Paralyzed

Chapter 5

B y the time the store closed, Nathan’s headache had intensified, and his eyes ached from struggling to keep them open against the lights. The moment everyone else left the store and he’d turned over the Closed sign, Nathan shut off the overhead lights and sighed in relief. He leaned on the front counter and buried his head in his arms. He wished he could go back the last few days and erase ever having acknowledged Alan. If he’d just held on to his patience with Professor Jackass, he would have never let Alan get to him.

“You okay?” Alan asked.

Nathan tensed. “Just leave me alone.”

“I’m sorry, Nathan. Really. I wish I could do this on my own, but I need your help.”

Nathan lifted his head just enough to glare at the offending spirit. “Until you remember what the hell you need to tell your fiancé, there’s nothing I can do.”

A knock at the front door stopped whatever Alan would have said, and Nathan glanced out of the glass to see Troy standing there, waiting. Nathan breathed in and then out in a swift whoosh. He stumbled over to the door, unlocked it, and let Troy in, closing and locking it behind his friend.

“Jesus, Nate. You look like shit.”

“Thanks,” Nathan replied sarcastically.

“Did Stuart give you more grief?”

Nathan snorted. “When doesn’t he? I just have a headache, Troy. I’m fine. It’s been a long day.”

“Well, close the register, prep the night deposit, and let’s go. We’ll drop the money and go grab some food.”

The mention of food reminded Nathan he hadn’t eaten all day and his stomach growled loudly. Troy gave him an exasperated look. “No wonder you have a headache, dumbass. You forgot to eat again, didn’t you?”

Nathan shrugged. “Yeah. So?”

Troy shook his head. “If you didn’t have a headache, I’d slap you on the back of the head. You need to take better care of yourself. You’re already underweight.”

“I wasn’t hungry, Troy.”

“If you don’t start taking the time to eat, Nate, I’m going to make it my life’s mission to shove food down your throat every chance I get,” Troy threatened, guiding Nathan to the register with a gentle hand on his lower back.

Nathan rolled his eyes while rubbing at his temples. “It’s just been a rough couple of days.”

“Is he still here?” Troy glanced around the store with narrowed eyes as if he could see Alan.

“He’s sitting on the counter,” Nathan replied drolly and popped open the register to balance the drawer.

“I may not see you”—Troy gazed in the general direction Alan sat—“but if you don’t stop stressing him out, I’m going to make you regret not crossing over sooner, got it?”

Alan snorted. “Does he realize how ridiculous he sounds?”

Nathan sighed and made a notation on the log. “As if it’s not bad enough that I have to listen to the two of you, now you expect me to play mediator? I don’t think so. Now shut up and let me finish this so we can get the hell out of here sometime tonight.”

Troy huffed and crossed his arms, leaning on the counter in front of Nathan. He kept glaring towards Alan. Nathan ignored them both while counting the money twice to make sure he had the total right before placing the cash in the deposit bag and prepping the drawer for the morning. Once he’d finished everything, he snatched up the night deposit and his keys. “Let’s go.”

After they stopped by the bank to make the drop, Troy headed toward their favorite diner for a quick bite to eat. During the meal, Alan disappeared, leaving Nathan to enjoy his burger and fries in peace. Nathan knew the moment the spirit faded away when the feelings of loss, melancholy, and confusion lifted from his chest. Sometimes he wondered how he could even still breathe under the weight of Alan’s emotions. The man must have been extremely passionate when he’d been alive. Nothing else could explain how deeply Nathan found himself affected by Alan’s feelings. He’d never been so… connected to the others he’d met or come across in the last six years. For some frustrating reason, Alan was different. Even if Nathan hadn’t acknowledged Alan’s presence at the college, he somehow sensed he wouldn’t have been able to ignore him for long.

Nathan could barely keep his head off the table once he’d eaten. One of his rare moments of pure exhaustion overtook him. He usually slept three or four hours a night before the nightmares would begin, and he couldn’t go back to sleep once he’d awakened. Sometimes the dreams were about the accident, other times they were of the spirits he’d encountered and the gruesomeness of their situations. Yet there were more he wasn’t sure why he dreamed of them—images of faceless people standing in a line, begging for his help. Maybe they were a byproduct of his constant denial of helping the spirits he’d seen over the years. Tonight… Tonight he would sleep like the dead.

Troy helped Nathan to his feet once he’d paid their bill, and Nathan leaned heavily on him, yawning. “Sorry, bro,” he murmured.

