“I think she’s in the garage helping Poppy unload drinks in the cooler,” I say. I start washing the burned pan in the sink.
Nick leans against the counter next to me and grins. “So last night I heard some interesting noises coming out of your bedroom.”
I don’t look up from the dishes I’m washing.
“Was that you or Briar making that high-pitched moaning sound?”
I frown at him. “Dude. Don’t be gross.”
Nick bumps my shoulder and grins. “When were you gonna tell us that you and Briar finally crashed through the friend zone?”
“Wait, you and Briar are dating now?” Leo asks.
I turn off the water and dry my hands on a kitchen towel. “We’re not dating. We’re just having fun.”
Nick’s grin turns smug. Leo quirks his eyebrow at me.
Nick shoves my shoulder again. “Dude, get real. We all know how much you like her. You’ve always liked her. You wanna be with her.”
I huff out a breath. “Yeah. I do. But she’s pretty skittish after the way her ex treated her. She wants to go slow. She doesn’t want to put a label on us. She doesn’t want the pressure.”
Nick’s expression turns thoughtful. Leo nods along.
“I’m just trying to follow her lead. I don’t want to scare her off by coming on too strong,” I say.
“Yeah, I get it,” Nick says.
“That sucks her ex was a jerk,” Leo says.
I grit my teeth just thinking about what he did to her. How he hurt her.
“He was a fucking asshole.” I don’t say more. Briar confided in me when she told me what he did. I swore I wouldn’t tell anyone.
Nick pats my shoulder. “She’ll come around. I see the way she looks at you. She likes you, man. A lot. But you’re right not to pressure her. Just show her you can be patient with her. It won’t be long before she’s ready to call you her boyfriend. You’ll see.”
A hopeful feeling courses through me.
“You sound pretty confident,” Leo says to Nick. “When did you become the dating expert?”
Nick chuckles. “I’m not. I just know what it’s like to be into a girl who needs more time to decide if she likes me the same way.”
“Is that what happened with you and Poppy?” I ask.
“Yeah. And look how that worked out.” He flashes that cocky grin.
I roll my eyes, but I’m smiling.
A minute later, Poppy and Briar walk into the kitchen.
“Drinks are loaded into the cooler,” Poppy says.
Nick walks up to her, grabs her waist, and pulls her against him. “I missed you.”
Poppy chuckles. “I was gone for less than ten minutes.”
“That was the longest ten minutes of my life,” he growls before kissing her.
I toss a kitchen towel at him. It lands on his head. Briar laughs.
