Chapter 12
CHAPTER
TWELVE
Ash
Friday felt like it would never end. Ash was stoked that he’d get to spend some time with Ker that night, but it seemed that every time he looked at the clock on the squad room wall, the hands had barely moved.
“Going somewhere?” Hank asked.
“Not the way this day is dragging,” Ash moaned.
“Well, maybe if you didn’t glance up at the clock every two minutes and focused on those reports instead, it wouldn’t be dragging so much.” Hank gestured at the stack of papers on Ash’s desk. They’d managed to arrest a couple of guys that they suspected were behind the recent string of robberies in the area, and between that and a couple of other cases, both of them were chained to their desks, wallowing in paperwork.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get my reports done,” Ash said. “Just make sure yours are finished too, ’cause I won’t stay to help you. I’m outta here no later than five thirty today.”
“Why are you so hot to finish work? Meeting one of your brothers for a burger at the Gray Whale or something?” If it were any other Friday night, Hank would’ve hit the mark.
“Actually, I’m meeting someone at Cuppa Joe’s tonight for the open mic night,” Ash said, already anticipating Hank’s reaction.
“Meeting someone as in a date? Get the fuck outta here, dude!” Hank exclaimed. “Oh, wait, with that construction guy? What was his name? Walker, right? Why didn’t you say something earlier in the week?”
“Yeah, Walker, although he seems to prefer Ker. And I didn’t tell you before, because I figured you’d give me shit about it. I’m also not exactly sure if it’s a date or not. We just agreed to go together, that’s all.”
“Well, I’m gonna stay positive and think of it as a date,” Hank said, smiling. “Maybe you’ll get lucky, my friend.” His tone changed, and he waggled his eyes at Ash. “After all, it’s been a while for you, right?”
“Shut up, you dick!” Ash grinned, knowing Hank was just teasing him. “See, this is why I don’t tell you things.”
“Fine. So stop talking and finish your damned reports.”
“What to wear, what to wear?” Ash pondered aloud, standing in front of his closet. It would be a casual evening, but he still wanted to look nice. After a few moments, he settled on black jeans, a white T-shirt, and a gray quarter-zip fleece shirt over that. He’d texted Ker when he got home to let him know he would be on time, so they’d decided to meet in front of the coffee shop at six thirty.
He parked his SUV in the lot of the police station—a perk of being a detective—and walked the three blocks to Cuppa Joe’s. He saw Ker waiting for him and smiled. Oh, what this man does to me!
“Hey, Ker,” he said, giving him a quick hug. “Good to see you.”
“You, too,” Ker responded.
Entering the coffee shop, Ash quickly scanned the seating area and found a table for two near the back wall. It was about halfway between the stage and the service counter, and Ash thanked his lucky stars they’d arrived when they did. Another five minutes or so, and they would have been standing at the far end of the place.
“Want something to eat?” Ash asked after they sat down. “I’m pretty sure there are sandwiches as well as pastries available.”
“A sandwich would be great,” replied Ker. “Anything is fine. I’m not fussy.”
“Okay. And coffee?”
“A cappuccino if it’s not too much bother.”
“Not at all,” Ash said. “I’ll be right back.”
Ash was surprised to find Joe, the owner, behind the counter along with Jan and Curtis, two baristas he often saw in the morning.
“Hey, Ash,” Curtis said, smiling. “What can I get for you?”
Ash quickly scanned the case on the right and said, “I’ll have one of the ham and cheese on a croissant and a chicken salad on ciabatta, and two cappuccinos, please. Oh, and a bag of chips.”
Curtis quickly rang up the order and collected the money. Placing the sandwiches and chips on a tray with some napkins, he said, “One of us will bring the drinks over as soon as they’re ready.”
Ash turned to see Finn and Clay walk in. Right again! After quick waves, Clay made a beeline for a table near the front window, and Finn waited in line for food and beverages.
As Ash sat down, he deposited the sandwiches and chips on the table so he could hand the tray to whoever brought the drinks. “I got a ham and cheese and a chicken salad. Pick whichever one you want.”
“Um, that’s gonna be tough. Could we share?” Ker said shyly.
“Oh yeah,” replied Ash, grinning. “I knew there was something I liked about you.”
Ker smiled and said, “Who were you waving to before?”
“Oh, that’s my brother Finn and his boyfriend, Clay. I’ll introduce you later if you’d like.”
