“Can I ask you something?”
Jade leans back in her chair, a smirk hinting at her glossed lips. “Since you’re buying me lobster, I suppose I’ll allow it.”
“Have you ever thought about selling the store?”
She blinks at me with a stunned look. “Why would you ask me that?”
“Just curious. You’re so busy… you said you were really stressed… it makes me wonder if you feel like it’s all worth it.”
“It is,” she clips. “But I don’t really want to talk about the store. It’s kinda nice not to have to think about it for a change.”
Makes sense.
Wonder if she’d be up for talking about that mud race we never finished? I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive Robocop for interrupting our first kiss. Has he tried to get in touch with her since Fall Fest? He’d be an idiot if he hadn’t. “So, have you heard from Officer Williams lately?” I ask with a sudden sting in my throat.
The corners of Jade’s lips lift. “Since this isn’t a date, you probably shouldn’t ask me questions about my ex.”
Way to avoid the question.“Don’t friends talk about the people they’ve dated?” I tease.
She tilts her head at me. “Are we really friends, Dylan? Or are we casual acquaintances sharing food?”
“We’re definitely friends.” I have more history with Jade than anyone other than my family. Ancient history, sure, but history all the same.
She folds her arms over the front of her sweater, making my gaze slip down to her chest and linger there. My body tingles from the memory of her pressed up against me. On the bike. In her store. In the mud.
“Oh yeah?” Jade drawls. “When’s my birthday,friend?”
She and Hayley were born around the same time. Mom always got a sneaky gift for Jade at Hayley’s parties, and Hayley was born in… “May.”
Her eyes expand.
Fucking nailed it. Now to remember the exact day and really impress her because that’s a totally normal thing to want to do with your friends. “The twenty-third?”
She shakes her head. “Twenty-fifth.”
Damn. “A for effort?”
Her lips twitch. “B plus.”
“I’ll take it.” Then, because I can’t help myself, I ask, “When’s mine?”
“March twenty-fourth.”
My brows pull up. Wow, she’s spot-on. Interesting…
Almost as interesting as the fact that her cheeks have turned as red as that plastic carnation sitting between us. Little Jade remembers my birthday. That really shouldn’t matter at all, but for some reason, I kinda love it.
The server returns with two wine glasses and holds out the bottle for me to read the label. I nod, but instead of waiting for her to pour a sample, I ask her to uncork the bottle and leave it.
When she does, I fill our glasses, Jade’s a little more than mine, while she sits back and watches. Her fingers clasp the delicate stem and twists the glass back and forth.
I lift my glass toward hers and wait for her to do the same. “Here’s looking at you, pet.”
Her eyes flash to mine, and her blush deepens as our glasses clink together. “I’m pretty sure it’s ‘kid.’ Here’s looking at you,kid.”
“If you say so.” I shrug, not caring either way when we have more important things to talk about than movie quotes. “Deny it all you want,kid, but we are friends who know each other’s birthdays and occasionally make out.”
Her glass pauses at her lips for a moment. “I wouldn’t call twice occasionally,” she murmurs over the rim.
