“Typically, you’d have to be engaged or married to me to be admitted; but we live together, and Dad, Markus, and Sebastian will vouch for you. It should be fine.” He kisses the top of my head.

“What time’s the party?”

The question confuses him. “Whenever we want to go.”

I guess the party starts when he gets there. “I mean, when should I be ready?”

“After dinner? Claudio doesn’t work weekends, so we could eat out if you’d like. See if Markus and Dez want to do dinner and the movies after all.”

“That’d be nice.”

“Any movie you’d like to watch?”

I give him the complete list of all the movies I haven’t watched so far this year, not sure some are still showing. I’ve been squirrelling away all the money I could spare in view of coming here, after all.

“Markus will stab you if we force him to suffer through the new Snow White. The ratings are awful.”

“But wouldn’t it be fun to watch how awful it is and laugh?”

He considers this. “Maybe at home, with alcohol. Away from Markus.”

I see the wisdom in this. “Captain America, then?”

“Wise. Book four seats. My card,” he reminds me. “And text me the time. I’ll reserve the restaurant before. Back in an hour.”

It occurs to me that I don’t normally see him leave.

His med school schedule is more packed than my freshman one, but I’ve begun spending most mornings in Dez’s kitchen, taking notes. If he’s not there when I head back home just to drop off goodies and pick up my bags, I don’t have time to notice it.

I don’t like it.

First, I check the theater, finding a showing at eight and another at eleven.

Me: 8pm or 11pm?

Keller: eight. Be ready at a quarter to six to head out to dinner.

It’s pretty soon, so I occupy myself by showering, applying makeup—I’m no Lily in that department, so I keep it light. Thinking of her, I text Keller.

Me: Can Lily come with us tonight, if she’s free? I haven’t properly seen her in forever.

Keller: To dinner and the movies, sure? To the Wyvern House? Only if you don’t mind ditching her ass downstairs. She can’t come up.

I grimace. It would be kind of weird to invite her to part of the evening and not the rest, wouldn’t it?

Me: Never mind then, another time.

Keller: She’ll join us, eventually. Whenever she and Cross stop that weird thing they have going on.

Me: I think the kids call it flirting these days. Not that you’d know. You’re more about stalking and blackmail.

Keller: *coercion. I never blackmailed you. Get your felonies right.