AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He continues to ride out his laughing fit with little concern for the fact that I’m glaring at him and only two inches from a steak knife.
“Gabe!” I shout, causing not only everyone around us to jerk their gaze in my direction, but also Gabe to shake out of his amusement.
His face is still beet-red from the lack of airflow, but he manages to bring his laughter down from a ten to about a two. “You’re serious?”
“As death.”
“Damn,” he says with a sigh as he leans back in his chair, his eyes not leaving mine. “How did that happen?”
I shrug, not wanting to unpack all of that right now.
“Okay, well, what did you do?”
Once again, I shrug, at a complete loss as to what transpired to cause all of this shit to happen.
“And she won’t talk to you?”
“Sage wouldn’t even let me in the door.”
“Do you want me to…?”
“No, involving you would no doubt just piss her off more.”
He nods in agreement before leaning in to meet my gaze. “Are you okay?”
I think on it for a moment, my eyes locked on his in silence. Am I okay? I’ve spent the better part of my day trying to get information out of Jackson without divulging too much information. By the time he started prying about why I care, I left to meet Gabe for an early dinner.
“I’ll be a hell of a lot better once my girlfriend gives me the time of day.”
“Girlfriend?” His eyes go wide, the amusement from before on full display.
“Until she tells me otherwise, yeah.”
“Well shit.” He sinks back into his chair as he presses his water glass to his lips.
I’ve known Gabe most of my life. We weren’t super close as kids, but started hanging out a lot in high school. He always knew about Hannah, so when everything hit the fan that summer, he was my sounding board through it all. He is privy to the intricacies of mine and Hannah’s relationship far more than most people.
“It’s Hannah,” he sighs as the waiter approaches, filling our water glasses.
We place our orders and I opt to get the chicken penne. I might as well see what all the fuss is about. Our server walks out of earshot before I lean in toward the table.
“And?”
“What?”
“You said ‘It’s Hannah,’ then didn’t say anything after that…”
“Oh yeah, sorry. I’m just saying, it’s Hannah. She’s never given you the silent treatment for more than a day. I don’t know that she has it in her to not tell you what she thinks of you. Give her time—she’ll come around.”
I hope he’s right, but there is a nagging voice in the back of my mind telling me that it might not happen this time. Whatever I did has her ready to toss me aside; I don’t know that she has ever been this mad at me. Maybe the summer we hooked up, but even then, she talked to me.
“Fingers crossed, I guess.”
Our meals arrive within minutes—a perk of eating dinner at four o’clock. An elderly couple two tables over turns to peer at me as I take my first bite of chicken penne, no doubt shocked by the two young men mixed in with the over-sixty-five crowd.
The creamy cheese sauce coats my tongue with warmth as I shovel my first bite of pasta into my mouth. It might not be Andre’s signature roast chicken, but it’ll do just fine.
“Does Jackson know?” Gabe asks as he takes his last bite of steak.
