Hollis is done with hanging around the bar on Valentine’s Day. He’s going to stay in -- alone -- and watch some movies. At least, that’s the plan. But his coworker’s half-brother’s cousin, better known as Ryan, is new in town. And although the lunch they shared was more levels of awkward than a house of cards, fate must want them to become friends, because on his way home after picking up his Valentine’s Day dinner, Hollis runs into Ryan again. The nice thing to do is to invite him up for dinner -- who wants to be alone in a new city on Valentine’s Day, right? The night leads to a dinner offer in return, a night bowling, a dinner party. When Ryan is relaxed, he’s a lot of fun, but he’s also a lot of work, facing off panic and anxiety in waves. But that isn’t a problem, because friends are there for each other. And they are, after all, friends. Just friends. Right?

Holding Hands

Two weeks later, he got a call from an unknown number. “Hollis speaking.”


He waited for something more, and when it didn’t come, he said, “Hiii,” stretching it into a two-syllable word.


“It’s Ryan. Ryan Wilde. Ken’s cousin? We met for lunch. And then Chinese. Not that we met for—”


He almost laughed at the nervous chatter but interrupted instead, to save them both. “I remember. I was beginning to think you’d changed your mind about dinner.”


“No! No, I just, um, I was, that is…” Ryan trailed off, but Hollis waited for him to finish his sentence.


God, he hoped Ryan didn’t have to make phone calls at his job. “What’s up?”


“I was wondering if you still want to take me up on the offer of dinner?”


“Oh, um, whenever.” A deep breath. “Are you free tomorrow?”


“Sure. There’s a bar I usually hang out at on Friday nights, if you’re interested.”


Chapter 6