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Will’s face contorted into comical horror as he realized he’d almost hit Shelby with the door. He gestured with a drink carrier in one hand and a tray of tacos in the other. “Ah, so sorry. I didn’t expect it to rocket open like that. I guess I don’t know my own strength, huh?”
Shaking her head, Shelby chuckled. “It’s fine. Who are you feeding with all that?”
Will nodded to a petite blonde sitting at one of the picnic tables on the side of the building. “Her name is Amber. She lives in Beaufort but we came down for the small-town vibes, you know? I’ll see you guys later.”
I rolled my eyes at him. Will was a bit of a player. He always had been. It was always amusing to me that the girls he dated always seemed to know that and didn’t care. It was like they thought they could be the one to finally chain him down or something. Well, if history meant anything, that wasn’t likely to happen. No matter how smart or funny or kind or—let’s face it—hota girl was, I’d bet my last dollar that Will would never settle down for real. He had some pretty dark reasons for it, unfortunately, but they were his reasons.
“See you at home,” I called to his back as he went to join his date.
Will got orders to Beaufort right around the same time I did. Though we’d requested it, we’d been ridiculously surprised when it actually got approved. It was probably because he had just gotten done being a drill instructor in San Diego and I’d just finished up recruiting. Once you did a stint on one of those two duties, you pretty much got to pick where you went next. Now we’re roomies in our old stomping grounds and carpool the forty minutes to the base.
Shelby and I went into the shop, and I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of freshly cooked tortillas and the blend of cinnamon and spice. “I’m starving.”
“Same.”
“Are you getting the usual?” I asked as we stepped up to the counter. Shelby gave me a face that screamedduhand I smiled, turning to the teen girl working the register. “Yeah, stupid question, I guess. Hi. We’ll have two carne asada tacos, two al pastor, and one carnitas. And two horchatas, please.”
She rang our order up, then handed us our drinks and pick-up number. Shelby took her horchata from me and sipped, closing her eyes as she tasted the smooth, sweet drink. “Ah, I needed that. And thanks, I’ll get it next time.”
“Sounds good,” I replied, sipping my own drink.
We always took turns paying for efficiency’s sake, but age-old dating rules always made my imagination go wild when it was my turn to pay. It didn’t ever last long though, since inevitably sanity would prevail and I would remember that paying for a girl’s food didn’t make it a date any more than her paying would make itnota date if itwereone.
“So, everyone is ready to hide until the right moment as far as your friends and family go,” Shelby said.
“Oh yeah?” Nerves crept up the back of my neck at the thought of the crowd this proposal would amass. I knew it was my idea, but still. Now that it was so close to happening, it was probably normal for me to be nervous.
Shelby sipped her drink. “Yeah, I followed up today to make sure they knew where they were supposed to be. We’ve got Will, Aria, your parents, and Roxy’s parents. Nate’s flight should land in time for him to get over to his designated spot.”
“I still can’t believe Nate is coming in for this.”
She smirked. “Well, to be fair, he’s not really coming in forthis. It was a great excuse to visit Chelsea.”
“Good point.”
My cousin Nate only lasted three months before he stepped into the recruiting office and followed in mine and Will’s footsteps. He was currently stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in California. He and his on-again, off-again girlfriend drove us all nuts. They clearly weren’t meant for each other, and yet they just kept trying again and again.
Shelby and I got our tacos and went outside to the patio where Will had gone earlier. The string lights overhead cast a warm, amber glow over the diners, and Will looked up and nodded when he saw us. He didn’t wave me over, though, which I knew he would have done if the date hadn’t been going well, so I gestured to a table at the end. Shelby headed that way, and when we sat, I noticed her drop down slightly, almost like her legs couldn’t bear the weight of lowering her slowly into the chair.
Finally, she took a bite of her taco, and something inside of me loosened that I hadn’t even realized was tight. Good. Food. She’d feel better after she ate. We ate in silence for a bit, then she put the last bite of her first taco down and leaned back.
I scoffed. “You can’t leave the last bite.”
“What?”
“Everyone knows the last bite of anything is sacred.”
“That’s totally not a thing.”
“Yes, it totally is.”
Shaking her head, she leaned forward, with more than a normal amount of effort, and finished the last bite. “Happy?” she asked, mouth full of carne asada and tortilla.
“Well, I’m not horrified anymore, so sure.” I gave her a quick smile, but something stirred within me. I couldn’t shake the feeling there was something going on that she wasn’t telling me, though I hadn’t been in town for very long, so I was still getting used to hanging out with her in person. Maybe this was normal on a bad day.
For the rest of the meal—or at least, while I ate my other two tacos and then her second one because she’d insisted it was going in the trash if I didn’t—we just hung out. Casual. Light. No more talk about the proposal, so my nerves finally calmed down. Plus, she seemed to feel better and better the longer she rested, and the food going to work in her system probably didn’t hurt, either.
It was just us, being friends, sharing a meal in a very date-like setting without any of the romance that probably would have been there if we really were meant to be together. Which we weren’t. So, I could go into my proposal tomorrow feeling confident that I was doing exactly what Shelby wanted me to do.
