Without getting hit on? Oh. How ironic. “You thought you’d belessapproachable in glasses?”
“I thought I could hide behind them.” He grimaced. “Not so?”
I shook my head, laughing. “Definitely not. I mean, I personally have a thing for the dirty librarian look, but has anyone ever told you you’re unfairly attractive?”
He glanced away, and I would have bet money he was blushing. Hotandmodest. I was in big trouble. His head tilted up, and I followed his gaze to the sign over the restaurant where I worked part time. “Is this where you ran into Kyan King?”
It had thrown me when he’d mentioned my coworker earlier, paranoid Kyan had sent Evan to fuck withme. But that made no sense. I’d been the one to approach Evan.
“Yeah. Bas and I made the rounds before we ended up at the Skybar. It was a trip seeing Kyan tending bar here.”
Just in case he’d gotten confused by all the tangled narratives, I reminded him, “You know, I never actually knew Kyan in high school, right?”
“Right. I mean, to be fair, I didn’t either. We ran in the same circles, but he was football and I was lacrosse.”
I liked getting these little details to fill in the mystery of Evan. “As it happens, I actually do know him now.” I considered explaining how, but Evan turned to walk on.
“What’s he like these days?”
What was Kyan like? Beautiful, flirtatious, infuriating. “Confident. Sure that the sun revolves around him. Friends with everyone.”
Evan sniffed a laugh. “Mr. Popular.”
“That he is.”
“I felt a little bad to see him tending bar. You know?”
I shot him a look, stung by the judgment. “Why do you say that?”
He shrugged. “He had so much promise, and I guess you just hope to see your old classmates succeeding at a career by now. Right?”
We veered off the mall, onto Avon Street, and I stoked a low-grade annoyance.
What would he think if I told him I not only tended bar, but occasionally inn-sat at a bed and breakfast, all to subsidize a part-time editing gig at a scholarly journal, none of which were helping me achieve my increasingly outlandish dreams of becoming a full-time author? I’d never intended Charlottesville to be a permanent stop along my rocket-like trajectory to theNew York Timesbestseller list. Should I tell him about failing to get into the MFA program? Should I admit I was barely scraping by?
Then he said, “Not that I’m in any position to judge. If Kyan’s happy at his job, who am I to feel sorry for him?”
That was a little better, but his opinion had put a bit of a damper on things. We didn’t say another word until we got to my street. As the muffled night engulfed us and the growing silence between us became even more conspicuous, I had a decision to make, and with every step, we drew closer to a fork in the road. I didn’t care how cute he was, if he was going to be an elitist who looked down on my life or on others, I didn’t want to waste any more time on him.
I slowed my pace in front of the shabby Cape Cod I was renting, and he sighed. “I shouldn’t have said any of that. I think I’m just jealous because he seemed content, and I haven’t been in a long time.”
“Why’s that?” I stopped at the edge of the walkway to face him, wanting to hear him out before we had nowhere else to go.
He ran his fingers through his hair, mussing it up adorably. Why’d he have to be so cute? “I worked so hard to get to where I’m at, and now I’m out of work.” He laughed, sort of bitterly, and shot a glance at me. “What a catch, huh?”
“I don’t think people are defined by their occupation.”
“No, of course not. But people like Kyan float through life, making it all look so effortless.”
He wasn’t totally wrong about that. Kyan lived in the moment, making enough bartending to keep him in guitars and gas money. If he ever thought past his next tattoo or put anyone or anything above his immediate needs, he might’ve had boyfriend potential. Still, he’d had his own hardships. “Everyone struggles, Evan.”
“You’re absolutely right.” He shook his head. “Sorry for the pity party. I guess I’m not as much fun as you thought. If you want to call it a night—”
I fished out my keys. “This is me.”
Chapter Four
Evan
