I lift my glass. “Have one, but thanks.”
Emme elbows me. I know she’s thinking I should take the offered drink, since more than once she’s heard me whine about the crappy, infrequent dates I’ve been on lately, but something about his smarminess isn’t sitting right with me. Plus I’m here to spend time with her, not troll for dick.
Unfazed, he presses, “Surely you’re not stopping at one for the night?”
My phone vibrates on top of the bar. Saved by a text message. A quick glance down shows it’s from Cole. “I don’t think my boyfriend would approve,” I blatantly lie, waving my phone at him. “But thank you.” With that, I spin away from him again.
Emme looks like she wants to giggle, but to her credit she keeps a straight face. “So when am I going to meet this boyfriend, by the way? I’ve heard so much about him. He sounds like a catch.”
“Knock it off,” I whisper with a laugh. “It’s just Cole. Gimme one sec, please—I haven’t heard from him in days and I was starting to get worried.”
“Take your time,” she says. “I’m going to inhale this margarita.”
I swipe the message open. It’s a close-up picture of Cole’s face, him holding a beer beside his head. The accompanying text reads: I crawled out of the well and found my own beer. Sorry for being MIA—I am a jerk and I own it. Let’s catch up tmrw okay? Lots to talk about.
“Who the hell is that hottie?” Emme asks.
“What? That’s just Cole,” I say, blinking. Well, I guess he is looking pretty nice. His hair has grown out on the top, but he’s kept the sides clipped tight. And the golden lighting is rather flattering to him.
Sure, objectively speaking I’m aware that Cole is considered very handsome these days. Maybe even gorgeous—but that’s not how I see him. Or maybe that’s just not how I’ve allowed myself to see him…
“You made it sound before like Cole was just some guy. But this man is ridiculously hot,” Emme continues. “His eyes are to die for. How the hell did you make it through high school without tapping that?” Emme narrows her eyes as she looks at me. “Is he not into the ladies or something?”
I can’t help the laugh that bursts from me. “What? No, it just isn’t like that with Cole and me. I’ve known him since sixth grade. Nothing happening with him—way too much history. We’re like brother and sister.”
Except that one time where we almost kissed…
Emme’s brow rises in a knowing look. “Your emotions are all over your face. I can tell you’re thinking of something quite un-sisterly about him.”
I put my phone back on the bar top and swat her arm. “Knock it off. So when are you and Dane moving in together?”
Her eyes narrow, but I can see her soften a touch at the mention of Dane. “Stop changing the subject.”
I press forward, relieved to be on the offensive now. “I’m surprised you guys aren’t living together yet, the way you’re almost attached at the hip.”
She sighs. “I really do love him. And I think we’re going to make that move soon. We’ve talked about it a couple of times. Plus my brother is gaining more independence, and he’s ready to live on his own.”
“That’s great,” I say with enthusiasm. Emme has filled me in a little on her brother’s car accident and subsequent depression due to his partial arm amputation. It’s good to hear he’s starting to feel better emotionally and mentally.
We move on to talking about this and that, nothing in particular. Order a couple of appetizers. The whole time, I try to not think about her words about Cole, and the memory it evoked.
Right before Cole was about to head out to boot camp, we got together to drink some cheap Moscato he’d snuck from his mom’s supply, as he often did. We were lying back in the grass, staring up at the stars, drinking wine and talking about how nervous he was to join the army. But this was his chance to get out from under his mom’s thumb, because she was over-the-top protective. While I was scared for him to go, I understood he needed to find freedom.
As we got buzzed on the wine, moonlight spilling down on us, warm breezes fluttering across our skin, there was…a moment between us. Some kind of a weird vibe that came out of nowhere. A shift in energy. A sudden awareness of each other not as friends, but as sexual beings.
Something we’d never experienced before.
His gaze dropped to my lips, then darted back to my eyes. He pressed closer and whispered my name, the word little more than a breath; I could smell the sweetness of the wine on his mouth. And I remember my alcohol-saturated brain wondering, why have he and I never tried dating? Or even kissing?