I insist we don't, but in the end Mateo wins. He's persistent like that. Which is how the three of us, Mateo, me, and Coop, end up sitting at the counter of an ice cream shop. It's only a town over from Wilmont, but Coop and I have never been here. To be honest, it looks rundown from the outside, dirty even, but the inside is like traveling back in time.
Mateo orders a chocolate malt shake for himself, and Coop orders mint chocolate chip on a cone.
"Gross, dude." Mateo sticks out his tongue in disgust.
The kid behind the counter laughs.
"It's my favorite," Coop says.
"Please don't tell me your favorite is vanilla?" Mateo leans on the counter, looking past Coop to me.
I gesture to myself.
"What about me, makes you think vanilla?" I ask with a raised brow.
The Adam's apple in Mateo's throat bobs, and the kid taking our order clears his throat.
"One scoop black raspberry, one scoop pistachio," Coop says.
I nod at the kid, and he walks to the back counter to start on our order. Besides the teenage couple in the booth in the corner, the three of us are the only patrons here. Because it's ice cream and it's fucking December.
"Pistachio is almost as bad as mint," Mateo says with a smirk.
"Better than vanilla," I say.
Coop reacts to the news about art school exactly the way Mateo expected him to and my heart lifts. It's a balloon full of helium, and I'm unsure how to bring it back down. It's easy to get lost in us—the three of us. Too easy. I forget sometimes we aren't a unit. I forget this is all off limits. But right now, I can't bring myself to care.
I want to listen as Coop and Mateo laugh. I want to feel Mateo's eyes on me and wish he were closer. Worse? I want to be allowed to want those things.
Maybe it's a bad idea, but I let myself have it, just for the afternoon.
Coop tells us about his day, and Mateo listens attentively. Hanging on every word. We talk about Mateo's upcoming trip to Baltimore, and Coop asks how long he'll be gone.
"Just a few days," Mateo says.
Coop grins.
We talk about Christmas at the lake house. Charlie and Liam invited us last week, and Coop can't stop talking about it. We went with Addie a few times over the summer, but we're both excited for Christmas there. To be honest, I think Christmas with family is what we're looking forward to the most. Even if it weren't at the lake. Christmas has always just been the two of us and a really horrible lasagna. I wish I could say it's gotten better over the years, but I still suck at making it.
"Will we be able to ice skate?" Coop asks, climbing from the stool. "Well, not you obviously."
Mateo drops a small stack of cash on the counter and gives a small wave goodbye to the kid.
"Probably too warm still," Mateo answers. "It doesn't always get cold enough for the lake to freeze over."
Coop zips up his jacket, and Mateo pushes the door, holding it open. Coop skips out the door, and we follow, Mateo's hand at the small of my back.
Exactly what I wanted.
I'm officially screwed.
Chapter thirty-five
Mateo
"Stop looking at him," Jade says to the salesman. "He's not buying this car, I am."
The salesman, clean cut with an expensive watch, takes a small step back.
