“You’ll see. When you meet him, you’ll get the whole picture and understand.” And if he doesn’t meet Covey until this whole thing is over, even better.
“And when is that?”
“What?”
“My chance to meet the infamous Covey.” I can’t help but laugh. Covey would love to know that someone describes him asinfamous.
“He’s swamped—” My phone buzzes on the table, and we both stare at Covey’s name lighting up the screen. He’s calling me—an actual phone call. Before I can finish processing, Silas reaches over and hits the answer button, followed by the speaker key.
“Hi, Aidan.”
“Hey,” Silas says. There’s a long silence on the other side. “This is Aidan’s friend. He’s here, too.” Sure, make me the afterthought in this escapade.
“Sorry to interrupt. My schedule got pushed around, and I ended up having the night free. I wanted to see if you wanted to get together, but you’re already busy, so forget it.”
“Sorry,” I say.
At the same time, Silas says, “Join us.”
“What was that?”
“Come join us. We’re hanging out at Eddie’s. You know where that is?”
“Suuuure.” Covey draws out the word like he’s trying to think of a reason not to agree to this idea. For both our sakes, I’m hoping he figures it out. “I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
Thanks a lot, Covey.
“Can’t wait.” Silas ends the call with a massive grin on his face.
I put every ounce of energy into glaring at him, as if it could somehow turn back time and change the circumstances.
“What? You said I could meet him.”
I play back the conversation in my head. I’m pretty sure that’s not quite what I said. Well, at least the night will be interesting.
COVEY
This is a stupid idea. I keep telling myself that, but somehow that stupid idea drove me across town and parked in the lot across from Eddie’s. Now I either need to go home or go inside. Sitting in my car, scrolling through social media, is accomplishing nothing.
Hanging out with Aidan is easy. His friend, maybe not so much. As much as I adore people, it’s been a long ass day full of rehearsal. And by rehearsal, I mostly mean me trying to figure out what the hell is going on. Given that I’ve been dancing this long, some people think I have every part of The Nutcracker memorized. I might, if it wasn’t for the fact that every ballet company has its own choreography.
While my last company tended to be traditional, Green Mountain is more contemporary. They’ve revised some of the more problematic sections and added a touch of local flair. Allgood things. I only wish it didn’t mean cramming so many new combinations into my head. Of course, I have a lot of tricks for remembering, but it’s never quick or easy. This year, one of my primary roles is as the male lead in the Hot Chocolate dance. Despite my best effort, that one seems to be refusing to stick.
Okay, I’m doing it. I make my way across the street and push open the heavy door to Eddie’s, where loud voices immediately overtake me. For a Wednesday night, it’s crowded. The place is essentially the same as I remember it, but the new owners have added their touch. They’ve taken away a bit of the rustic Vermont vibe and replaced it with something more sophisticated. They’ve also added a few pride flags around the space. It’s always been queer friendly, but now they’re more open about it, both with the sticker on the door and the decorations.
It doesn’t take long to spot Aidan and his friend—whose name I already forgot—at a table near the wall. I give them a quick wave and make my way over, pushing past a few people standing around the edges of the room.
“Hey, sorry to crash your night.” A few empty glasses sit on the table, as well as a half-eaten basket of fries. Maybe I shouldn’t have come. It looks like they’ve got a good thing going.
“You aren’t crashing anything. Hi, I’m Silas, Aidan’s favorite friend and personal secretary.” He sticks his hand out to me.
“Covey. Nice to meet you.” He grips my hand a little too tightly when he shakes it. Am I in the middle of something? Aidan would’ve mentioned if he had a boyfriend, right? That’s the kind of thing that would come up in a discussion of fake dating.
“Knock it off, Silas,” Aidan admonishes. “Ignore him,” he says, pulling a chair out for me. “His students are annoyinghim, which means he needs someone to annoy back. Tonight it’s me.”
I’m still unclear on the dynamic, so I nod quietly.
“So, I hear you’re fake fucking my friend.” It’s a good thing I don’t have a drink in my mouth, because if I did, it would be all over the table right now.
