for the deck, but instead of grabbing a card, he let his fingers graze the back of Maurice’s hand—quick, testing. “Uh… can I ask somethin’ that’s not on the cards? It’s kinda fun.”
