Chapter 4 #3
I bump my arm into his as we round the first set of double doors, aiming for the next set, which leads us outdoors near the cafeteria. “Nudge the thermostat down to keep them awake, eh?”
His cheeks get pink but he laughs, nodding. “I want to say no, but I don’t like to lie.”
I shrug. “Trust me. When we’re reading The Satanic Verses—those first few chapters before I put them out of their misery and tell them about the study guide, I set the air conditioner to sixty.”
Cade laughs, tossing his head back, the sound making my skin hot. “Don’t tell me,” he says through his fading laughter, “that you were the painfully well-read and culturally diverse college student who actually understood Salman Rushdie without the reading guide.”
I make a show of blowing on my nails and buffing them out in the center of my chest. “We can’t all be overachievers. After all, if we all understand Rushdie, no one understands Rushdie.”
Cade rolls his eyes, wearing a sweet smile. “I should have known, the great Noah Ryan doesn’t need a guide for Rushdie.”
I lift a shoulder and let it fall, and move back to something far more important than literature. “So how are Kat’s wedding plans coming?”
Cade stammers, almost like he’s surprised that I remember his sister’s name.
How could I not? We’ve shared an office for years, and aside from that, Cade’s father is like, one of the most well-known, loaded, players in the city.
And his sister has her name hanging on half of the real estate signs in Nob Hill.
As a whole, the family is well-known. There have been a few magazine articles on Kat and Zennie’s wedding, in fact. “Good. They’re ready.”
I nod. “And are you ready?”
His brows pull together as I reach for the door and pull it open, a rush of cool air stinging my senses, making my eyes temporarily burn. “What do you mean?” he asks, peering back at me as we take a few steps down to the first level.
“Your tux ready? Speech ready?” I ask as we curve the corner to the first level, and step off the stairs, onto the pavement. Cade in a tux briefly passes through my mind, and the back of my neck steams at the arousing image.
He nods. “I own a tux.”
I bob my head. “Go to a lot of fancy shit, don’t you?”
His bright eyes come to mine. “What do you mean?”
A group of students walk through us, and we reconvene once they pass.
“Your dad being Ford Mercer, the speakeasy king. And your uncle is always hosting parties and galas.” I peer at him, finding his eyes already on me, edged with surprised, lined with curiosity.
“You seem like the kind of guy who would invest in a tuxedo because it makes more financial sense.”
He looks at the toes of his feet for a moment before he cautions a glance at me, a smirk twitching at his lips. “Well, it does make financial sense.” His smirk widens. “But it’s ready, I took it out of the garment bag and steamed it last night.”
We tread toward the cafeteria, and the sight of us together in the mirrored glass makes my pulse skip. Cade’s eyes come to mine in our reflection, but he only lets himself look at me for a moment before he turns and asks, “do you like weddings?”
Inside the cafeteria, we stay in one spot as our eyes adjust to the lack of sunlight.
Cade rubs his eye beneath his glasses, and I wonder what he looks like in the morning, when he’s just awoken, before he puts his glasses on.
Fuck I bet it’s hot. And arousing. We move toward the coffee on the back wall.
“Yeah, I mean, who doesn’t?” I glance at Cade who has his face scrunched in displeasure, like he just popped something out of place or stepped in gum.
“You don’t like weddings?” He’s more buttoned up than I thought.
He shrugs. “Not really. I mean, they’re just a big show for other people. If you love someone, why do you need to wear a special outfit and tell that person how you feel in front of others? I don’t care for it.”
Cade passes me a white plastic lid to go on my styrofoam cup. I just blink at him until he realizes I’m unmoving, and his eyes come to mine.
“Cade Mercer, that is the saddest thing I’ve ever heard.”
He peers around him adorably, as if I’ve embarrassed him. “What is?”
I shake my head. “Everything you just said.” I place my cup on the counter in a mess left by others, and step a little closer.
“As a person who was formerly in love, I can tell you, it changes your opinion of weddings.” I don’t give him the opportunity to get lost in embarrassment.
“You’ve never been in love. That’s why you feel that way. ”
Red surges up from his collar and floods his cheeks, extending to the tip of his nose. “No, I–” He shakes his head. “It’s just overly gratuitous, that’s all.”
I notice that he did not speak to the insinuation that he hasn’t been in love, and now I’m more curious than before.