“It’s fine, Nate,” Troy said as he pushed the front door open with his free hand, directing Nathan through. Nathan was too tired to address the concern in Troy’s voice and merely allowed his friend to do everything for him. He settled into the front seat after Troy opened the passenger door.

Nathan had almost dropped completely out of consciousness by the time Troy slid behind the wheel next to him. Just before nodding off, Nathan whispered, “Love you, bro.”

The next thing Nathan knew, the ground moved, and he realized Troy had him cradled in his arms. “You don’t have to carry me,” Nathan mumbled.

“Just go back to sleep,” Troy instructed, maneuvering the steps carefully.

Nathan sighed and snuggled in closer to his best friend’s chest, closing his eyes again. He drifted, barely cognizant of Troy setting him on his bed and then covering him with a blanket. He stirred a fraction when he heard Troy give a heavy breath and then a hand brushed the hair back from his forehead.

“Good night, Nathan.”

Giving an unintelligible mumble, Nathan rolled to his side and burrowed deeper into the mattress, his face stuffed into his pillow.

The daylight filtering through the windows woke him the next morning, and Nathan jerked upright in bed. Sunlight? He glanced at the clock and swore when he saw the time. He had exactly ten minutes to throw on some clothes and get the hell out of there before he’d be late to his morning class. Throwing back the blanket, Nathan scurried to his miniature closet while removing his clothes from the day before. He tugged on a random t-shirt and rushed over to the dresser to grab a pair of jeans. He hopped on his one good leg out to the living room while pulling on his jeans. His book bag sat near the couch, obviously dropped there last night. He tried to remember the previous evening and how he’d ended up back in his apartment. A flash of Troy carrying him came to mind, and he groaned. Damn it. He’d passed out and Troy had taken care of him. Again.

Stuffing his feet into a pair of sneakers by the front door, Nathan ran a hand through his hair and rushed out of the apartment, snagging his keys off the counter on the way. He locked the door and took the stairs down to the sidewalk. Troy sat on the hood of his car, earbuds in and shades on.

Nathan gave Troy a chagrined look. “Sorry about last night, Troy.”

Troy waved his hand, smiling. “You were tired.”

Nathan grunted and got into the car as his friend jumped off the hood and walked around to the driver’s seat.

The morning passed rather quickly. Nathan still had a few days to go before he could return to Professor Johns’ class. He spent some time in the library doing the required reading for his English class and then left to catch the bus to the store. Unfortunately, he ended up on the bus he’d ridden the other day.

Once again, the lady covered in blood, pleading for her baby, appeared in the same seat as before. Nathan jammed his earbuds in and brought one leg up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his knee while attempting to ignore her again. His stomach churned with the sorrow radiating from the spirit, and it was all he could do to hold out for the thirty minutes it took to get from the college to the stop near the store. He heaved a sigh of relief the moment he stepped off the bus and breathed in deep, eradicating the scent of dead, decaying flesh from his nose.

In the years since the accident, Nathan had grown to recognize the different smells some ghosts gave off. Dead, decaying flesh usually meant whatever object they were bound to was an instrument in their death. Soft perfumes or gentle musty smells showed the time period they’d died in. One scent scared him more than the others did—earth and dampness. The spirits surrounded by the odor of dirt were the bodies freshly buried. The recently deceased were more confused, more violent, and while they had never truly harmed Nathan, they still frightened him more than the others.

“Nate!” Quinn’s voice interrupted his thoughts as Nathan entered the store.

Nathan saw Quinn giving him a wide grin and holding something in his hand. He gave Quinn a quizzical look and walked to the counter. “What’s up, Quinn?”

Quinn winked and handed him the object, a compact disc. “The CD for your hottie from the other day just came in.”

Nathan’s breath hitched, and he quickly cleared his throat, ignoring the heat he felt in his cheeks. Damn it , he growled to himself as Quinn chuckled at his discomfort. “Cut it out, Quinn.”

“Aww, I’m just having a bit of fun. It’s nice to see you actually interested in someone for a change.”

“I’m not interested in him,” Nathan said.

“Pfft. Could have fooled me,” Quinn said. “I saw the way you salivated over him.”

“Quinn!” Nathan glanced at the two women near the front of the store. They were looking his way, giggling and smiling. Nathan flushed even deeper and turned back to his friend and co-worker. “I was not… salivating over him.”

