A chair appears beside me only a second before Holden sinks into it. He flashes me a smile before snagging a Cheeto from my plate. “Didn’t see you come in.”
“Just got here a little bit ago.”
“Why so late?”
It’s a fair question. The barbecue started a couple of hours ago. Most of the food is already picked over.
“I got off work late,” I explain.And had to run by the department store for a card.Nothing like always forgetting things at the last minute. At least I bought the gifts beforehand. That counts, right?
I tip my head toward Caleb. “How’s your brother?”
Holden’s gaze darts across the yard, expression unreadable. “I don’t know, honestly. He hasn’t said much.”
My concern for him grows. Has Holden picked up on his mood, or am I reading too much into things? I don’t know Caleb as well as Holden does.
After a moment, Holden steals a few more chips from my plate. Uninterested, I offer the entire plate to him. His mouth falls open in shock.
“Seriously?”
I shrug. “I ate at work.” It’s a lie. I’ve hardly eaten today.
He accepts the plate, then quickly leans to one side to pull his phone from his pocket. After skimming a text, he replies using one hand and shoves it away. The smile he had been wearing fades a little.
“Everything okay?”
He whips his head toward me. “Huh? Oh. Yeah. That was Gage. He’s confirming plans for tomorrow night.”
“Still going out?”
“Yeah. We’re meeting there, though, since I’ll be coming from work.”
I stop myself from asking for more details. I can only handle listening about Holden’s constantly rotating dates when I’m in a good mood.
“I’m kind of nervous,” Holden admits quietly. “Is that weird?”
“For you? A little.” I throw him a wry smile.
He laughs softly, then drops his head back on the chair. His blond hair is lighter than usual in the sun. It’s a long time before he speaks. “I don’t know, Kor. I think I’m getting tired of this.”
“What?”
“Dating. It’s getting old.”
I nudge him with my foot. “No, don’t do that. Don’t get a bad attitude before you go. You’ll doom it before it even begins.”
“I’m not. I just—I don’t know.” He sighs and snags another chip, but doesn’t eat it. Instead, he rolls it between his fingers, lost in thought.
“Seriously. You need to go, for both our sake,” I say.
Hattie pulls up a chair next to us. “Go where?”
“Go on the date with Gage,” I say.
Holden barely hears her, eyes narrowed at me. “What does that mean? For both our sake?”
I shrug. “I just mean that if you stop dating, you’ll eventually start avoiding it like I do, and then we’ll both be in trouble.”
His bright blue eyes narrow even further.
