I pulled into my parking spot behind the shop as inconspicuously as possible. I knew Clay wouldn’t care that I’d slept somewhere else, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t tease me.

I darted out of the car toward the back stairs that led to my apartment.

“Good morning, Cassidy.”

I reluctantly turned to find Clay and a guy I didn’t recognize standing there. “Morning.”

“Have a nice night?”

“Yes.” No reason to deny it.

“You going to work today?”

“Yes. It’s before nine.” It was actually eight fifteen. I had plenty of time. You can get a lot done when you’re up with the sunrise. The reason I was getting back so late was that I’d found other more enjoyable things to do over at Leo’s.

“Who is he?”

I glanced at the other guy. Did Clay actually expect me to talk about this stuff in front of someone I didn’t know?

“Don’t worry, Kenny could care less about your sex life.”

“So should you.” I turned and headed up the stairs.

“Come on. I’m like another brother to you. I should know.”

“Nile doesn’t know either!” I yelled back.

“I’ll find out.”

I closed the door, cutting off any chance for him to continue arguing. After a quick shower, I made my way back downstairs.

Clay was still at the shop, which was my hope. I needed to figure out exactly what he wanted me to do.

“Just because you’re properly dressed doesn’t mean I’m going to drop my questions.”

“It doesn’t matter who it is.” I made my way into his office. It was still neat and orderly. Either he hadn’t been in it since I was, or he was being careful.

“Yes it does.” He followed behind.

“Why?” I crossed my arms.

“Because it tells me whether this is a rebound or not.”

“How would a name tell you that, and why would it matter?”

“Just tell me.”

I crossed my arms. “You don’t know him.”

“How do you know?”

“He’s not from here. He’s not part of your scene.”

“How would you know? How did you meet him?”

“He works nearby.”

“Where?” He leaned a hand on the door frame.

“Mr. Cheapos.”

“Ok. I’ll ignore the fact that you’re hanging out in a used record store.”

“You don’t know him.”

He slipped past me into the office. “My office looks nice.”

“Didn’t know you were hiring a maid, huh?”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m not the one who said you had to clean.”

“I needed to organize. Next I need to go through your records. I can probably have things cleaned up in a few days.”

“No rush.”

“I appreciate this.”

“I’d have given you the apartment for free, but I knew you’d have never agreed.” He grinned, and I knew he meant it. Clay had a soft spot for me. His teasing was more for show than anything.

“Wait. I need passwords for your computer and stuff.”

“Passwords?” His forehead burrowed.

“You’re impossible.”

“Have fun.” He winked and walked off.

I spent the morning working my way through Clay’s attempt at records. They weren’t as bad as I’d originally feared, but in a few hours I found half a dozen unpaid invoices. I could help him initially, but he was going to have to hire a bookkeeper.

The shop was quiet. Clay was out on a job, and everyone was with him. Despite the monotonous nature of the work, I enjoyed it.

My phone rang. As soon as I saw Leo’s name cross the screen, I picked up. “Hey.”

“I’m guessing you didn’t send the crazy guy to check on me?”

“Uh, what?”

“Clay stopped by the store this morning.”

I groaned. “I am so sorry about that. I didn’t even tell him your name.”

“No, you didn’t. He walked over and said, ‘ok, you look like Cassidy’s type. Are you the one she’s sleeping with?’”

“He didn’t.”

“Oh, he did.”

“Was there anyone else around?”

“Bob was in the back and cracked up.”

“What did you say?” I pressed the phone tightly against my ear.

“I told him I don’t kiss and tell. At first I thought it was your ex or something, but then he explained himself.”

“I’m sorry about that…”

“It made for an eventful morning.”

“I bet.”

“It also means you have company for tonight.”

“What’s tonight?”

He made a clicking sound with his tongue. “I thought you might say that.”

“Uh oh.” What else had Clay done?

“He claimed you were going to his party, and he wanted to personally invite me because you wouldn’t have done it yourself.”

“I had no clue he was having a party.”

“I assumed as much.”

“But you said you’d go?”

“Of course. I want to meet your friends. It should be interesting.”

“He’s not my friend. He’s my brother’s friend, so I may not know anyone.”

“Good thing I’ll be with you then.”

“You really want to go?”

“I gave my word.”

