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“Um, for Nicole’s birthday. Those cards aren’t exactly a conventional way to RSVP to an invitation,” I grumble. “But still, seeing those landmarks from nearby is exciting. I hope you can make it. And since you’re so close, maybe you can stop in and visit with me, too. I’ll make room in my schedule. Maybe we could spend a week together or something.”
Headlights flash across my living room as a car pulls into the driveway outside.
“I miss you,” I continue. “It feels like it’s been forever since we last talked, so a call back would be kinda nice.”
The sound of a car door opening. Then closing.
“We’re only two weeks out from the party, so let me know, okay?”
Heavy footsteps on the stoop outside, so I turn from the living room and make my way back to my front door. Swinging it wide and spying my friend on the other side, I grin when Raul slides his phone into his pocket and lifts a bag of Chinese take away in one hand, and a six-pack of wine coolers in the other.
Technically, I’m not even supposed to drink yet, what with my twenty-first birthday still ten months away. But this is what older friends are for, right? Buying alcohol and padding its effects with noodles.
I step to the side and nod toward the living room, then I bring my attention back to my one-sided phone call—which is bound to time-out on me any second now.
“Anyway. I’ll try to call you again tomorrow, since we’re getting close to the party and we kinda need a concrete answer. Plus, taking a week off work is a big deal, so the more time I have to plan for that, the better.”
I close the door as Raul passes, then turn to follow him into the living room. He wears jeans today, and a navy button-up, with a white shirt peeking out from beneath that. His hair is freshly combed, and the small smattering of fuzz he keeps above and below his lips is trimmed and tidy.
He’s Raul. Dependable and sweet.
“I love you,” I babble quickly. “Call me back as soon as you can, please.”
Bringing the phone from my ear and killing the call at the same time the message beeps and tells me I took too long, I stop in the doorway and smile as Raul opens his bag of food and sets containers out on the coffee table.
Rice. Pork. Even egg rolls, which might be my favorite part of Chinese takeout night.
“Hey, Han.” When I remain silent, he glances over his shoulder and grins. “Have a good chat with your mom?”
“With her voicemail.” I lift my hand to wave my phone, then I lower it again and breathe out a gentle sigh. “Hopefully she calls back soon.” Then I nod toward the food on the table. “You felt like Chinese?”
“Ialwaysfeel like Chinese.” He perches his ass on the edge of the couch and opens the container of egg rolls. He knows my weakness. “You don’t?”
“No, I do.” I set my phone on the arm of the couch and come around to sit down on Raul’s left. Snatching up the television remote and searching for something to watch, I accept a cooler and settle in to relax. “I needed this more than you know.”
“Kinda figured you did.” He offers me a set of chopsticks, though we both know I’ll use them to stab my food, rather than implement the technique they’re intended for. “You seem more tired than usual.” Passing me a container of chicken and vegetables in oyster sauce, he grabs the pork and sits back so our shoulders touch and his head rests against the back of the couch like mine. “Everything okay?”
“Just busy.” Balancing my food in my lap, I hold my drink in one hand and the remote in the other until I find a competition reality show that’ll fulfill my need for brainless television. And while I do that, I ignore the vibration of incoming texts on my left. “We have that event this weekend that might spell my death.”
When he looks across, a single thick brow raised, I snicker and set the remote down. “Okay, that was dramatic. But still, I’m stressed. The event is massive, requiring a lot of prep, and once we get through to the other side, then we back it up and do it again for Nicole’s birthday. Plus, Alan and I went out for the third time last night, so I’m tired from that, and—”
“You went outagain?” He sets his boots on the edge of the coffee table and settles in to relax. “You didn’t say you’d organized something.”
I shrug and toss a piece of steaming chicken into my mouth. “It was a spontaneous thing. He just dropped by around seven last night. Said he was in the area, and asked if I wanted to go for a drive.”
“In the area?” Now his second brow shoots high. “No one is everin the area, Han. He came here to see you. You know that, right?”
“Yeah.” I take my wine cooler and tip my head back to wash the too-hot food down my throat. “He’s still kinda shy, so instead of saying he came here hoping to catch me with free time, he took the indirect approach. But we drove around for a couple of hours, visited Lookout Hill.”
He uses his chopsticks the correct way and tosses a chunk of pork into his mouth. “Dude’s moving straight into seduction territory, huh?”
“Stop it.” A rosy blush fills my cheeks, because Raul isn’t completely wrong. Alan is still holding doors, paying for meals, and driving from the city to see me. But while he’s been entirely chivalrous the past two weeks, everyone knows Lookout Hill is where lovers go to make out. “We kissed a little bit.”
He whistles under his breath and turns back to watch the TV. But his chest moves with almost silent laughter. “Big move. So you’re gonna dump him, right?”
“Yup.” I choke out a laugh and lean to my right to rest my head on his shoulder. “He’s perfect. I can’t findanythingwrong with him.”
“But?”
