20
LUKE
I lean against the back wall as the band I’m working tonight, Orson Dwells, goes through their soundcheck, playing covers of Spoon songs. They’d be pretty faithful covers too if not for the fact they’re an acid jazz band with a lead singer that raps half the time.
It sounds like it doesn’t work, but trust me, it works.
It’s one of the rare gigs where everything is going as planned. The band is easygoing, Lonesome Rose is running like clockwork, and my team is all on their best behavior.
I catch Randy’s eyes at the soundboard. He’s been doing some last-minute checks for me. I lift my hand and mimic drinking while mouthing, “Coffee?”
He gives me a thumbs up, which is good enough for me. I slip out of the venue and onto 6th. There’s a stream of people walking the streets as per usual under the smeary twilight sky. The sky reminds me of Eleanor. We met under a sky just like this not that long ago. Feels a lot longer, though, the way she’s rooted herself inside me.
I pull out my phone as I walk to pick up my coffee and open my text exchange with Eleanor.
We haven’t spoken today. The last messages sent were that I was outside her apartment, and she was coming down to meet me.
I should have texted her first thing this morning, but I couldn’t find the right thing to say. At first, I was going to say, “good morning” with a little smiling emoji, but I waited too long. So I thought I’d tell her she left her hat in my car, but that didn’t feel quite romantic enough. As I vacillated on what to say, time ticked by and now it’s nighttime.
It should be simple. Just ask her out on a date. Easy. I’ve done that plenty of times before.
Except I’ve never asked Eleanor out and that’s a whole other can of worms.
She hasn’t texted me either, to be fair, but that’s not a good excuse at all. I might be as modern-minded as they come in Austin, but I still like some things traditional. I should ask her out, plan the date, pay for it, and take the fucking lead.
I’m stunted. Remembering the sheen of her eyes as she told me her fears fireside.
I replay the conversation in my head as I stand in line. How her ex betrayed her. How scared she is to trust.
It’s apples and oranges what he did and what I did. Right?
That’s the question that has me going in circles. Should I tell her now? Give her all the information so she can make an informed decision about me? Or do I keep it close to my chest and hope that enough time passes that it’s a story we can laugh about in the future?
The truth will eat at me any time she brings up Diane. I know she won’t be leaving our conversations any time soon, especially if Eleanor’s able to cobble something together for the exhibit at Reeder.
And I . . . can’t get Diane out of my head either. If my dad was alive, I’d have no qualms asking about where Aunt Diane went. Why we never talk about her. But I can’t ask Mom. Talking about the past is too hard for her right now.
I order two red eyes for Randy and me and head back to the Lonesome Rose, somewhat in a daze while my thoughts cloud together.
Wanting Eleanor. Wondering if I’m as good for her as I’ve felt. Not wanting to hurt her or be hurt. Because while I’ve had my fair share of flings I walked away from, I’ve never been this head over heels for someone.
I focus on the head of the woman walking in front of me. Curly hair, loose-fitting dress.
I’ve seen that dress and that hair before.
She stops and steps out of the way of oncoming traffic, reaches into the slouchy bag at her side. Produces a camera.
No fucking way.
I walk up beside her, subtly peering at her face. “Nor?”
Eleanor’s head jerks away from the viewfinder of her camera. She pulls her glasses back down over her eyes and blinks at me. A ginormous smile appears on her face. “Oh, hey!”
“What are you doing out here?” I ask.
“Well, I . . .” she flushes. “I actually came out here to see you.”
I arch my eyebrows. “Oh?”
“I mean, that’s what I was doing. Until I got to the Lonesome Rose and realized it would be creepy of me to show up where you were working when you only mentioned offhandedly to me where you’d be tonight, like, two weeks ago.”
I tighten my lips, suppressing a smile. It’d be creepy if it were anyone else. Not when it’s the exact woman I want to see though.
“So, I thought I’d spend some time taking some pictures. Didn’t want to waste a trip out here.”
“You should have texted me. I would have come out to see you.”
Eleanor narrows her eyes. “Yeah, you could have texted me too.”
I gulp down my nerves. “I . . .”
“Then again you said you weren’t going to rush things. I guess I should have expected it would take you a few business days to reach out to me.”
I laugh. “No, I wanted to reach out to you today. In fact, I was going to.”
“But?”
My mouth is so hot, and my palms are sweating so bad. Why didn’t I get iced coffee? “I got nervous too.”
“I never said I was nervous,” she says with a smug smile.
What a far cry from the hesitant and tender-footed woman I met weeks ago. She’s coming out of her shell and making herself at home in Austin. In my heart too. Damn her. “Fine, you weren’t nervous. But I was.”
Eleanor laughs. “I find it hard to believe that you get nervous.”
“What?! I absolutely do. Especially around you.”
Her eyes widen. “That’s silly.”
“No, it’s not. Not at all. I want to get it right with you.”
“There’s nothing to get right.”
“Uh, yeah there is.”
We both go quiet. The swell of 6th Street speaks for us. Life goes on. It moves. The music plays.
We only have so much time on this earth. If there’s anything I’ve learned from losing my dad, it’s that. And Diane too.
Being nervous, being scared is a waste of it.
I wish I had a free fucking hand to gesticulate or nervously scratch my jaw. Instead, I’m stuck with all this coffee. “Okay, Eleanor.”
“Yes, Luke.”
I pinch my lips together in a smile. She’s so cute and sassy. “I’d like to take you on a date.”
She crosses her arms over her chest, tilting her head to the side.
“Would you . . . let me?” It’s coming out all stilted and weird, but at least it’s coming out.
“Yes, obviously ,” Eleanor answers without hesitation.
Every organ in my body somersaults with excitement. I don’t want to taint this, so I resolve to keep the dishonesty down. It won’t be hard if I know what I might lose. “Okay, well, that’s good.”
“When?” she asks.
“Wednesday?” I offer.
“Deal.”
“ Deal? ”
“Yeah! It’s a deal.”
“It’s not a deal, it’s a date.”
“Whatever.”
I bite my lower lip. I look forward to more of this rapport on Wednesday. I know conversation can be easy with Eleanor, but colored by explicit romance is uncharted territory. Gotta up my game. “Okay, well, I’ll pick you up.”
“Of course you will. Southern gentleman.”
“Obviously.”
“Obviously.”
The anticipation is already killing me. I don’t know how I’m going to make it until Wednesday. However, I’ve got a job to do and a crew that’s probably wondering why I’ve been gone longer than ten minutes.
“You should probably get back to work,” she says as if reading my mind.
“Yeah, probably. I’m glad you decided to be a creep.”
She gapes at me. “Hey! I wasn’t actually a creep, I changed my—”
Before she can finish her sentence, I press my mouth to hers in a solid, simple kiss. How I wish I could fill my hands with her instead of these damn cups of coffee.
Eleanor gasps into my mouth and leans into me almost immediately, welcoming the kiss.
Just one kiss with her is dangerous. I’d like to throw the coffee down, pull her into my arms, and take her all the way home. Fuck the show. I have something much more important to do.
Eleanor rips away first, much stronger than I am, pushing her hands lightly against my chest. “You should go before I don’t let you.”
A shiver runs down my spine. “That gives me lots of ideas,” I say, backing up a few steps.
“Get out of here, Wyatt,” she says, grinning after me.
The swarm of 6th Street starts to engulf her as the space between us grows and eventually, I am resigned to leaving her behind.
Wednesday, I’ll have her all to myself. No distractions or interruptions. Wednesday will be like seeing her for the first time. Something between us has finally been born. I want so badly to get it right.