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“What about now? What do you do for fun?” Lucky’s foot nudged mine under the table, and I glanced at him. He was doing some kind of subtle head jerk movement that seemed to imply I should join in the conversation. Little brat. I thought he was doing just fine on his own.
Ash returned his hands to the table and began fiddling with a straw wrapper, winding it around his finger over and over again until it made a corkscrew shape in the paper. “I like to play the guitar?” It came out as more of a question than statement.
“Really?” I asked. “That’s cool. How’d you get into that? I’ve always wished I played an instrument.”
“My dad played the guitar and taught me a few things. He left his guitar to me when he passed away. I’ve just been getting back into it lately.”
I turned to face him. “I’d love to hear you play something sometime.”
Ash’s cheeks turned pink and his neck became mottled. “No, god no. I’m terrible. I could never play for anyone else the way I am now. Bill— I mean, someone once told me I wasn’t very good. I think I need a lot more practice before I could ever play something for you… for anyone, I mean,” he said nervously.
I carefully placed a hand on the arm he had resting on the table. “I’m sure you’re better than you think you are. It’s more important that you enjoy it than it sounding perfect, anyway.”
Ash glanced at my hand and back up at my face before nodding. “You’re right. That’s a good way of looking at it. It’s not like I’m trying to become a professional guitarist or anything.”
“I’m sure if you wanted to, you could do that too,” Lucky said. “At least that’s what Aiden told me about becoming a doctor. You don’t have to be perfect to follow your dreams. Right, Aid?”
“Right, buddy. You just have to want something and be willing to work for it. Believe in yourself,” I said automatically, remembering the day Lucky had made an offhand comment about how a guy like him could never become something important like a doctor.
I saw Ash’s eyes studying me. “Do you really believe that?” he asked quietly. “That someone can follow their dream, even if they’re not very good at it?”
His question seemed to be more important than a simple discussion about choosing a career path. I realized my hand still rested on his arm, so I squeezed it gently in reassurance. “Yes, I do. I think you’ll never know unless you at least try. There’s a cheesy line I once heard in a management class. It was something about shooting for the moon so that even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars. That’s what I wanted Lucky to hear. That even if you spend every day working toward your dream and never reach it, you’ll still wind up with a life spent working toward that dream rather than doing something that doesn’t feed your heart, you know?”
Ash seemed to think about that for a minute, staring back down at his hands twisting the straw paper. Then he looked up and pinned me with his pale blue eyes. “And what about you? What’s the dream you spend every day working toward, Aiden Vale?” he asked softly, his voice sending a shiver of awareness up along my spine. I forgot all about Lucky, the diner… everything as my eyes held his.
I was saved from answering by the server delivering our food, but when we found ourselves walking out of the diner a little while later, Ash gently bumped my shoulder. The move surprised me since I couldn’t remember even a single time where he’d initiated some kind of contact between us.
“You’re not getting off that easy,” he said.
“What do you mean?” I asked. God, I really loved this side of him. He was more relaxed than I’d ever seen him and there was an almost mischievous air about him.
“I want to know what your dream is, Aiden.”
For a split second, I thought he was talking about the nightmares that continued to plague me night after night, but understanding dawned and I remembered he’d asked the question right before we’d gotten our food.
“I started a business with my brother, Chase, a few years ago. It was always my dream to own my own business and see it become successful, and part of that was the desire to help build something my brother could always rely on to support him,” I explained.
“That’s very noble of you,” Ash said with a smile.
“Not really. He failed to mention it’s really just a massive case of wanting to be the best at everything he does,” Lucky piped up, ducking when I reached out to tweak his shoulder in retaliation for the barb. “Kidding, kidding. Being the best just comes naturally to him, Ash. He’s one of those guys. Always had it easy. You know the type.”
