Hattie gasps. “Nothing?” She slaps her hand dramatically on the table. “Dammit, you poor guy. I really thought you two had something.”
He groans. “Hattie—”
“No, no,” she insists, leaning in closer, eyes gleaming. “I know what that sigh means. That means it was bad.”
Mateo snorts. “That’s exactly what it means. Another crappy date for our boy Holden.”
Holden drags a hand down his face. “Can we not—”
“You know what,” Hattie cuts in, suddenly sitting up again like she’s just had the best idea of her life. She looks between Holden and me like we’re two pieces of a puzzle. “You guys should date each other.”
Everything stops.
Like—actually stops.
And then everyone bursts into laughter.
“What?” Holden and I say at the exact same time.
“No,” I add immediately, shaking my head. “Absolutely not.”
Hattie waves us off like we’re being ridiculous. “Not likeactuallydate,” she says, like it’s obvious. “But like, fake date.”
I wrinkle my nose. “That’s somehow worse.”
“I’m serious!” She points between us. “Korie said they don’t like all this dating stuff either, right?”Gee, thanks. Throw me under the bus, why don’t ya?“And Holden clearly sucks at it—”
“Hey,” Holden protests.
“—so,” she barrels on, ignoring him, “if you date each other, you can figure out what the other is doing wrong so you can do better.”
Camila actually nods as if Hattie is onto something. Even Mateo seems mildly interested, dark eyes darting between us.
“I don’t date,” I say firmly.
Holden straightens a little. “Who says I’m doing anything wrong?”
There’s a defensive edge to his tone that makes something in my chest tighten.
I jump in quickly. “And anyway, no. We’re not doing this.”
But Hattie has that look in her eyes like she’s latched onto something and isn’t letting go.
“Why not? It could be fun!” She’s practically bouncing. If she was standing, she’d totally have a hand on one hip. “Like an experiment. You can practice all the dating stuff on each other and give each other pointers. Asking each other out, opening doors. All that shit.”
“Even kissing,” Miles throws in, just to be cruel. “Orrrr not.” He throws his hands up when I shoot him a look.
“Hattie,” I say again, firmer this time. “Drop it. We’re not doing this.”
She opens her mouth to argue again, but gets distracted when someone approaches the table. We all turn just as Jordan swings his arms around Miles’ shoulders from behind and kisses him on the cheek.
Miles lights up immediately, his entire face softening in a way that makes my chest ache a little. “Hey, baby.”
He turns to kiss Jordan for real, all casual and effortless, like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
God, they’re so perfect together. They fit so well. That’s the only way I can describe it. Like two pieces that just… belong together.
A quiet, familiar ache grows inside me, and I focus on the nearly empty glass in my hand.
