“You sure about that?”
“It’s nothing,” he says flatly. “Just… family stuff. What’s up with you, huh? Why do you seem like you’ve been floating on air the last couple of weeks?”
I duck my face, trying to hide the sudden heat crawling up my neck. “Uh, just… you know. Life stuff.”
Cole’s expression softens, slowly curving into a smile. “You sure about that?”
I laugh. “Things are just really good right now. That’s all.”
He nods slowly. “It wouldn’t have anything to do with holding Korie’s hand at Los Rejos the other day, would it?”
My heart jolts and I snap my attention to him. He saw us?
Cole’s shit-eating grin is instant, as if my reaction says everything. “Just sayin’. Seems a pretty big reason to smile, if you ask me.”
“Uh… yeah.” I clear my throat. “Guess so.”
Cole waits, then raises an eyebrow. “That’s all you’re going to give me? Come on, man. I’ve been dying to know. I just wasn’t sure if you guys were keeping it quiet or—”
“Yeah. We are.”
He nods once.
I drag a hand over the back of my neck. I wasthisclose to spilling the news to my mom on the phone this morning. Maybe if I get it off my chest, it won’t spill out of me so ridiculously at the family campout.
Or, you know…anywhere.
I can’t contain how I feel anymore. I’m crazy about them.
But talking about Korie without them here makes guilt twist in my stomach. I already know they aren’t ready to take this public.
“I’m happy for you, Holden.” Cole turns to lean against his desk, hands folded. “And honestly? It makes sense.”
I snort quietly. “It does?”
“Yeah, you guys have this weird little orbit around each other.” He gestures between us. “Like everybody else is standing still while you two are having a whole separate conversation. I thought it was just me, you know, being a third wheel. But no. I saw it when we took the boat out too.”
I can’t hide my smile. “Yeah. Hey, speaking of the boat, we really need to take that out again.”
Korie and I have been so wrapped up in our own little world that we haven’t made time for our friends lately. That needs to change.
“Sure. Just let me know when.” Cole shrugs. “But don’t change the subject. How long have you been together?”
My gaze catches on the therapy bands hanging from the wall, and I grab one, stretching it between my hands just to have something to do.
“A little over a month.”
“Oh, so it’s new?”
“You remember my sister?”
Cole nods.
“She made this joke a while back that Korie and I should pretend to date each other.” I shake my head. “She thought we could learn something from it. Like, it would improve our dating lives or something.”
Cole laughs once. “And you actually listened?”
“I know it sounds ridiculous.”
