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

Hollis smiled back, trying to insert a bit of playfulness. “Now that we’ve got that out of the way, how about some funny stories about Ken?”


Ryan’s smile grew. “I have a few…”


“Oh, do tell.” Hollis took a large bite of his bread as he was regaled with anecdotes.


After dinner was dessert—just ice cream, not hand churned or anything. Then they took their coffee into the living room, talking about basketball. One wall in the room was lined with shelves and stacked with books, except for the column closest to the television, which was ceiling-to-floor DVDs.


“Wow, that’s quite the collection.” He wandered over, skimming titles from action flicks to classic noir. “What’s your favorite?”


Ryan didn’t answer, but suddenly he was standing beside him, their shoulders nearly touching. Hollis glanced over, but Ryan was staring at his movies, eyes wide like a child deciding on an ice cream flavor.


Chapter 11