Page 88 of Stay
“So…any idea what you want to order?”
I blink, trying to shake off the oppressiveness of the moment.
Pasta is out of the question. There’s no way I can stomach something so heavy. “I think I’ll just get a salad.”
His brows pinch together. “The spaghetti and meatballs are amazing. Sure you don’t want to try it?”
I shake my head before giving him a slight smile. Attempting to steer our conversation toward lighter terrain feels impossible afterwhat Cole shared. Part of me wants to come clean and blurt out everything just to get it out in the open.
Our server stops by to take our order, and within fifteen minutes, our plates are bought out. I’m even less hungry than I was before. I don’t know how much longer I can sit here and nervously pick at my salad.
Cole notices my lack of appetite. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.” This dinner hasn’t gone as expected.
He reaches across the table and nabs my fingers with his own. “I’m sorry, I wanted tonight to be nice. We’ve never really gone out before, and I wanted it to be special. That’s why I brought you here.” A hint of a smile curves his lips upward. “Note to self—don’t talk about dead father on first real date. Total buzzkill.”
I shake my head, unwilling to make light of such tragedy. My heart aches for Cole and all the things he missed out on with his father. It makes my own situation seem foolish because it’s self-inflicted.
“No, I’m glad you told me.” It doesn’t escape me that I want to know everything about him, even though I’d rather keep certain pieces of my past buried where no one can find them.
He squeezes my hand. “Are you ready to get out of here?”
I hate to admit it, but I’m relieved that dinner is over. At this point, I want to find a quiet place where we can talk.
“I need to use the bathroom and then we can leave.”
He nods as I slide from the booth and find the ladies’ room at the back of the restaurant. As I stand in front of the mirror, I give myself a silent pep talk.
I can do this.
I’ll tell him and everything will be just fine.
He’ll understand.
I straighten my shoulders before heading back to the table. My pace slows when I notice someone sitting across from Cole. A prickle of unease snakes down my spine as I realize it’s the guy I was dancing with at the party.
What’s he doing here, and why is he sitting with Cole?
My gaze flits to Cole just in time to see him shake his head as confusion settles across his features.
My feet feel frozen in place. I’m almost afraid to join them. It’s no more than a heartbeat later when Cole glances away from the guy and our gazes collide. I don’t have a clue what’s going on between them, but I can tell that something isn’t right.
“Cassidy.”
When he holds out his hand, I have no choice but to cross the space. As I reach the table, Cole grabs my fingers and pulls me down beside him in the booth.
Anxiety bubbles up inside me until it feels like I’ll choke on it.
Cole gestures toward the guy sitting across from him. “Cassidy, this is Luke Wellington. He plays hockey with me.”
I glance at Luke before my gaze snaps back to Cole. I have to remind myself that I didn’t do anything wrong when I danced with him a few nights ago. Other than that one interaction, what else could this be about?
“Luke thinks you two know each other.”
My heart pounds painfully against my ribcage as I admit, “He’s the one I danced with at the party Saturday night.”
Strangely enough, that explanation has Cole’s muscles relaxing. “I’m sure that’s it.” His gaze flickers to Luke before sliding to mine. “He thinks you two went to the same school last year. Luke is a junior and just transferred from out-of-state. I keep telling him that you’re a freshman and it’s your first year at Western.”
