Something warm fills my chest. “I know. We have so many. But there’s got to be one, though.”
“Oh! I know. Have I ever told you about the animal sanctuary in Texas?”
I reach for a roll. “No.”
He laughs at something only he can remember. “We were seven, I think? And Hattie had been so desperate to see the flamingos. It’s all she could talk about for days leading up to the park. But when we got there, their habitat was shut down for renovations. She was so crushed. Big ol’ crocodile tears and everything. So Caleb and I did anything we could to get her to smile. He even pulled me into the gift store, where we bought matching pink sweatpants and sweatshirts, and these ridiculous masks that looked like flamingo beaks.” Holden sits back, shaking his head. “We came out, walking together like herding flamingos, then paused in front of her and bent one knee up. Caleb even bent over, as if hiding his face in the sand. Hattie laughed so hard she almost peed her pants. It was so worth it.”
I smile at the story. It’s so like Holden to go out of his way like that for people he loves. So why doesn’t he do it for his dates?
The heat of the fire is starting to get to me, so I shed my jacket and drape it over the back of the chair. My shirt glitters from the lights and I look around, hoping no one is paying too close attention.
We swap a few more stories, and as Holden speaks, he eyes the sautéed mushrooms on my plate with deep longing.
“Do you want one?”
He looks up, but doesn’t reach for it.
I stab a mushroom with my fork and hold it out to him.
“What? No, I—”
“Just take it.”
He still hesitates. “I was trying to behave,” he says softly before leaning in to take the bite.
I catch myself grinning.Oops.Right. It’s bad manners to eat off a date’s plate. But old habits and all that.
Holden covers his mouth. “That’s amazing.”
“Isn’t it? Here, try this too.” I stab a piece of roast beef from the Korean plate and offer it to him.
Holden shakes his head in amusement, accepting the bite.
The rest of the meal goes like that—sharing, laughing, talking. Basically doing everything exactly as we always do. It’s so normal that I am genuinely confused when Holden starts gathering our utensils and empty plates.
“What… what are you doing?”
“Cleaning up for you,” he says, like it’s obvious.
I blink. He’s literally never done that before. We’ve always shared the tasks, because it’s our own food. Food we share, yes, but still our own food.
Holden is too quick for me to help, taking the trays to the trash and sorting the dishes into their appropriate bins. When hereturns, he slides his chair in, then reaches for my coat, draping it over an arm before offering me his other one.
“Shall we?”
It boggles my mind that he’s actually trying here. Holden is actually taking this seriously.
“Ten more points,” I whisper, linking arms.
He grins proudly.
Something in me does a funny little dance as we walk outside. I’ve had so much fun tonight, even if we were just being ourselves.
“You know, if this were a real date, you should ask me to do something else,” I say with a wry smile. “I mean, if you’re having a good time that is. You should always ask your date to do something else.”
Holden turns to me. “Do you want to?”
I make a dramatic, annoyed face. “Well, I don’tnow. You’re not very convincing.”
