“Hey, do you want to come to a book convention with me this weekend?”

George perked up with a surprised jolt as he stopped packing books on the shelf and stared at Davin. “Would I ever! Which one?”

“Between the Lines.”

George nearly had a heart attack right then and there. He'd been trying to get a ticket to the convention for weeks, but it was already all sold out. It was huge, and he’d had such a good time when he went to it last year. It was so great to be able to meet authors and also nerd out with other fans without feeling too judged.

“I would love to go,” he breathed, almost vibrating with excitement. “How did you get tickets? I've been trying for weeks!”

“Well, I'd been doing some editing, and one of my clients snagged a couple of tickets for me as a way of saying thanks,” Davin said from behind the counter. There were some people browsing nearby, so they had to keep their voices low.

“And you want to take me? Thank you so much.” George was really touched as he gazed adoringly to his friend.

“I don't know any bigger bookworm than you, so...” Davin said with a laugh, but before he could say anything else, he was distracted by a customer.

As Davin served the customer, George was lost in his own little world. He couldn't wait to get to that convention, especially since Jett Rose was going to be there. He was such a big fan and still remembered meeting him a few months before. He hoped he’d get a chance to meet Jett again. There were other writers he hoped to meet as well, and the idea of finding new authors to read that he’d never heard of before was pretty appealing, too.

Deep down inside, George was also glad for the distraction. Despite his best efforts, thoughts of Nick kept drifting back into his mind. There was an ache there that he couldn't get rid of. It was ridiculous to be pining after the guy when Nick had made it clear that he was only living in the moment.

George sighed. Yes, going to this convention was exactly what he needed.

When Saturday rolled around after an uneventful week, George was beyond excited, as evident by how he cleaned his apartment from top to bottom to burn energy. Davin was going to pick him up so that they both could go to the convention together. George spent the morning trying to keep himself busy since he was an early riser but the doors to the convention wasn't open until nine-thirty.

He fretted as he changed his clothes a couple of times, changing out of his old clothes for cleaning and into jeans and a flannel shirt. He debated a third change, too. It wasn't like anyone was truly going to care what he wore, but he still wanted to make a good impression. Eventually, he decided on dark skinny jeans and a short-sleeved collared shirt in pink. He hoped the pink would make him look more approachable.

Davin showed up on time, sending George a text to let him know he was waiting outside. George gave himself a final pat down to make sure he had everything before he took off like a shot. “Good morning,” he greeted cheerfully as he climbed into his friend's car. Sometimes George wished that he felt a spark with Davin since he was handsome and loved books, but it had never happened. He liked it this way, anyway, since he definitely needed good friends in his life as well.

“Good morning,” Davin greeted. “Are you ready?”

“I'm so ready.”

* * *

The parking lot was already filling up by the time they arrived at the convention hall. After squeezing their way into a tight parking spot, they left the car and soon joined the queue for the doors. George was so pleased to see such a turn out, even if it meant that many more people were ahead of him. The air itself was light with excitement and anticipation.

Finally, the doors opened. Davin showed their tickets, and then they got their bracelets and programs and were on their merry way. None of the panels or autograph sessions were starting yet, so George set his sights on the vendor room.

“Please don't let me buy the entire room,” George laughed.

“I don't think I could stop you even if I tried,” Davin said with a grin.

So many books! George wanted to pick up one of everything. Not only were there books but other items, like tote bags, shirts, hats, buttons, and just about every other kind of swag vendors could get their hands on. Some of the tables were manned by the authors themselves.

He didn't know where to begin.

As George moved from table to table, his wallet wept while his newly-purchased tote got heavier. He was so enthralled by everything that he hadn't noticed that Davin was speaking to someone in the background. It was only when he heard his name that he snapped to attention.

“Hey, George,” Davin called out. “I want you to meet a friend of mine.”

George tore his gaze away from a fantasy graphic novel to face Davin and his friend, his jaw dropping in surprise.

Nick.

George swallowed.

Nick's face was equally gobsmacked to be face-to-face with him, and Davin glanced quickly between the both of them with confusion. “Do you guys already know each other?”

“Yes,” George said, his voice coming out squeakier than he intended. “Ah, this is the guy I was telling you about...”

“You were talking about me?” Nick interjected.

“Your name came up.” George was trying to act casual but his cheeks burned.

Davin's eyes widened as George's words sunk in. “Ah... Well, um...”

Oh, wow, things were awkward. Being there in front of Nick had George's head in a whirl. He was both pleased and wounded to see him again so soon after being brushed off. The pain and humiliation hit him afresh as the wound was reopened. But, dammit, he couldn't help but to still be drawn toward the guy. Nick looked even more rugged than last weekend, his scruff a bit thicker.