“Whatever you say, Nate. But I got the store covered for another couple of hours if you want to hand deliver the CD personally,” Quinn hinted.

Giving Quinn an incredulous look, Nathan shook his head. “Stop. I am not delivering it to him. I’ll call him and let him know it’s in. That’s it.”

“Sure,” Quinn said smugly.

Nathan growled, stalked to the storage room, and tossed his bag down near the time clock, where he punched in. Damn Quinn. Why did he have to make such a big deal out of this? It was impossible for anything to develop between him and Erik Moore. Especially now with Alan in the picture. Snarling, Nathan went back to the front desk and pulled out the special-order book for Erik’s number.

Quinn pointed at the bruises and cuts from the attack the other night. “Man, I heard about what happened. He really did a number on you, didn’t he? I should have asked this first, but are you okay, Nate?”

“I’m fine. It’s not a big deal. Just some bruises and stuff.”

Reaching out, Quinn tilted Nathan’s head up and to the right a bit. He cursed softly and ran his thumb over the small slice on Nathan’s throat. Nathan jerked back in surprise, his eyes widening a bit.

“Sorry, did I hurt you?” Quinn asked with a frown.

“No. I just need to make this call,” Nathan said, brushing off the awkwardness of the situation. He turned back to the order book and grabbed the receiver.

Quinn began smirking at him as Nathan punched in the numbers. “Would you go find something to stock?” Nathan muttered at him.

Quinn raised his hands in a defensive gesture before grabbing the returns cart to restock. While Nathan listened to the ringing on the other end, Quinn kept looking back at him and smiling. “Erik Moore” came over the line, startling Nathan.

He didn’t speak for a second and the deep voice on the other end queried, “Hello?”

A shiver trickled down Nathan’s spine and he coughed to give himself a second to gather his wits. The cough garnered a choked laugh from Quinn, to which Nathan threw him a glare. “Oh, um… Mr. Moore, this is uh… True Music calling. The CD you ordered is in.”

“Oh, perfect! Would you be able to deliver it? I’m afraid I have meetings most of the day today. I have another meeting at five this afternoon.”

Nathan glanced at the clock. It was already three p.m. “Sir, we don’t really offer delivery.”

“What if I paid you a delivery fee?”

Frowning, Nathan scratched his chin, wincing when his stubby fingernails caught the scab from the mugging. “I’m sorry, sir, but I really can’t.”

Erik sighed softly. “I understand. How late are you open tonight?”

“We close at ten, sir.”

“Erik.”

Nathan started. “Sorry?”

“I thought I told you to call me Erik,” the man teased, a strange note of something unidentifiable buried in his voice.

For a moment, Nathan grappled for words, uncertain how to respond to the fluttery feeling in his lower belly. If he were na?ve, he’d almost believe that a man as beautiful and mature as Erik Moore was flirting with him. “Did I lose you?” Erik asked in a soft voice.

“No, I’m still here, si—Erik.”

He saw Quinn’s head whip around and his eyebrows go up as a grin spread over his lips. Nathan’s face grew hot, and he knew he was blushing. Picking up a paperclip from the counter, he tossed it at Quinn, who deftly caught it in one hand. “I’ll see you at nine fifty-five this evening then,” Erik said smoothly and disconnected the call before Nathan could respond.

Nathan moved the phone away far enough to stare at it, dazed and completely confused. Quinn ambled over to the counter and leaned over to pluck the phone from his hand and put it back in the cradle. “You all hot and bothered just from his voice?”

Scowling, Nathan snapped out of his bemusement and slapped the special-order book closed. “No.”

“Uh huh,” Quinn said knowingly and sauntered back to the returns cart.

The rest of the afternoon went by too fast for Nathan’s taste. He tried to will the clock to slow down as his stomach twisted and turned itself into knots, knowing he would see the man who’d dominated quite a few of his thoughts since he’d come into the store. The same man his recent spiritual attachment had been engaged to and was off limits!

Quinn reminded him of the party at Alpha Sigma’s house before leaving at the end of his shift.

“I’ll try to be there, Quinn. I can’t promise I will, though,” Nathan said.

“Just for a couple hours, okay, Nate? I think it would do you some good to relax and unwind,” Quinn cajoled.

“I’ll try.”

Quinn sighed and nodded, hefting his backpack higher onto his shoulder. “Hopefully, I’ll see you at the party, Nate. If not, have a good evening and be more careful when you drop off the night deposit.”

