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It was true. I’d only been to the club once since school began. Between homework, classes, and being with Daniel—or wanting to get home so I could talk with him on the phone—I just hadn’t had the urge.
“What about Milky Way?”
“She has a bowl of kibble in the kitchen, and I got her a little dog door set up last week. It goes out to a fenced dog run, too. She can come and go as she pleases now. The realtor said it’d be seen as a plus in selling the house.”
“It’s a weeknight,” I said, thinking how much that eight o’clock Psych class tomorrow morning was going to hurt if we stayed out late.
“True. I can go alone and get Windy or even Barry to take me home?”
“No!” I said. “No, if you’re going, I’m going.”
“I’m not trying to pressure you. I just need to corner that brat, and Tilt-a-Whirl is a decent bet. He’ll have his guard down.”
“Meaning he’ll be high?”
“Probably.”
“We’ll go.”
Daniel glanced at his watch. “Well, it doesn’t even open for another hour. Want to grab some food first?”
“Yeah.” I said, bumping his shoulder. “I do.”
He smiled down at me, and my heart squeezed in my chest.
The wind picked up as we sauntered down the hill toward Cumberland Avenue. Cuppa, the coffee shop I’d gone to with Millar, was overflowing with students, and the falafel place next to it was hopping too.
“Hanna’s?” Daniel asked, as we turned the corner on the busy street.
“Yeah.”
I wanted to grab his hand and hold it like the straight couple just in front of us, but I didn’t. Not because I believed he’d rebuff me, but because I was still a little worried. Night had drawn down on us, and I didn’t know who might decide to take it upon themselves to harass us for the fun of it. Better to save my affection for when we got to Tilt-a-Whirl with all the other queers. Maybe we could fit a dance or two in around Daniel’s come-to-Jesus sermon for Minty.
The street was crowded with people, including a small band of homeless folks pooling money for a bottle. Daniel gave a woman a quarter as we passed by, and she called out a blessing.
As we walked, cars zooming past us, the wind buffeting us from time to time, and the moon shining from the inky sky, Daniel told me about his day. I laughed at the stories Windy had shared with him while they’d eaten lunch at Chalky ‘N’ Joe’s and made appreciative sounds about his visit to one of his old professors.
“Then I stopped by the nursing school and talked with a counselor there. It turns out there are some classes I could take this spring to start the process of changing my major.”
“That’s good news, right?”
“Yeah. Probably.” Daniel bit into his lip. “Speaking of the future… My mom was granted phone access this week. She called.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“She’s trying to talk me into moving to Florida with her, starting nursing school in Pensacola instead. She says the kids are having a hard time adjusting and that I should be close, so we can be a family.”
My stomach tumbled. “You’re moving?”
Daniel huffed. “If she had her way.”
I stopped on the sidewalk and took hold of his arm. He faced me. “But what aboutyourway? What do you want to do?” I held back from saying hecouldn’tgo, that I’d just found him, and I didn’t want to lose him now.
His expression softening, he lifted his hand and smoothed it over my hair. “I want to stay here with you.”
I smiled, relief making my knees a little weak.
“And, well, I kind of have a plan for that if you want to hear it? You don’t have to agree to it or anything. It’s not dependent on you saying yes. I can still do it without you, or you can come in on it later, or—”