“You and your word.” I didn’t actually mind going, but I couldn’t believe Clay had gone around me to make sure I showed up.

“We’re going to stop and see Phil first.”

“Are we? Any news?”

“He left a message saying he messed up.”

“That can’t be good. Why are we going?”

“If I go alone he’ll blow me off, but he has to answer to you.”

“No he doesn’t.”

“He will. He’s got a weakness for pretty girls.”

“So do you.”

He laughed. “I do sometimes.”

“What time do you get off?”

“Six.”

I heard a shuffle. “No, I’m not giving you my—”

“Cassidy?” An older male voice came on the line.

“Yes.”

“It’s Bob from the store. You can have Leo anytime you need him.”

“Oh… thanks.”

“So he’s all yours anytime.”

“You sound like my pimp!” Leo yelled.

“I’ll come get him for lunch.”

Bob laughed. “Good.”

Leo got back on. “Yeah, so that was fun.”

“I’m getting you at lunch.”

“Oh, are you now?”

“Yes. I’ll be there in a little bit.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t be annoyed at Bob.”

“You shouldn’t.”

“Should I be afraid?”

I laughed. “Maybe a little.”

“You’re fiery today.”

“It’s because of you.”

He chuckled. “I’m not alone, so I won’t comment.”

“I’ll see you soon.” I hung up.

I finished what I was working on and got right in the car. I still hadn’t been to the grocery store, so I knew I’d have to make a few stops before acting on my lunch time plan.

---

I pulled into the state park, parking legally this time.

“We could have saved five bucks going in my way.”

“It’s worth avoiding arrest, plus I don’t mind supporting the park.”

“Such a goody-two shoes.”

“I climbed on the roof last night.” I got out of the car and went around to the back.

“Yes you did.” Leo pulled the makeshift basket from the trunk. “I can’t believe you actually packed a picnic basket.”

“Didn’t think I could be that domestic?” I pulled out a blanket I’d luckily had in my car.

“Wait, did you make everything?”

“No. Bought it all, but I should get points for presentation.”

“You get points for thinking of a picnic in the first place.”

“I like your point system.” I walked ahead to a trail, knowing he’d follow.

“Should we go back to the same place?” I asked.

“That works.”

“But if it’s too far…”

“I can handle carrying a basket.” He flexed his arm.

I laughed. “Ok, point taken.” I was excited to go back to what I’d always view as ‘our spot’ and see it during the day time.

We continued down the trail, switched onto another, and then walked up on the pond.

“You know this place well.”

“I’ve had a lot of free time.” Leo set down the basket. “Thanks for this.”

“You haven’t even seen what I brought yet.” I laid out the blanket.

He smoothed out the other side of the blanket and took a seat. “That doesn’t matter. It’s still nice.”

I smiled. “It’s a nice day, and I was told I was allowed to come and get you.”

“Bob seems determined.”

“It’s not a bad thing.” I sat down beside him.

“He says my moodiness was annoying him. At least that’s his excuse.”

“I can’t imagine you moody.”

“I’m not moody around you.”

I pulled out the sandwiches and fruit I’d picked out. I also pulled out the bottled waters.

“What’s awesome is that you didn’t call to see what I’d want. You just decided. It’s hard to find people who will do that. You don’t overthink things.” He unwrapped his sandwich.

“You may be the first person who’s ever said that. Let’s hope you are still staying that when you take a bite.”

“Turkey. Perfect.”

“Glad it works.”

“This more than works.” He leaned over and kissed my cheek.

“I’m happy.”

“That’s good.”

“I’ve been happy all day. I did nothing but paperwork, but I smiled nearly the whole time.”

“That’s very good.”

“You’re a good influence on me.” I’d been looking at life through a different lens since meeting him.

“I can say the same thing about you.”

“Do you buy into the whole pumpkin obsession?” It was that time of the year when you couldn’t walk into a store without seeing at least a dozen pumpkin flavored items.

“All the coffee drinks and stuff?”

“Yeah. How everything is pumpkin flavored in the fall.”

“Not really. I don’t mind the hype, but it’s too sweet for my taste. I do love pumpkin pie though.”

“I don’t like the coffee, but I like the ice cream.”

“Pumpkin ice cream?” He wrinkled his nose.

“What? It’s good.”

“If you say so.”

