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Cole:Dinner w/ my friends tonight?
My mind stumbles. Cole is asking me out. To eat food. With his friends.
Is this a ‘meet the girl I made out with and maybe want to do dirty things with in a bed’ kind of friend dinner?
Or is it a ‘shit I kissed this girl but I only wanted to hang out with her in a platonic fashion so I’m going to incorporate her into my existing friend group dinner?
My phone buzzes again.
Cole:I can drive. Dinner at 7. I can be at your place early if you want to make out before we go.
Well, cross reason number two off my list. My heart starts up its heavy beating, seeming to double in size and claim much-needed space from my lungs in my chest cavity.
I’m having trouble breathing.
But that doesn’t affect my thumbs’ ability to type. A nervous giggle escapes as I read back my scandalous message.
Summer:I took the bus and work till 6. Pick me up then and we can make out in your truck.
Cole’s response is immediate.
Cole:Yes.
Chapter Twenty-Three
SUMMER
“You look beautiful.” Cole’s words shock me.
It’s as if he was rummaging around in my brain, hearing all the insecurities I was cycling through in regards to my outfit. I have on my preferred work attire: a T-shirt dress and an overlarge cardigan. Super comfortable, easy to move around in, but not exactly what one might wear to impress a guy’s friends.
Do I need to impress his friends?
No.
Do I want to?
Hell yes. Life is easier when people like you. Plus, I want to get on their good sides so I can figure out more about Cole.
The bad boy who calls me beautiful.
“Thank you. You’re beautiful, too.” And I mean it. Cole’s wearing a black dress shirt, the sleeves rolled up to show off his inked forearms. The illustrations on his skin paired with his lean build give him a fierce appearance, like one of his dragons.
And to me, that’s beautiful.
Cole glances my way briefly before refocusing his eyes on the road. He doesn’t ask if my compliment was a mistake or a slip of the tongue. He doesn’t correct me, saying I meant to say handsome. He just accepts that I think he’s beautiful.
Or he thinks I’m joking and doesn’t laugh.
It’s hard to read Cole. Which only makes me want to more. He’s a banned book I’m not supposed to take off the shelf. But every flip of the page feels too good against my fingers to put him back.
“Do you think your friends will mind I’m crashing dinner?”
“They asked me to invite you.”
“Really?”He talks about me with his friends?
“Paige did.” He reaches across the center consul to twine his fingers with my fidgeting hand. “You’ll meet her, Dash, and maybe Paige’s friend from New York.”
