Ronan brought the Honda into the lot off Melrose Avenue, the light already going soft and gold toward evening, and eased it into a space. There was a green edge to the way he did it, the over-careful hands of a man on his first car, and Riley talked him through the last of it from the passenger seat. But he got it parked clean.
Riley looked the job over. "Not bad at all. You’ve got a feel for it, for a guy on his first set of wheels."
"Got my license about a year back." Ronan cut the engine. "Learned on a rented car, borrowed it whenever I could scrape the money together. Starting to come in handy now."
"Nice." A note of caution came into Riley’s voice. "But don’t go getting cocky behind the wheel, alright? First car or not, an accident’ll find you the second you stop respecting it."
"I know."
They climbed out and looked toward the bar sitting at the edge of the lot.
"So this is the place, huh?" Riley said. "Where you’re buying me that thank-you drink?"
Ronan nodded. "Yeah. And it’s where I work, too. The Jackson Bar. I wait tables here nights. Tips run good."
Riley was game, and the two of them headed inside.
Inside, it was like any bar of its kind: a long counter down one wall, a bartender working behind it, the room warm and loud with talk.
The moment they stepped through, a waiter looked up and clocked Ronan: brown hair, dark eyes, good-looking, with the natural dark coloring of an Italian.
"Ronan!" he called across the floor.
Ronan lifted a hand. "Julius. Buddy."
Julius came over quick. "What’s up, man? You’ve been off days now. Place isn’t the same without you." A grin split his face. "You back on tonight?"
"Nah, not tonight." Ronan tipped his head toward Riley. "Here to treat a friend, actually. Julius, this is Riley."
"Good to meet you, Riley."
"You too." Riley shook his hand. "I’m Ronan’s agent, matter of fact."
Julius blinked. "Agent?"
"Yeah." A smile broke loose on Ronan. "And get this. I just landed a lead in an NBS series. Riley worked the whole deal for me, top to bottom, got me real money out of it. Paid by the episode. So tonight I’m buying him a drink."
Julius’s face lit with surprise. "Oh, man. You telling me you’re a big-shot actor now?" He hooked an arm around Ronan’s neck and hauled him in. "Come on, why am I only hearing about this now? No wonder you’ve been ghosting your shifts."
Ronan laughed. "Sorry, sorry. Wasn’t sure it’d go through till it actually did. Now it’s done, so there’s nothing left to hide." He got his balance back and grinned. "How about I get you a drink too, Julius?"
"Appreciate it, man, but I’m on the clock." Julius let him loose. "I get a break, I’ll come sit with you two."
"Sure thing."
They talked a little more, then made their way to the counter. The bartender knew Ronan well and recognized him at once. He asked for a couple of drinks, and the man set to work without another word, sliding two across to them.
Ronan raised his glass. "To you, my friend. Here’s hoping I bring you plenty of opportunities as your client."
"Right back at you." Riley touched his glass to it. "Hoping I hand you a whole lot more as your agent."
They drank, and fell into easy talk. A while later Julius caught his break and dropped into the seat beside them, and Ronan flagged the bartender for another round.
"So." Julius turned his glass on the bar. "Now that you’ve got yourself a role, you thinking of leaving this place behind?" He said it light enough, but something harder sat back in his eyes.
The question landed on Ronan heavier than Julius likely meant it to.
This place held a lot for him, same as Park Eats did: the late shifts, the good tips, the people who filled it. Julius most of all. And with the [Immersion System] behind him now, the doors were only going to keep swinging open: more roles, bigger ones, further from here. He knew which way he was headed. It just didn’t make the leaving weigh any less.
He looked at his friend. "Acting’s the dream. Always has been. So yeah, I’m going to chase it as far as it’ll take me. I probably won’t be back working these tables." He held Julius’s eyes. "But this place got me through a lot. And you, man, you’re still my friend. That part’s not going anywhere."
Julius sat with it a moment, something working behind his face. "Friend..." Then a smile pulled through it. "Damn, man. I’m jealous, you know that? Makes me want to go chase something of my own."
Ronan didn’t hesitate. "Then do it, Julius. You’re a good guy. No reason you can’t go after whatever it is you want."
Julius looked at him. "I’m not built like you, though, Ronan. Five years you gave this thing before it finally broke your way, and now here you are with a lead off an NBS series. I can’t even picture putting in that kind of time."
Riley had been sitting back, listening, and he couldn’t let that one pass. "Not trying to get in your business, Julius. But you only get the one life, you know? Nothing wrong with a quiet one, and if you want to keep it easy, I respect that. But if some part of you wants more, then go chase the thing you actually want. Sounds simple. It’s about the hardest thing there is." A low chuckle rolled out of him. "Believe me. Ten years I’ve been at this agent game, and I’m still running behind guys I came up with. Doesn’t stop me. I’m still going for the top of this town."
Ronan sipped his drink, a smile on him.
Julius turned to Riley. "Thank you for that, Riley. Honestly. Between your words and this strong drink in my hand, I think my head’s a little clearer already."
That pulled a laugh out of both Ronan and Riley.
They talked a while longer, and then it was time to go. Julius walked them out, and that was when he caught sight of the car Ronan was heading for.
"Damn. You’ve got a car now?"
"Yeah." Ronan patted the roof. "Picked it up for around $21,000. Just today, actually."
Julius shoved him, playful about it. "Man, congratulations. Now I’ve gotta go home sad in my beat-up old thing."
Ronan laughed. "Be grateful for it. And be jealous of mine." A grin tugged at him. "You remember when I was the one jealous of you? Your family handing you a car for your birthday?"
"Yeah, yeah." Julius chuckled. "I remember."
A little more of that, and then Ronan and Riley pulled out of the lot. Julius watched the taillights shrink off down Melrose and shook his head. "Best of luck, Ronan."
* * *
Later, in the parking lot of the Kenmore Arms, Ronan pulled the Honda in on his own. He’d dropped Riley at his place, so there was nobody in the passenger seat to talk him through it now, the last of the daylight long gone. Even so, he swung it into a space and straightened it up without any trouble.
He got out. And just as he did, he spotted his landlord a few spaces over, climbing off his bike, watching him.
Mr. Gibson was middle-aged, white, with a hard, sour set to his face that never much seemed to lift.
"Mr. Gibson." Ronan greeted him.
The landlord’s eyes crawled over the car. "How you doing, kid? Where’d this come from? You rent it?"
"That—"
"You went and rented yourself a car?" Gibson talked right over him. "With what little money you’ve got left, instead of squaring up the rent you already owe me? Get real, kid. I’ve about had it. I’m this close to putting you out on the street."
"Mr. Gibson, I’ve got the money for you." Ronan kept it even. "I was on my way over to pay you, matter of fact."
That stopped the man cold. Gibson’s face shifted, caught off guard. "Oh. Is that right." He cleared his throat, backpedaling now. "Well, alright then. Forget what I said. Just reminding you, is all." The awkwardness settled on him, and he reached for a change of subject. "So you didn’t rent it. What, borrowed it off somebody?"
Ronan let it hang a second. "I bought it. Just now."
Gibson’s eyes went wide. "What? You bought a car?"
"Something wrong?"
"N-nothing’s wrong." The landlord couldn’t cover it.
Ronan kept the smile where it belonged, tucked down out of sight. There was something deeply satisfying about the look sitting on the man’s face.