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“Bathroom,” Cole mutters before pressing a kiss to the side of my head and unfolding himself from the bench we’re settled on.
Paige and Dash’s eyes track him as if he’s a creature in the zoo that fascinates them. Marianna smiles around at the crowded restaurant, and I finally take a moment to examine Cole’s friends.
They’re a cute couple, Paige all curves and beautiful blonde hair, while Dash is sharp angles and dark edges. Also, they’ve been nice to me from the second I sat down, despite my babbling.
Which is why I feel slightly guilty I’m about to scold them.
Only slightly though.
“Cole’s birthday was last week.”
Marianna refocuses on me, her mouth widening to a grin. Paige and Dash stare across the table at me, both appearing confused.
“That’s right,” Dash nods, as if he thinks I am looking for clarification.
“I found out when we were sitting in a bar and the bartender wished him a happy birthday after looking at his ID. Now, mind you, this was a last-minute plan to get a drink.” And admittedly had a very good conclusion, so I shouldn’t be complaining. But I can’t let this go. “So I’m wondering, what exactly would Cole have done if I hadn’t been able to spend half the day with him. On his birthday.”
I think they’re picking up what I’m putting down when Dash grimaces and Paige bites her lip.
“Cole gets breakfast with his dad on his birthday, and then he likes to spend the rest of the day on his own. I’ve known him for a few years now. The first couple, I tried to get him to do something. He didn’t want to. But that’s Cole. If he doesn’t want to do something, then he won’t.”
“But he didn’t spend the day alone. I was there,” I point out.
Instead of looking defensive or annoyed, Dash gives me an almost rakish grin. “You were. You know you’re the first person he’s introduced us to.”
“Romantic person,” Paige adds.
Oh, they’re good. Master topic changers. I’m so tempted to follow the trail they’re trying to lead me down, but I can’t let things go just yet.
“Please just tell me he got something more than the horrible day I unknowingly doled out.”
“Horrible day? Hmm, this sounds like a good story.” Marianna leans her elbow on the table, chin in her hand, gorgeous eyes on me.
And all my words become as easy to grasp as bubbles, popping into nothingness when I attempt to catch one and give it to her.
“I’m sure it wasn’t bad,” Paige offers with a reassuring smile.
That refocuses me.
“We went to acemetery.”
“The cemetery tours are interesting. I was planning on taking Marianna on one before she leaves,” the blonde offers.
“We didn’t go as tourists. He escorted me to my dad’s grave.”
“Oh. Um. How did that go?” Paige cringes even as she asks the question.
“Well it went fine for me because I didn’t have to cry alone. But it wasn’t my birthday.”
Paige reaches across the table, twining her fingers with mine in an almost intimate gesture that I find immensely comforting. “For Cole’s birthday, Dash installed a new sound system in his truck, and I got him a subscription to the magazineWriter’s Digest. The night before his birthday, we went to his place, made him dinner, and drank some beer around his fire pit.”
Cole has a fire pit? I need to check that out.
“If he wanted to spend the day with us, we would’ve dropped everything in a second, and he knows that. But he didn’t even text us. So, whatever Cole did on his birthday was his choice. It was what he wanted to do.”
“Or who he wanted to do,” Marianna murmurs with a wicked smirk.
Damn, my face feels hot.
