“To hell with it.” Jake then does the last thing any of us expected him to: he grabs the entire ball of ice cream with his bare hand, takes a bite of it, and puts it down on the empty side of his plate. The three of us stop moving and just stare at him as he licks his fingers. “Problem solved.”
Levi is the first to break, and Kamila and I follow. We keel over when we see the waitstaff looking at Jake as if he just committed the ultimate sin.
Kamila’s head falls onto my shoulder as the three of us wipe tears from our eyes. Jake simply smiles and keeps eating as if he didn’t just grab ice cream like it was a snowball.
Looking around the table at the four of us laughing this much for the first time in months warms my heart. I’ve missed this. Hanging out with no partners, just the four of us. I love Cameron and Stevie, but moments like this are necessary. It reminds me of how close we are, and…I haven’t told them yet.
Taking a deep breath and a sip of my milkshake, I blurt out, “The professor and I are dating.”
All three of my best friends’ faces fall, astonishment covering their features.
After two straight minutes of no reaction, I wave a hand in front of their faces. “Guys?”
“Finally!” Kamila yells.
“It’s about damn time,” Levi follows.
“Took him long enough.” Jake starts applauding and picks up his soda. “To the professor stepping up and to Emma, who’s fucking finally talking to us about her love life.”
“Cheers!” They all clink their glasses together, and I scoff at their theatrics.
“You guys are such assholes.”
Jake snorts. “No, Em. It’s been years of us waiting for you to feel comfortable enough around your best friends to talk about a guy, any guy.”
“How’s the sex?” Kami asks.
“Kamila!” I scold. All three sets of my friends’ eyebrows remain high as they wait for my answer. I bite my cheek, trying not to smile, but I roll my eyes, sigh, and give in. “It’s the best sex I’ve ever had. We did it in his office the day you guys came to the soup kitchen.”
“Cheers again!” Jake yells. “To Emma, giving us details about her sex life!”
I bury my head into the palms of my hands and sink into the booth, hiding from everyone who’s watching us. “Please, kill me now.”
My friends keep followingme to the parking lot, and I stop to yell at them onceagain.
“Guys, no. We’ve only been dating for just over a week. You’re going to freak him out.”
Kamila crosses her arms. “If he wasn’t freaked out after what I said to him in the soup kitchen, then he’ll be just fine with this.”
My roommate walks ahead of me, and I do a double take. “Wait, what? What did you say to him?” I grab the top of Levi’s jacket. “What did she say to him?”
He decides to play dumb. “I have no idea what she’s talking about, Ems.”
“Same here,” Jake agrees.
“I’m getting a migraine.” I rub my temples and look down.
“Maybe you can ask your hot professor for some ibuprofen and an orgasm. It always helps me— Oh look, there he is!” My head shoots up to see Grayson leaning against the passenger side of his pickup truck. His gaze quickly scans the group as Kamila’s last sentence leaves her mouth. He pushes his wavier-than-usual brown hair back and adjusts his glasses, eyes wide and looking wildly nervous.
Oh God.
Grayson straightens as the four of us approach him.
“Hey, Professor Hayes.” Kamila smiles. “I don’t know if you remember me.”
“Oh, I remember you,” he responds quickly, picking at the collar of his black coat.What the hell did she say to him to make him this nervous?“Jake, Levi.” He dips his chin.
“Hey,” they both say at the same time.
