Page 40 of Reaching Roland

By the time I was done, they all stared at me. Joshua’s mouth hung open like he was in shock, Knight’s face morphed between concerned and wanting to be happy for me, but Ace beamed at me. Of course, he recovered the ability to speak first. “That’s awesome, little buddy. I really hope this works out for you.”

“Thanks, Ace. I hope so, too.”

“He sounds like a pretty decent guy,” Knight admitted.

“He’s the best.”

“Then why didn’t you bring him down to the LBB for fireworks?” he asked, sounding suspicious.

“Because we both had to work today, and Sunrise Park is closer. It took forever to get out of the parking lot and back on the Parkway as it was.”

Joshua nodded. “That’s true, and the traffic down to us only gets worse once you pass the exit for Sunrise Park. I think that was a good call.”

“Thank you.” I waited, but he didn't say anything else, so I prompted him. “Joshua?”

His eyes went wide. “What?”

“Roland. My date. What do you think?”

He shrugged. “If you want him, then I’m happy he asked you out.”

Ace snorted. “Mr. Workaholic can’t imagine willingly giving up his evenings to date someone when he could be at home working after a long day of work.”

“Hey!” Joshua protested.

Knight still watched me warily, but he let himself be pulled into their squabble when Joshua begged him to make Ace leave him alone. I chuckled. I’d missed my friends. I didn’t really realize how much until I saw their faces, and they gave me the exact reaction to my date that I’d expected. While they carried on, I went back to my text convo with Will and bit back a laugh. Poor guy. I’d really left him hanging.

Will:No. I know nothing.

Will:Are you going to tell me?

Will:Kenny, where did you go?

Will:Ugh. I can’t believe you started this and now you’re ignoring me. I’m going to explode.

Will:If you don’t text me back, I’m going to make Daddy drive me over to your place.

I snorted. Not only would he do exactly that, but John would further enable him by doing it.

Me:I’m here.

Me:Sooooo… guess what happened last night?

Will:What was last night? 4th of July? Did you go out?

Me:Yeah, I did. Roland and I went down to Sunrise Park.

Will:Roland? I swear Cameron or Indie told me he hated the beach.

I smiled smugly, glad he couldn’t see my face. Roland didn’t love the beach, but he’d gone for me, to make me happy. And whether he admitted it or not, we had a good time. A fantastic time if you counted the kiss.

Me:He doesn’t, but we did, and he…

Will:Kenny, I swear to all that is holy, I’m going to… I don’t know what, but I’ll do it if you don’t tell me.

Me:He asked me out!!! Will, he’s taking me on a date Saturday night.

My phone rang, and Will’s name popped up on the screen. “Hello.”

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