Page 61 of Finders Keepers
“Um, hello,” I say, propping myself on a barstool.
“Hanako’s in the office. I’ll go get her.”
“Oh, no, it’s—” But before I can say it’s not necessary to disturb her, Kell has disappeared through a doorway beside the bar.
“Nina!” Hanako greets me with the same enthusiasm she showed when we came in last Saturday. “I didn’t know you were coming by today.”
“Me neither, actually. But I was in the area and starving, and the burger place next door is closed, but I remembered you had some small plates…”
“Of course! Let me get you today’s menu.” She slides me a paper with their specials.
“The hummus plate sounds great,” I say.
“Anything to drink?” she asks.
It’s tempting to see if she still has the stuff to make one of those Hi-C concoctions, but that feels like a poor choice, especially before noon. “Just water,” I say.
A few minutes later, she slides a highball glass in front of me. It has a paper umbrella sticking out of it. “Just because it’s water doesn’t mean it can’t be fun,” she explains with a smile.
Kell comes out of the kitchen with a plate full of vegetables and pita chips surrounding a ramekin of hummus.
“Do you want me to open a tab, or just pay when I’m done?” I ask Hanako.
She waves her hand dismissively. “Oh please. It’s on the house.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I say. “You really should let me pay for stuff.”
“Hey,” she says in faux offense. “It’s my business. I’ll run it how I want.” Then she leans over the bar, folding her arms, a grin spreading across her face. “But something that is absolutelynotmy business that I’m going to ask about anyway is what’s up with you and Quentin, hm?”
I pretend to be absolutely fascinated by the carrot stick in my hand. “Oh. Um. Nothing much.”
“Really?”
“Really,” I say.
Hanako gives me a look that says she isn’t going to pry, but doesn’t believe me for a second.
“Okay, okay. Fine. We kissed. The night of the fundraiser here. And there was some…other stuff that happened. But we talked about it and decided that we should hold off on anything more than friendship for now.” It’s always been an unspoken rule that we don’t tell anyone we’re treasure hunting, and I can’t mention that our lives are currently in flux because I didn’t tell Hanako that I lost my job. So I settle on, “We both recently gotout of long-term relationships and are still getting to know each other again.” Which is absolutely the truth, even though that’s far, far down on the list of reasons we’re not hooking up.
“Very practical,” she says, reaching for another glass and filling it with Sprite for herself. “I’m glad he finally did it, though.”
“Did what?”
“Kissed you,” she says with a small laugh that seems like a kind substitute forduh. “He’s been wanting to for-freaking-ever, you know.”
Wait. Itwasme?Iwas his crush? Then why didn’t he…and then how come he…“But…” I’m cut off by a loud clang, something shattering, and raised voices coming from somewhere in the back room.
“Yikes,” Hanako says. “That sounded bad. I better go check it out.”
She leaves me alone with the startling realization that I was right about being wrong about my relationship with Quentin when we were younger—just not in the way I thought.
27
I’d planned toapply to more jobs while I was out (hence bringing my laptop), but my brain has felt like the mint I watched Kell muddle for another customer’s cantaloupe mojito since Hanako inadvertently revealed that I was the person Quentin had a crush on in high school. All I can think about is him, and me, and every moment we’ve ever shared—then and now—trying to reanalyze each one to see if there were signs I missed. And there are, I’m sure, but it’s hard to keep it all straight because I keep getting stuck, circling images and sound bites of Quentin from the past few weeks like a little kid going through a toy catalog before Christmas. I want that version, and that version, and that version. The one dressed for an interview, his hair perfect. The one in gray sweatpants, jaw unshaven, with dark crescents under his eyes. The one from Saturday night, staring up at me with a look of awe and focus as he took his cock in hand…
Living in my body right now is torture. I hate being on edge like this, needing something that only someone else—onlyQuentin—can give me. Can, but won’t. Not until we find the treasure.
Once again part of me whispers that I could go to Sprangbur right now, on my own. It’s just down the street, probably even visible from the patio if I go outside and squint. I can’t tell if the nausea that accompanies the thought is the exciting sort of anxiety or the ominous kind.
