Taking another sip of my milkshake, I cast my gaze downward, knowing there’s no point in telling him about the mystery man from this summer. It’s not something worth any of my friends knowing.
Just another example of an unsuccessful venture in finding love.
“And you know me well enough that, just like you, unless it’s something serious, I keep my mouth shut.” I look back up at him, and his face softens.
He puts his hands up in surrender. “Fine. Tell me about the school paper then.”
I feel my whole body light up at the thought of finally working on theDriscoll Wolf Weekly.“Oh my God, Jake. I’m so excited for my first staff meeting this week.” A small yelp escapes me, making my best friend laugh. “I heard that the new editor is kind of a hard-ass, but I really hope they give me the chance to do a feature article this week?—”
“Oh fuck,” Jake whispers.
His face pales as he looks past me and to the door. “What?” I whisper, then turn my head to see our two best friends walking in with their significant others.
“Duck,” he says quickly, and we both shrink in our seats before they spot us.
“What the heck are they doing here? They weren’t supposed to get to Driscoll until tomorrow.” I stop to think. “I didn’t see any of Kamila’s bags in our suite.”
“She must’ve stopped by Cameron’s room first and planned to surprise you.” Jake keeps sinking into the booth until he can’t go down any farther. “One of us always has to lie to them about when we’re getting back to campus.”
“Well, it’s never not worked.” Our waitress passes by, and I smile at her confused expression. “Why don’t we just make something up about your parents?”
Jake narrows his eyes. “I said I was coming back tomorrow in the Scooby Gang group chatthis morning, remember?” Right. “So, unless you want to explain the past three and a half years to them, I suggest we come up with a plan B.”
Jake and I have had our beginning-of-the-semester milkshake date every year since the spring semester of our freshman year. It started when we didn’t talk for an entire winter break because of something that happened one stupid, drunken night at the end of our freshman fall semester. We met up for milkshakes to finally talk about the situation, and ever since then, we’ve kept the tradition. It’s something we’ve never told our other best friends and vowed never to share because of how it started.
Friends don’t need to know everything, especially those who would bombard us with questions and want to know every single detail that Jake and I would rather not relive.
Jake and I love them, we truly do, but they’ll insist on joining our tradition, and it’s something we’d like to keep going. Since it’s our last time doing it at the start of the school year, it only seems right to end it the way it started.
“You’d better hurry up,” I whisper. “You’re the mastermind with the wad of cash in his back pocket. Go ahead and put it to good use.”
His lips thin. “It’s not a wad…it’s only four hundred bucks in twenty-dollar bills.”
“Got any singles in there or your BMW? Maybe we can stop by a strip club on our way back to campus.” I roll my eyes, annoyed at neither of us coming up with a solution.
“Fucking hell, Em.” After a moment of silence, we both coverour mouths to stop the laughter from spilling out. He takes a deep breath and pushes himself up just a little. “Okay, they chose a booth near the door, and it looks like they’re ordering, but Stevie and Levi are facing our way.”
Nodding at the mention of our best friend and his wife, I state the obvious. “We need a distraction.”
He snaps his fingers. “Exactly.” Our waitress passes by as if she hears us from where she’s standing. “Amelia,” Jake whispers loudly, and the waitress turns, seeing us almost sprawled in our seats.
I look at Jake in confusion. “You know her by name?”
His shoulders lift. “I’m good at remembering cute girls’ names.” He throws me a wink, and I purse my lips.
Amelia reaches us, and I take a moment to appreciate her looks as Jake did. Deep brown skin, brown eyes, and a nice smile.Yeah, Jake, I get it.“Do you guys want anything else?”
“Yes. We want to get the fuck out of here.” She looks at us, confused, while Jake digs into his pocket and takes out two hundred-dollar bills.And here I thought it was all twenties.“Two hundred dollars, plus the money for the milkshakes if you can distract the two good-looking couples sitting together by the door, giving us enough time to book it out through the back door by your kitchen.”
Her eyes widen, and she smiles. “Make it three hundred.”
Jake raises an eyebrow and looks from her head to her feet and back up.Oh, he’s intrigued.
“Two-fifty and your number,” he shoots back.
Amelia checks his tall, muscular frame to see whether he’s worth it. “Deal.” She takes out her notepad, writes her number, rips it out, and hands the paper to Jake as he gives her the cash. “Oh, and I don’t like to be kept waiting,” she warns him, and walks away.
The only emotion I can express is shock. “Only you can manage to get a sure thing while we’re trying something as ridiculous as running away from our friends.”
