Page 11 of The Escape Room
“Hi, Ryan. Wow, your makeup is on point.” His already beautiful features were highlighted in shades of bronze and gold, and he looked fantastic.
“Thanks. What’re you doing here?”
“It’s trivia night,” I said, as I indicated the people gathering at the other tables. “I’m glad you’re here, because our team doesn’t stand a chance without you.”
“Our team?”
I held up the little tent card. Below ‘Team Lockdown’ were two names: Ryan Sullivan and Patrick Wilson. “I’m sorry to say we’ve gone down in crushing defeat five weeks in a row, because I suck at this. But now that you’re here, I’m feeling much better about our odds.”
“How’d you find this place?”
“I called every pub in Oakland and asked if they do trivia night on Wednesdays. If they said yes, I asked if they knew a brilliant, pink-haired trivia god, and that led me to O’Grady’s. I started to worry when you didn’t show up the last few weeks, but here you are.”
“I hadn’t really been in the mood for games.” He glanced at me before shifting his gaze to the floor. “Didn’t you read my note?”
“Of course I read it.”
“So, you know what I am.”
“Yes. I absolutely know what you are.” I gently tilted up his chin with a fingertip, and when his gaze met mine, I said, “You’re the smartest, sweetest, most fascinating person I’ve ever met, Ryan, and I’d really like a second date with you.”
“But what about the thing I revealed in the letter?”
“That doesn’t change anything.”
He studied me closely, and after a moment, he climbed onto the barstool on the other side of our little table. Then he said softly, “I should have stayed and talked about it. I’m sorry for taking the coward’s way out.”
“You were worried about how I’d react. I get that.”
Ryan fidgeted with the items on the tabletop, just like I’d done moments before. “I was surprised you asked to see me again, right before I fell asleep that night. You were pretty clear about the fact that you were still getting over what your ex did to you, and that you weren’t ready to start dating.”
“That was fear talking. I was terrified of getting hurt again. But you know what I’m more afraid of? Missing out on something spectacular with you.”
His hands stilled, and he grinned a little. “I can’t believe you’re here. I thought about you a thousand times over the past few weeks.”
“I’ve been thinking about you, too.”
He asked, “So, what do we do now?”
“Well, after you destroy the competition at trivia, I hope you’ll let me take you to dinner.”
“Okay. And then what?”
“I have no idea, but I can’t wait to find out. It feels fantastic to find myself looking ahead for once, instead of looking back. But I need to know what you think about this, Ryan. Are you interested in taking a chance and seeing where it leads?”
He leaned across the table and kissed me. It was sweet and lingering, and afterwards I whispered, “That felt like a yes.”
His smile lit up the room. “It was.”
Epilogue
One Year Later
I stood poised on the stage, arms out, back straight, and waited for the music to begin. In front of me was a sold out audience. Fortunately, I couldn’t really see them over the glare of the stage lights. I was nervous enough as it was.
When the music started, I took a deep breath and threw myself into the number. Then, for the next three-and-a-half minutes, I leapt and swayed and used my body to convey the emotion in the lyrics.
The song was about love and loss. It was about being broken and learning to heal. When Dare chose me for the solo, he said it had to be me, because it told my story, and only I could do it justice.