Nathan waved him away, and Quinn left, leaving Nathan to his thoughts. Alan appeared a few minutes later, perching on the counter near him. “Are you on your own tonight?”

Nodding, Nathan reorganized the front counter display for the fourth time in an hour. His fingers twitched nervously as he tried to ignore the anxiety racing through him. The idea of closing early just to avoid seeing Erik again crossed his mind more than once, but Stuart would kill him. He resigned himself to the forthcoming meeting. “Your fiancé is coming in tonight,” he muttered.

“Really? Fantastic! You can tell him I’m here!”

“Uh, no, I can’t,” Nathan protested. “He’s going to think I’m nuts!”

“But you can prove it to him, right? You can tell him something only he and I would know.”

“No, I’m not doing that. Look, I said I’d help you, but I’ll do it on my own terms. When he gets here, just make yourself scarce, okay? I can’t concentrate with you dancing around and talking at the same time.”

Alan hopped off the counter, shaking his head. “No. I want to see him. I miss him.”

“And that’s exactly why you can’t be there,” he replied.

Alan frowned at him quizzically. “Why?”

Nathan sighed and rubbed his temples, his head throbbing again. If he told Alan how he could sense the other man’s emotions, Alan could use it against him later if he were smart enough. Another spirit a few years back had figured out how his emotions affected Nathan and had used that to his advantage. Troy didn’t know that one time a spirit had caused Nathan’s thoughts of suicide, and he intended to keep that bit of knowledge to himself. He didn’t think Alan would do anything similar, but he couldn’t really be sure. Ghosts weren’t exactly rational beings.

“I-I can sense what you’re feeling,” he murmured anyway.

“What?”

“I said I can tell what you’re feeling. I can sense it. If your feelings are powerful enough, they can affect my own.”

“Seriously?” Alan asked incredulously. “That’s why you want me to stay away from you, isn’t it?”

Nathan nodded and glanced around the store. A guy and his girlfriend were digging through the clearance bin near the far wall while a couple of teenagers messed with the headphones for the sample music selections. Those people didn’t know just how lucky they were, how ordinary their lives were. He’d give anything to be wandering through a music store with Troy or perhaps even a boyfriend. Instead, he stood at the checkout counter talking to a ghost no one else could see. “Yes. If you’re here, it’ll make it harder for me. I need you to go before he gets here tonight.”

Alan protested again, but Nathan gave him a harsh look. “You want me to help you, don’t you? Then you need to help me.”

With an audible snap, Alan closed his mouth and gave a jerky nod. “Fine. I don’t have to like it, but I’ll do it.”

“Good. He’s supposed to be here right before the store closes.”

“Fine. Can I at least hang around until then?”

Nathan wanted to scream no, but at least if Alan was around, it would distract him from the thoughts tying his stomach into knots. “I guess.”

Alan smiled and hopped back onto the counter. Nathan tried to ignore the spirit while others were in the store, only truly acknowledging Alan’s presence when the place was empty. He did some inventory of a few of the CD and vinyl racks and made a notation of which ones needed to be ordered, along with the new releases coming out on Tuesday. True Music carried everything from CDs to vintage vinyl to instruments and sheet music. Despite the rise of digital music, the store did pretty good business with the musical instruments and retro albums they carried. Nathan’s first guitar, a blue and white Fender Strat, had come from True Music while his parents were still alive. He’d done every chore imaginable for his parents, mowed the neighbors’ lawns, and cleaned more gutters than he’d ever wanted to, just to save up for the guitar.

The clock seemed to mock him as each second went by at lightning speed. Before Nathan felt ready, the hands ticked to nine thirty, a mere twenty-five minutes until Erik Moore would step through the front door. Nathan breathed deep and balled his hands into fists. He berated himself for being so damn nervous. Why was he acting like a girl on her first date, for crying out loud? He glanced at Alan, who stood looking over the various instruments on one wall. “Time to go,” Nathan said.

Sadness trickled over Nathan, and he pushed out the emotion. He couldn’t let Alan’s emotions control him. “You’ll have your chance to see him another time,” he said flatly.

A sigh lifted Alan’s shoulders, and he turned to give Nathan a pleading look. Nathan ground his teeth together. “You’re not staying. Go. Now.”

“All right, all right,” Alan said, rolling his eyes. “I’m going. At least tell me how he looks later.”