I nod my head, continually trying to solve Cade Mercer each time we talk.
“When you got this job, you know, five years back,” I start, guiding us to a self-check line where we scan our cups and tap COFFEE on the digital screen. “Did you celebrate with your family?”
He waves his little laminated ID badge over the scanner, charging the two coffees to his account before I have the chance to pay. “Of course.”
We walk back toward the doors to leave. “See? Wanting to share things you’re excited about is normal.” I sip my coffee, ignoring the sting on my senses.
He doesn’t say anything, and we walk back to the lecture hall; I’m left to make small talk about the peer reviews. At the door, as students filter in around us, I stop, bracing my hand on the doorframe to halt him. “So, do you have a date for Kat’s wedding?”
His face flames. “I’m not–I don’t subscribe to needing a date to my own sister’s wedding.”
I smile. “Perfect. Take a colleague.”
His brows furrow and my heart races while I maintain the utmost confidence in a charming, wide smile. “By the end of the night, I’ll have your mind changed about weddings.”
“It’s…” Cade searches my eyes, glancing back at his students for a moment before returning focus to me. “You want to come?”
He seems surprised, or doubtful, so I assuage his fears and clear my throat.
“I do.” Leaning in, I lower my voice. “Don’t worry, I won’t take that line from Kat or Zennie on the big day.
” I shake out my arms as Cade smirks. “I do, I do, I do,” I say, much like a bride or groom at an altar.
Smoothing my palms over the sides of my hair, I blow out a breath. “There, it’s all out of my system.”
My playfulness has earned me a genuine smile from Cade. Glancing between me and the waiting students, he says, “Okay. I’ll ask my sister and… text you a picture of the invitation tonight.”
Praise that lame ass bag of peanuts and that stupid banana I ate earlier because at that moment, my stomach howls, fierce and loud.
I’d be embarrassed if that growl didn’t just solve all my problems. “You didn’t eat lunch and I’m starving.
” I pat my belly and peer into the lecture hall at the nearly full auditorium.
“After your lecture, let’s go back to your place and I can check out the invite, and we’ll grub. ”
Cade is taken off guard, and rightfully so, seeing how I’ve managed to invite myself to his sister’s wedding and invite myself over to his house tonight. All in the span of a very bold ten minutes.
“Ah,” he starts, likely on the cusp of begging off, making up some random reason as to why it’s not a good idea, why I can’t come back.
“Hi Professor Ryan,” a female student greets, her knees swaying together as she smiles at me from her front row seat. From the doorway, I nod. “Hello.”
She pushes the theater-style seat down, and holds it down for her friend, who smiles at both of us as she pushes past, inside.
Facing Cade, I hook a thumb into the hall.
“I’m going to check the menus in my desk and I have some shit to grab in the library, too.
When I’m done, I’ll swing by the classroom and we’ll head out.
” I smile, pretending not to notice the lines of discomfort etched into his expression. “I’ll order Lily’s.”
He wrinkles his nose. “I had egg rolls with Kat and Zennie yesterday.”
“Souvla?”
He stuffs his hands in his pockets, rocking on his feet contemplatively. “I haven’t had a good gyro in a long time.” I clap my hand on his shoulder. “If you haven’t tried their feta brined chicken, you have not had chicken.”
His face still looks full of concern when shrugs. I tip my head to the side, fully aware of Cade’s unhappy expression. “What?”
He glances at the students filling the auditorium, then down at his watch, which reads 5:58. “It disturbs me greatly that you don’t address him as Dr. Morton.” If he knew Eli the way I did, he’d be disturbed that anyone calls Eli Dr. Morton.
“Still thinking about that?" I smile. “Okay, around you, he’ll be Dr. Morton.”
Cade bobs his head with a sigh. “Souvla’s works.” And with that, he ducks inside, letting the door slowly rush closed behind him with a hollow thunk.
Back in our office, I settle into my seat, ignoring the unread emails and stacks of ungraded essays.
Cade and I have gone out for food and drinks in groups, and a couple of times just us, too.
But lately, we’ve found ourselves catching the other watching, alone more often, lingering a moment longer.
I don’t know what he’s thinking, because he keeps his walls married to the clouds, but I’m as close as I’ve ever been, and I won’t let go now.
I’m going to Cade’s soon, and even though I know nothing will happen, nothing is all I can seem to think about until his class is over.