Wayward Son Read Online Free PDF Page A

she said. “You’re looking at what’s left of my senior project.”
    “Mikey.” He shook her hand before her words registered. “Wait. Did you go to SCAD?”
    “Yep.” She planted her hands on her hips and rocked up onto her toes. “Graduated in May.”
    “Awesome!” Mikey’s exhaustion sloughed away as excitement surged through him. “I just started there this summer. What was your major?”
    “Graphic arts.” Ava waved, beckoning him deeper under her tent. “C’mon, I got a couple chairs in the back if you want to talk.”
    Mikey hesitated and turned back to Riley, who stood two feet behind him.
    “Go ahead,” Riley urged, holding out a hand. “I’ll take this stuff to the car and finish up my shopping.”
    Mikey grinned and handed everything over. “Thanks.” It wasn’t until Riley winked and walked away that Mikey realized this was why Riley had brought him out. Not for the produce or even the best-friend-togetherness time, but so Mikey could spend time with some fellow artists.
    I’ll have to figure out how to thank him later , Mikey thought before following Ava to the back of her space.
     
     
    “A VA HAD a lot of good advice.” Mikey knew he was monopolizing the discussion at dinner with Riley and Evan, but neither of them had objected. “Told me a couple of professors to try to avoid, but she said most of them are great. Gave me some suggestions on finding parking in the fall when things get crowded.” He gave a wry smile. “Well, mostly she said ride MARTA if I can. Apparently things get really crowded.”
    After talking with Ava for a good half hour, Mikey had felt bad about leaving without buying anything, but she’d waved him off. “I only need to sell one to make up for the cost of the booth, and that’s already covered.” Mikey still thought once he was working again he’d try to get one. Her work was amazing.
    “I’m glad you had a good chat.” Riley took a sip of his second glass of ginger ale. “I didn’t know there’d be a SCAD grad there, but I figured you’d find someone to talk to.”
    Mikey reached across to squeeze Riley’s hand. “Thank you,” he said. “It helped a lot.”
    Riley looked uncomfortable with the praise, but he smiled briefly. “You’re welcome.” He turned his attention to his boyfriend. “So I was thinking maybe Logger’s tonight. What do you think?”
    Evan snorted and stabbed his fork into his last bite of steak. “Is it our anniversary or something?”
    “Yes. Five weeks. I’m keeping score.” Riley rolled his eyes at Mikey, who would bet it actually was five weeks. “I just feel like having a few drinks and listening to some weird music.” He waved a hand toward Mikey. “And this one hasn’t yet heard the wonder that is country-dance fusion.”
    Mikey tilted his head. “I’m not sure I want to know.” And he certainly didn’t want to intrude on Evan and Riley’s date night, though he knew if he voiced that concern, they’d shout him down in tandem.
    Instead he fell back on school. “In fact, I need to get to work on my reading for art history. Yesterday was a total loss, and I have three chapters to read before class. Plus a sketch to do for drawing class.” He tried a smile. “Rain check?”
    For a moment he didn’t think Riley was going to let it go, but eventually he nodded. “All right. Not this time. But we won’t let you become a hermit either.”
    “Agreed,” Evan chimed in, and that made Mikey smile for real. Evan had been great since he and Riley started dating, always friendly and open toward Mikey and never showing signs of resenting his being there. Part of the reason Mikey had taken to spending more time with Cory was to give Evan and Riley more alone time at Riley’s, though of course that wasn’t wholly altruistic of him.
    As if on cue, his phone rang, and when he checked, the display read COCO LAMÉ. He glanced at Riley, who waved him off. “Go on, talk to your boyfriend,” he teased, and