38

In the middle of November, I walked into class to find a flier for "Open Mic Night" sitting on my desk. I'd seen them all over campus but never gave them much thought. The Roasted Bean hosted an open mic night every Wednesday.

"What's this?" I asked, purposely bumping Tyler's elbow as I sat down.

He shrugged. "Cameron sings sometimes, and I back him on guitar. I thought it would be a good chance for you to meet him."

He looked up and caught me staring at him. "What?"

"Nothing." I shook my head. "You just surprise me sometimes."

After class, we walked back to the dorm. He laced his fingers through mine and swung our arms as we walked.

"So, how often do you and Cameron do this open mic night thing?" I asked.

"Pretty much every Wednesday."

"How did I not know about this? I've known you for three months, and you're just now telling me that you regularly do this really cool thing?"

He shrugged. "I just didn't think it was that big of a deal."

"It is a big deal if it makes you happy," I said, squeezing his hand. "You know you're going to have to play more for me now, right?"

"As long as I get to meet Pebbles soon." He bumped my shoulder with his.

"Deal."

***

"Let's go to Speedy's before we head over to your concert."

"Darling, I told you. It's not a concert. It's just Cam singing and me behind him on the guitar. I don't even think a lot of people are going to show up."

"It's the Wednesday before Thanksgiving break. I think more people are going to show up than you're expecting."

We got to Speedy's and parked in one of the bays. I pushed the green button and ordered our burgers and drinks. While we waited for the carhop, he explained how the open mic nights worked.

"So, what does Cameron want to do after graduation? Actually, Tyler, what do you want to do? I don't think I've ever asked you."

"I've always liked the idea of opening up my own veterinary practice. But, I really want to perform. There's nothing quite like the feeling of playing guitar with Cameron on stage."

I'd never seen his eyes light up the way that they were now.

Except for picture day.

"What about you?" he asked.

"What about me?"

"What do you mean, what about you? What do you want to do with your life?"

"Honestly, I'm not entirely sure. Communications has a lot of career options, so I think it's a good degree to have. I haven't thought out the specifics yet. Maybe I could be a poet."

"I could see it. Maybe one day we could write songs together."

"I love that idea," I said, as he brushed a curl behind my ear and leaned over to kiss me on the cheek.

***

"How long have we been sitting here?" Tyler asked me a while later. "I feel like it's been a very long time."

We watched as a car that had arrived before us get their food and left.

"I don't know, twenty minutes?" We still had half an hour before he was supposed to meet Cameron and start setting up at The Roasted Bean.

When he started tapping his foot, I reassured. "Sweetie, it's going to be fine."

"Push the button and see where they are," he said, looking out the window.

I put my hand on his knee, stilling his leg. "Please," he added in a strained voice, still watching out the window.

I pushed the button again and the car hop came out five minutes later. She apologized profusely and hurried away, probably picking up on how agitated Tyler was.

Tyler scarfed down his food and impatiently waited for me to finish. He kept looking at his phone to check the time, and his leg shaking was moving my entire truck.

"Tyler, relax."

"I can't."

I put my hand on his arm and left it there until he looked at me.

"Ali, we really should get going. I can't let Cam down."

I looked at the time on my phone. "You aren't meeting him for another twenty minutes. You aren't going to let him down. It takes ten minutes to get from here to The Roasted Bean. Can I please just finish my cheesy tots and then we can go?"

He took a deep breath and nodded, bouncing his knee again. "Please hurry."

"Forget it," I muttered. I handed him my cheesy tots and started backing my truck out of the bay.

"No, that's not what I—" he started, but I cut him off.

"It's fine. I don't want you to be late."

We made it to The Roasted Bean parking lot before Cameron. I gave Tyler a half-serious and half-joking side eye.

"I'm sorry I rushed you, I just…" He trailed off.

"It's fine. We made it here, and you're early."

"And, you're upset with me," he said softly, avoiding my eyes.

"No, Tyler, I'm not upset with you. Although, I will be if you don't hand over those cheesy tots."

He handed me the tots, after stealing one or two. After we finished eating them, we gathered the trash, he grabbed his guitar case, and we headed inside.