Chapter 14

“If you keep on playing the way you did tonight, you’re not going to need that college education. They’d be fools not to keep you on here.”

“My aspirations go a bit beyond playing at the Red Fin, though I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention that to Julio.”

“My lips are sealed.”

“Anyway, I’m not saying I’ll never go back to college. I might someday. But I wanted to grow a beard so I had no choice but to drop out and leave.”

It was clearly a joke of some kind, though Christopher felt there was a punch line he was missing. Still, it made him chuckle, and the urge to reach out to Gage even more overwhelming. The memory of that beard against his tongue had him swallowing, his gaze dropping for a split second to Gage’s mouth.

“I can’t even call myself a dropout. I would’ve had to enroll first. But I always knew I’d work at the store. I just didn’t know I’d own it someday.”

“Really? You didn’t think your grandfather would leave it to you?”