“I haven’t seen it around here though.”

“We’ll find it.”

“Oh yeah? Suddenly going to search for it after wrinkling your nose in disgust?”

“What you want, you get.”

“I’m not like that. I’m not the kind of girl who expects a guy to get me things.”

“Which is why you’ll get it.” He kissed my cheek again before returning to his sandwich.

We enjoyed a quiet lunch together. It was cool out, but my sweatshirt was more than enough. It felt like fall. I loved the change of seasons. It made it feel like things were moving forward even if everything else was standing still.

We stayed there long after the last of the food was done. The company was the important part anyway. Eventually we packed up and headed back to the car.

“Does Phil work?” I asked.

“He does IT from home.”

“So want to head over there now?” We were already out, and I didn’t want to say goodbye to Leo yet.

“Sure. Sounds good.”

“Great.” I’d accepted I might never hear the tape, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want it back. I’d been so close to hearing it, I couldn’t believe it could be lost.

We made the drive in record time. There was almost no traffic, and this time I wasn’t nervous pulling into the driveway.

I walked with Leo over to the garage.

“Not standing ten feet away this time?”

I shook my head. “Not a chance.”

Phil opened the door. “Hey…”

“Hey, yourself. What’s with the sketchy message you left me?”

“You’re not going to be happy.”

“I don’t care.” Leo walked in, so I followed. I wasn’t nervous this time.

“Look, I’m sorry.” Phil glanced at me.

“Did you find it yet?”

“That’s the thing.”

“What’s the thing?” I could feel my patience slipping away.

“I kind of accidently gave it away.”

“Uh, what do you mean by that?”

“I got the tapes mixed up. They had the same shells. It was an honest mistake.”

“And where is the other one now?”

“With a girl I hung out with at a show the other night.”

“Ok, ask for it back.”

“I don’t know her, know her.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“You gave a tape to a stranger?”

“She’s not a stranger. It’s someone I’ve been into but only see at these shows.”

“Ah, so you gave it to her as a gift.” Leo gave him a knowing look.

“Yeah, but I don’t have any way to contact her.” He shrugged. “Lame I know, but I never asked for her number.”

“Ugh, I hope she doesn’t listen to it.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s me singing. No one should hear me singing.”

“Wait.” Leo’s lips twisted into a smile. “It’s of you singing?”

“Yes, with my friend.” I buried my face in my hands.

“That’s kind of adorable.”

“It’s not.”

“I’ll get it back for you if I can.” Phil fidgeted.

“I should have left it in the basement.” Maybe it was meant to stay buried.

“No, you shouldn’t have.” Leo shook his head.

“But now someone random or more than one is going to hear it.”

“Who cares? Like they know who you are?”

“Good point.”

“And I’m glad you wanted to fix it.”

“Oh, of course. Sorry. I wasn’t saying I regretted meeting you—”

“I know, but I was reminding you that changing any one thing would change others.”

“Butterfly effect,” Phil jumped in.

“We aren’t talking time travel.”

“But still, same idea. Every small change…”

“Makes others. Exactly.”

“Wait. I have an idea.” Phil grinned.

“What?”

“She goes to every Not Quite Y2K show. They’re playing tomorrow night in Brooklyn. I’ll ask her for it back then.”

“We’ll come,” Leo volunteered.

“Yes. That way I can ask her for it back myself. Maybe she’ll be more likely to take the time to get it back for me that way.”

Phil shrugged. “Suit yourself. It’s at nine at the Clarence.”

“What’s her name? Maybe you can find her on social media somewhere, ask her to bring the tape.”

“She’s not on social media. She’s like me. She’s against how it’s degrading society and destroying real relationships.”

“Seriously?” This guy was something else.

“Yes. Plus I don’t know her last name.”

“Fine. We’ll beg her for it tomorrow night.”

“Thanks, and sorry again.” He stared at his feet.

“It’s okay.” I wasn’t angry. I was on such a Leo high that nothing else could get me down.

“See ya, man.” Leo took my hand and walked back out of the garage.

“We have plans two nights in a row.”

“And we went out last night.”

“Looks like we’re making a habit of this.” I got in the car while Leo walked around to his side.

“Some habits are good.” Leo leaned over and kissed my cheek.

“Yes, they are.” I pulled out and headed back the way we’d come.