Nathan gave Alan a pointed look and gestured toward the storage room. He watched as Alan stepped through the wall and out of sight. He heaved a relieved breath and started straightening a rack that had been left disheveled. If Nathan could admit it to himself, he looked forward to seeing Erik again. When he’d realized Erik had been the fiancé Alan mentioned, a ball of acid had settled into his lower belly and bitterness had welled up inside of him. Even if by some miracle Erik was interested in him, he couldn’t, in good conscience, ever let anything develop. He wasn’t sure why he even allowed these types of thoughts to dominate his mind.

The sound of the door opening brought him to his senses, and without looking, he said, “Welcome to True Music.”

“Hi.”

At the sound of the delicious, deep voice haunting him at every turn, he spun around and found Erik standing just inside the door. Nathan’s involuntary intake of breath sounded loud in the silence of the empty store. Erik stood there clad in well-worn stonewashed blue jeans, which hugged every single inch of his long, muscular legs in loving detail, with a deep aqua T-shirt almost a size or two too small for his well-defined chest. Black work boots encased his feet. Nathan swallowed hard. Holy shit, the man was sex incarnate! If it wasn’t for holding on to the bin he’d been reorganizing, his own legs may well have given out and he’d be nothing except a puddle on the floor. Sharp desire pooled in his groin and Nathan pinched himself, hoping it would cool the beginnings of a hard-on.

“Hi,” Erik repeated easily, a smile on his firm, full lips.

He tried to return the grin but knew it fell flat. “Hi.”

Erik walked closer to him, only to pause a couple of feet away, his eyes widening. Nathan tipped his head in question. “Something wrong?” he asked.

“What happened to you?” Erik demanded.

Nathan furrowed his brow for a moment, confused, and then remembered his cuts and bruises. “Oh. Uh… someone mugged me,” he stated simply.

Erik strode forward, surprising Nathan by gently gripping his chin and tilting his head up to examine the cuts on his chin and throat. A bruise had formed where the knife had pressed against his skin. Erik slid his thumb over the tiny red slice in an almost soothing gesture. Nathan didn’t know how to react to this man, a relative stranger—albeit a sexy one—touching him as if he were his lover. He blinked at Erik as he watched several emotions flit across his tanned, rugged features: anger followed by an almost tender look leading into the same one he’d seen on Troy’s face more than once when he’d caught sight of some new girl he wanted.

Nathan couldn’t stop the small sound he made, causing Erik to drop his hand, leaving him feeling somewhat bereft at the loss. Nathan stepped back and turned his head. “It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

“What happened?”

“It’s really nothing. I got careless and didn’t pay attention. Your CD is over on the front desk, sir, if you’d like to follow me.” He convinced himself he was only seeing things and deliberately called Erik sir to put the wall back in place between them. Only, Erik seemed to have other ideas.

Erik wrapped his hand around Nathan’s wrist, preventing him from walking away. Nathan glanced down at the tan fingers against his pale skin and then at Erik. “Let go.” His mind flashed back to the times his wrists had been bound in the mental institution. They’d secured him to the hospital bed on more than one occasion.

Even though Erik wasn’t gripping him tightly, Nathan felt handcuffed and unable to move. “Please let go,” he begged, his breathing growing shallow.

Frowning, Erik dropped his wrist. “I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to scare you.”

Nathan put several more feet between them, eyeing Erik. “What exactly is your intention?”

Erik ran a hand through his hair in apparent frustration. “I don’t know. Ever since we met the other day, I’ve felt as if we had a connection. Something I can’t explain. I know that makes me sound like a crazy person, but I can’t shake the feeling I need to get to know you.”

Biting his tongue, Nathan wondered if maybe Erik could sense his tie to Alan. He didn’t respond, simply walked to the register. He didn’t know how to approach the situation. Normally, he would have done as Alan suggested and made the spirit’s loved ones know they were there. Usually, it took a lot to convince them, and in the meantime, they thought him nuts. He’d never cared before, but the idea of Erik looking at him as though he’d lost his mind set the same ball of acid from earlier roiling in his stomach.

The man in question approached the desk slowly. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Nathan said quietly. God, he felt like such a dork. He was twenty-two with the experience of a second grader when it came to relationships.

“No, it’s not. Please give me a chance to make it up to you?”

Nathan raised his brow at Erik.

“Let me buy you a cup of coffee or something. Please?”

