“Yes.”
“And you’d invite me?”
“I absolutely would,” I say.
There’s an expected pause then, and while I could reassure them they wouldn’t have to come to the party, my silence matters more. I can feel Darren watching us, his interest in our brief conversation predictable, but I still have my eye on Riley when they nod.
“Yeah, I think I’d come. I’m guessing you have lots of quiet corners for anyone who needs to hide.”
They’re not wrong, but I raise my eyebrow. “I live alone. Aren’t all the corners quiet?”
“You love motorcycles and music, so I doubt it. Actually, I’m not sure you like silence much at all. But you’re gentle, and you make space for important things, so tell me when to be there and don’t worry when I disappear into the dark.”
It’s easy to promise them everything, and I say goodnight as long as I’m there, both of us returning to our sides of the bar a moment later. Darren doesn’t ask about anything he thinks he’s missed, welcoming me back with the magnetism that drew me to him long before either of us would say so.
The magnetism that drew everyone else to him when they were ready to be loud.
“So,” he starts. “Speaking of boats and restaurants.”
It’s the same way I’d spun a trivia question into something more personal earlier in the night, and I just shake my head. “Nice segue. Is this your way of inviting me over to watch Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet fail to share a floating door?”
“It is not. But I was thinking—”
“Dangerous.”
“Always,” Darren admits, looking around as though he needs privacy. And maybe he does. “A guy I know works on one of the Catalina ferries. And a friend of mine runs a kickass restaurant on the island.”
A guy I know. A friend of mine. Magnetism. Loud.
“You’re going to Catalina?”
“We’regoing to Catalina,” he says. “Or we could, if you want to. We haven’t really gone out since we had tapas. And the gallery opening, I guess. Everything has been here while I’m workingor at our houses when we’re fucking around, and I—maybe it would be nice to eat and drink and not be anything else.”
“All friends. No benefits.”
Darren blinks. I do, too. Then he shrugs. “Have dinner with me.”