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“No, that’s the ringtone for my mom.” He pulls his phone out after he parks and presses Ignore on the call. Even though I really want to, I don’t tell him that he should have answered because you never know if it’s an emergency. I also don’t ask him what his mom did to deserve that ringtone. “I’ll be right back.” He looks around the dark lot in front of the small restaurant, then frowns slightly. “Or maybe you should come inside with me.”
“I’ll be okay.” I roll my eyes.
“All right, then I’ll leave my phone with you.” He passes it over. “The code is…”
“Six-seven-two-nine,” I cut him off. “I still remember… well, unless you changed it.”
“It’s still the same.” He gets out of the car but stops, ducking his head to look inside at me. “Be right back.”
“I’ll be here.” I watch him shut the door, then head to the restaurant. When he gets there, his eyes come to me for a moment before he disappears inside. With the car still running, I look at the screen of his cell and tap it so that it comes to life. Along with the missed call from his mom are a few texts, but I can’t see who they’re from.
I bite my lip to keep myself from typing in his code and snooping, because that would be a complete breach of privacy. Right?
Right.
I click the side of the phone, which turns the screen off, and then jump when the driver door is opened.
“Didn’t mean to scare you.” He slides in behind the wheel, and I take the bag of food before he can put it into the back seat through the space between us. My stomach growls from the familiar smell, and my mouth starts to water. “Hungry?”
“I wasn’t, but now I feel like I’m starving.” I laugh as he drives out of the lot.
“Do you want to eat at your place or mine?”
“Probably mine, so I can get my phone in case anyone is trying to call me,” I tell him, and comfortable silence fills the space between us.
When we get to the house, he parks in the driveway and tells me to wait to get out, then he opens my door and takes the bag of food from me. I expect the house to be quiet when I let us both inside, but it’s not. Instead, I can hear people talking.
“Fuck,” Aiden mumbles, catching my gaze, probably realizing like me that while we were gone everyone came home.
“There you are.” Willow comes around the corner, smiling. “I tried calling you, but you didn’t answer.”
“I forgot my phone.” I point at the bag of food Aiden is holding as her eyes ping between the two of us. “We went out to pick up dinner.”
“Nice, we just decided to bring the party here and got the stuff to have a bonfire on the beach.” Her eyes lock with mine. “We even got stuff to make s’mores.”
“Yum.”
“Right?” She grins. “The girls just headed outside. Come join us when you’re done eating.”
“Sure,” I agree as we follow her into the kitchen area, and Aiden places the bag of food on the counter. As he talks with Carlo, I unpack everything from the bag, then go to the fridge. Besides wine coolers and beer, there aren’t many options, so I grab a couple of bottles of water.
“See you guys outside in a few,” Carlo calls before heading out, and I give him a small smile, taking a seat at the counter. I unwrap my beef patty from the small paper bag it’s wrapped in and take a huge bite as Aiden sits down next to me on a stool.
“Good?” he asks, studying me with a smile, and I nod while I chew, then swallow.
“So good.”
“Do you want to try it?” I hold out the orange, flaky, meat-stuffed pastry toward him, and he surprises me by leaning in to take a bite.
“Damn,” he mutters while chewing, and I can’t seem to drag my eyes off his mouth. “That is good.”
“Told you.” I clear my throat and place the patty down on the bag it came in, opening my meal and realizing the portion is big enough for two people. “I think we could have shared.” I glance over, seeing he got the same thing as me. “There is no way I’ll be able to eat all this, and I’m leaving early tomorrow, so I can’t even have the rest for breakfast or lunch.”
“We can still share. I’m sure the guys will eat this tonight or tomorrow.” He closes the lid on his, then gets up off his stool. “Do you know where they keep the plates?”
“Above the dishwasher.” I point across the kitchen, and he opens the cabinet, pulling out one plate before bringing it over to where I’m still seated.
“Take what you want, then leave me the rest,” he says, and I do, which means I leave most in the container, especially since I still have half the patty left to eat. “What time is your flight in the morning?”
“Seven fifteen.” My nose scrunches as I think about having to wake up at five so I’ll have enough time to get ready and make it to the airport.
“I can take you,” he says as I lift a forkful of food toward my mouth, and I meet his gaze.
