Page 38 of Castle's Cards

My gaze shifts to the bookcase. There’re only a couple rows of books left.

“I’m sure you would have gotten it eventually. You were beginning to run out of books.”

Carter chuckles as I lead him to the door. I insert the final key and we cheer when it’s a match. We’ve gone through two bogus keys already; we didn’t need a third one.

The employees congratulate us and take our picture before we leave.

“That was a ton of fun!” I exclaim as soon as we leave the building.

“We didn’t do as much teamwork as I would have liked, though.”

I glance at Carter from the corner of my eye. He’s been mentioning ‘teamwork’ and ‘working together’ for the last week. It almost feels like we’re on a company retreat instead of leaving an escape room.

“Hard to do much teamwork when you’re hurling classic first editions from the oak shelves.”

“Those weren’t real first editions. They were all empty books.”

I laugh.

“So not the point.”

“All right, all right. So it might be my fault. I accept that.” Carter grins and grabs my hand. “Want to grab drinks at my favorite place?”

“Where’s that?”

“Come on.”

“I love it here,” I say as I look over the rooftop. The view of the city is incredible -- all of the buildings standing tall and the clear water of Lake Michigan brushing up against the shores of the beach.

“Me, too. I used to come here all the time. It’s my favorite place to be.” Carter takes a sip of his wine. “How did your chat with Izzy go last night?”

“Better than I expected it to. She was embarrassed, but I don’t think she was mad.”

“What did you think of Nate?” he asks. The question catches me off guard even though I don’t know why. It’s as if I’m suspicious at the change of topic for some reason.

“He seemed okay. A little… I don’t know. Socially awkward is how Izzy put it.”

“So she already knows the way he is. That’s good. Maybe that’s why she was able to forgive more easily.”

“Probably. Izzy likes him, and that’s what really matters. I told her that I want to do a do-over dinner so that I can actually get to know him.”

Carter’s eyes brighten.

“Yeah, that’s a great idea.”

“Did you learn anything driving him home?”

“Yeah. He seems like a good kid. He’s really impressed with Izzy. Says she’s the coolest girl he’s ever met.” Carter pauses before continuing. “He wants to do tech in college.”

“That’s right. He mentioned California. What’s that have to do with tech?”

“Silicon Valley. Tech capital of the country. Best place to get a start up or new idea off the ground, especially if you want investors.”

I nod. Seems like the kid did his research, which is good. Maybe his good qualities will rub off on Izzy a little.

As soon as the thought crosses my mind I feel guilty. Izzy’s a great kid. I know she’s smart and talented. I guess I just wish she was more driven. That’s all she’s really missing.

“That’s great. He sounds like he has a great head on his shoulders.”

---