“Yeah, that would be nice.”
Joe walked over and placed two cappuccinos on their table and took the proffered tray from Ash.
“Thanks, Joe.” They dug into their food, hoping to finish before the music began.
A few minutes later, Joe walked up to the microphone and announced, “Welcome to another open mic night at Cuppa Joe’s. The entertainment will be starting shortly, so please get your food and drinks now so as not to disturb others once the music starts. Thank you all for coming.”
Ash and Ker relaxed with their beverages and chatted quietly about their workdays. Once the entertainment started, they were attentive as a string of local musicians played a few songs, and a poet from Plymouth read a couple of their poems.
When Joe returned to the mic to announce a fifteen-minute intermission, Ash bussed their table, ordered two more cappuccinos, and brought Ker to Finn’s table for introductions.
“Hey, Finn, Clay,” he said. “I’d like you to meet Walker Jennings. Ker, this is my brother Finn and his boyfriend, Clay.”
They exchanged hellos and handshakes, and Finn stood to hug Ash.
“So have you two known each other very long?” Clay asked Ker. Ash suspected Clay was digging to see if Ker thought something was going on between the two of them.
“We met when Ash started volunteering at A Helping Hand. We’ve become pretty good friends in the past several weeks. In fact, Ash came over to my place last week and gave me a cooking lesson since I’m not very good in the kitchen. Then he asked me if I’d be interested in coming here tonight. So far, it’s been a lot of fun.”
“Well, isn’t that just like the Reynolds boys.” Clay chuckled. “Always full of secrets. He did mention you yesterday at Thanksgiving dinner and said the two of you have hung out a couple of times, but we didn’t hear anything about cooking lessons!”
“Now, now, Clay,” Ash admonished, “don’t start stirring up trouble where there isn’t any.” He smiled so that Clay would know he was just giving him some shit, but he didn’t want Ker to think that he didn’t want his family to know about him. “As Ker said, we’re friends and have been doing things here and there. Not really much to tell, right?”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Ker,” Finn interjected. “The four of us should get together sometime.”
“I’d like that,” Ker said.
Clay handed him a business card. “If Ash drags his feet, just give me a call, and we can make plans. Sometimes the Reynolds boys need a little prodding.” He snickered.
“Thanks.” A smile washed over Ker’s face. “And I’ll remember what you said about the prodding.”
“Okay, I think the music is gonna start up again, so we should get back to our seats,” Ash said.
The second half of the entertainment was even more enjoyable than the first since Kim Moberg, the woman Ash wanted to see, played several songs, including “In December,” one of his favorites. Once everything wrapped up, Finn and Clay stopped by to say goodbye, and Ash turned to Ker. “I wanna thank Kim for playing. It was really good to hear her again.”
They shrugged on their jackets and made their way to the makeshift stage. They waited while Kim wrapped up another conversation, and when she turned to them, Ash said, “Thanks so much for coming to our little town and playing tonight.”
“Not a problem. I love the local venues a lot,” Kim replied.
“I heard you play at the Mews in Provincetown a year or so ago,” Ash said. “I was really excited when I found out you were going to be here tonight. I’m Ash, by the way, and this is Ker.”
“So nice to meet you both. And thanks for coming to listen. I really appreciate it.”
“Well, we won’t keep you. I hope to see you again soon.”
“I’ve got some things lined up for the spring down on the cape,” she told them, handing over a card. “You can check out the dates on my website.”
“Thanks.”
As they exited the shop, Ker said, “This was fun, thanks for inviting me.”
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. I had a good time, too, and it was nice to see Finn and Clay.” Ash grinned. “Although I don’t think we need to be prodded as Clay suggested.”
“Point taken. I should get going, but I’ll see you in the morning, right?”
“You will. Where did you park?” Ash asked.
“On the side street around the corner. I’m up about a block.” Ker pointed behind him.
“Let me walk you to your car.” They ambled along, Ash not really wanting the evening to end but happy that he’d see Ker again in a few hours.
“This is me,” Ker said as they reached his Honda.
Before he had a chance to walk around to the driver’s side, Ash took his hand. “I’m happy we got to spend some time together tonight.” He leaned forward and kissed Ker gently on the mouth. “See you tomorrow.” Ash smiled faintly as he turned and walked away.
“Yeah, tomorrow.”