“You don’t have to do that,” Nathan said. The album reminded him exactly why Erik was there and what Nathan needed to do. Coffee would be the perfect time to do it, right?

“I want to. Besides, I really would like to get to know you.”

Nathan stilled. “Why?”

Erik smiled, the same smile which sent strings of lust straight to Nathan’s groin. “Would it hurt my chances if I said it’s because I think you’re adorable?”

“Adorable?” Nathan squawked. “I’m a guy!”

Chuckling, Erik winked. “I know. Guys can be adorable, too.”

Nathan fought the burning he could feel edging into his cheeks.

“One drink. Please? If you still hate me after that, I’ll leave you alone.”

“I don’t hate you,” Nathan protested. “I just don’t—” He cut himself off.

“Don’t what?” Erik prodded, leaning a little over the counter.

Nathan’s hands shook as he put the CD into a bag. He tried to hide it, but he was pretty sure Erik couldn’t have missed it.

“I don’t bite,” Erik said. “Just one small cup of coffee. My treat.”

“I have to close up,” Nathan replied weakly.

Erik placed his credit card on the counter and shrugged. “I can wait.”

Nathan knew he would regret it, but his willpower broke. “Okay,” he whispered.

A broad grin spread over Erik’s face. “Excellent! There’s a great diner a few blocks from here. I go there all the time for lunch.”

“CJ’s?”

“Yep. You know it?”

Nathan could have laughed as he swiped the credit card. CJ’s Diner was the same one he frequented with Troy. How could he have never noticed Erik there before? It was probably because he and Troy were mostly there late at night. “Yeah. I’m a regular with a friend of mine.”

“Huh. Surprised we haven’t run into each other before now then.” Erik signed the receipt and took the bag. “What time are you usually out of here?”

“Have to close out the register and make sure anything necessary is ready for tomorrow.”

“Mind if I hang out while you do that?”

Despite the voice demanding he tell Erik no, Nathan agreed and hurried through his usual tasks of balancing the till and writing any notes for the morning shift. Erik spoke little, just watched him work, which made him feel nervous. Nathan couldn’t quite calm his nerves. Excitement tinged with fear caused him to tremble slightly as he closed the deposit bag and placed it in the safe.

Once the register was closed out and everything straightened behind the counter, Nathan looked at the man who’d patiently waited. “I just have to grab my bag from the back, and we can go.”

“Great,” Erik said smoothly, smiling.

Nathan swallowed hard and went into the stockroom to get his backpack and punch out. Alan waited near the rear door with an eager expression. “Did you tell him?”

“No,” Nathan whispered, glancing back toward the store. “I told you to leave.”

“He’s still out there?” Alan demanded.

“Yes. We’re ah… going to get some coffee and talk.”

“So, you’re going to tell him, right?”

“I don’t know if it’s the right time yet,” Nathan hedged, placing his backpack on his shoulders.

Alan sighed in disappointment, unaware of Nathan’s intense attraction to his fiancé. Nathan felt a pinprick of guilt inside. He wondered if Alan would get mad if he knew Nathan wanted the man he would have married if not for his accident. “At least tell me if he misses me,” Alan said sadly.

Nathan gritted his teeth at the almost overwhelming emotion from Alan. His eyes moistened, and it took effort not to let the tears fall. “Stop it,” he snarled breathlessly. “Remember what I told you.”

“Shit, I’m sorry, Nathan.”

The sadness faded and Nathan let relief slide through him. “I’ve got to go before he comes looking for me.”

He turned and walked to the stockroom door. His hand was on the knob when he heard Alan say, “Nathan?” Looking over his shoulder, he saw Alan had already begun to dissipate. “Thank you.”

Nathan forced a small smile and gave a nod of his head. He wrenched open the door and rushed out, almost barreling into Erik. “Ah, sorry.”

“Was just coming to make sure everything was okay,” Erik said.

“It’s fine. I was just straightening some CDs someone knocked over. OCD,” Nathan replied weakly.

“Ah. I thought you may have changed your mind.”

“No!” Nathan could have groaned at how distressed his tone sounded. “I mean I ah… wouldn’t back out on a promise I made.”

Erik grinned, eyes twinkling. “I’m glad to hear it. Shall we go?”

Nathan nodded and preceded Erik out of the store, waiting until the man exited before closing and then locking the front door. God, he was such a dork! He slapped the sticky note he’d written for Troy on the front window to let him know that he had gone to grab something to eat and to go to Quinn’s party without him.