As much as George wanted to shun Nick, there was still that strong attraction.

“So, how are you?” Nick asked as he offered a little smile. George hated that Nick could act so cool while George felt like he was having some kind of episode. Had Nick thought about him at all since the reunion?

“I'm good,” George said, shrugging his shoulders. He made a special effort to keep his voice leveled. “Just browsing.”

Why was Nick here? Was he there for work because of his cover art? Did Nick live a lot closer than George previously thought? Did they live in the same city?

At the same time that George was trying to be as cool as Nick, he longed for the warmth of his touch. He wanted to flirt and be playful. He really must've been caught up in the moment because if Nick wanted another fling, George was sure he'd give in.

Nick glanced to Davin once or twice, which George caught, and Davin cleared his throat. “I'm going to just go back to the booth with the cool books. I'll see you guys in a few.”

Once Davin slipped off, Nick turned back to George. Their eyes met and George’s heart started to pound. Despite all of the people moving around them, he was only focused on Nick in that moment.

“I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about how I acted at the reunion,” Nick murmured.

George had not been expecting an apology at all. He opened his mouth to speak, but Nick continued.

“I was an asshole when we were at the field.”

“You weren't that bad...”

“I was bad enough,” Nick asserted. He straightened his back and stuck out his chest more, as if steeling himself for something. “Actually, I was wondering if—”

“Nick!”

George jumped about a foot at the sudden loud and energetic greeting. As he whipped around to see the source of the voice, his body turned to jelly. Jett Rose strode toward them, looking as though he were walking on top of the world.

“Hey,” Nick greeted. There was something in his eyes though—a flash of panic?—that disappeared as quickly as it had come. If George hadn’t turned back to Nick in just that instant, he would have missed it.

Jett clapped Nick on the shoulder then turned to George. It took him a moment, but then he asked, “Have we met before? You look familiar.”

If George died right there, he would've died happy knowing that Jett Rose kind of remembered him. “I saw you a few months ago at one of your book signings,” he answered, his voice coming out higher than he meant for it to. “My name's George.”

“Right! Oh, yes, I remember you,” Jett enthused as he extended a hand. “How are you?”

George shook Jett's hand in return, almost trembling on the spot. “I'm very good, thanks.”

Then a light came on in Jett's eyes. “Nick,” he started. “Is this the George?”

“The George?” George echoed, his heart pounding.

“Jett—” Nick started, but Jett bowled over him.

“He mentioned hooking up with someone at the high school reunion,” Jett said, his eyes sparkling.

George really wasn't sure how he felt about that. On the one hand, Nick had talked to someone about him. On the other hand, it sounded like it was just about the sex. He had no idea if this was a good thing or not.

“You two should totally grab dinner together sometime,” Jett continued while Nick groaned in the background.

“Don't you have somewhere else to be? Where's Ryan?”

“Ah, he's around here somewhere,” Jett said while waving his friend off.

As Jett and Nick bickered back and forth, George only grew more nervous. As much as he wanted to be around both of the men, it felt so weird standing there and listening to them. One of his idols was vehemently trying to get an old crush to date him? To be honest, going out to dinner didn't necessarily mean much, but it was still something.

Then George was suddenly tugged away while Nick and Jett obliviously continued their interaction.

“You looked like you wanted to disappear into a hole,” Davin said with a laugh once he'd drag George through the crowd and to freedom.

“Thank you for rescuing me,” George said as they continued on to put even more distance between them and the other two. “Oh, man, that was awkward... I can't believe you're friends with Nick.”

“I had no idea that was the same Nick I knew,” Davin said apologetically. “If I did, I definitely wouldn't have put you in that situation.”

“I know,” George assured him, his cheeks a bit warm as he gazed back to where they'd just come from. A part of him wanted to rush back there and see if dinner with Nick was a thing. He hated that things were so weird between them but, at the same time, the tension wasn't all bad. There was something buzzing under his skin that left him energized when he was with Nick. Although they had gotten off on the wrong foot with the reunion, maybe there was still a way to fix this.

“What was all that about, anyway?” Davin questioned.

“Jett Rose, who is also Nick's friend, came out of nowhere and tried to hook us up,” George groaned. “He mentioned a dinner.”

“Oh, wow, he was quick to move in and play matchmaker,” Davin laughed.

“Apparently Nick was talking about me to him...”

“That's a good thing, right?”

George's heart did a funny little flip in his chest as he mulled that question around in his head. Fortunately, he was easily able to avoid thinking about or answering the question right now as they walked by another booth with trinkets that caught his eye.

His bank account was really going to hate him by the end of the day.