Page 4 of Man of the Month Club: May
Daphne accepts his offered hand and stands. When he gallantly offers her his elbow to escort her out, she gives me an uncertain look. I shrug my shoulders, trying not to care that my date is more interested in impressing my friend than me.
Turning to the group, Cooper gives them a wave and says, “Ladies, it has been a pleasure. Until next time…”
The women yell out goodbyes and well-wishes for our date as Cooper leads Daphne away from the table. I remain frozen in place, stung that he’s completely ignoring me.
When Summer lightly nudges my arm, I move to stand up. Cooper and Daphne are already almost to the door of the bar when I mutter under my breath, “No, no… Don’t worry about me. I’ll catch up.”
With a frustrated huff, I follow the blasted man and my best friend outside.
4
Cooper
Once we are outside on the sidewalk, I say to Daphne in a voice loud enough for Poppy to overhear, “My car is several blocks away, and I don’t particularly want to ride with Poppy. It’s a lovely evening. How about if we walk to Wendy’s?”
Daphne turns toward her friend to get her opinion, obviously uncomfortable with how I’m treating the other woman. I know I’m being a jerk, but I can’t seem to help it. Something about Poppy fires me up beyond reason. It’s maddening.
At Poppy’s ambivalent shrug of her shoulders, Daphne answers, “Walking sounds wonderful. I just love getting fresh air. Don’t you?”
I nod as I wheel her around toward the restaurant and begin walking at a slow pace. Poppy trails along behind us, until Daphne turns back to say, “Come up here with us.”
Left with the choice of walking on my free side or beside her best friend, Poppy chooses Daphne. Once the three of us are in alignment, it strikes me how this would look to an outside observer. Since my elbow is locked with Daphne’s, it would be logical to assume that she is my date and Poppy is the third wheel.
Hopefully, Ben won’t drive by us and see this, or I’ll have some explaining to do. Obviously, I’m not interested in stealing my brother’s girlfriend, but I’m even less interested in getting to know her obnoxious best friend.
We arrive safely at the restaurant without being spotted by my brother. Once we’re inside, we stare up at the menu. Daphne sounds truly astounded when she says, “Everything looks and smells delicious. How are we ever going to decide?”
From anyone else, her words would sound sarcastic or cheesy, but Daphne’s childlike wonder is contagious. Just as I’m getting ready to answer, my brother walks up behind her, wraps his arms around her and says, “Try one of each.”
She turns and beams up at him before saying, “I can’t do that, but we can come back here again, right?”
“Absolutely,” he assures her.
Evidently liking his answer, she tips up onto the balls of her feet to press a sweet kiss to his lips. Ben keeps his face close to hers as he stares down at her with a loving gaze that I’ve never seen him shower on anyone. It’s obvious that if we weren’t in public, the two of them would be all over each other.
Poppy rolls her eyes before grouching, “Get a room.”
At her sarcastic comment, the two of them reluctantly pull apart, but Ben keeps a possessive arm locked around Daphne’s shoulders.
When we are called up to the counter to order, Poppy goes first. She pulls out her wallet to pay, so I step forward to add my order on to hers.
“I can pay for my own food,” she tells me firmly.
“I know, but since this is officially a date, I should buy,” I offer.
She immediately fires back, “But you don’t even want to be here.”
I can’t deny the truth in that. As I try to think of a comeback, Ben steps forward to say, “Tell you what… Both of you get whatever you want, and I’ll pay.”
“Don’t go overboard, big spender,” I tease my kid brother, trying to ease the awkwardness that normally accompanies any money discussions that happen between us. I’m financially successful by most measures, but thanks to Ben’s wildly popular comic strip and its merchandising deals, he is a multi-millionaire. As the older, more responsible brother, I had always assumed that I would be the one making the big bucks, so it smarts that Ben is in a completely different league money-wise––even though I try to be happy for him.
“You can buy next time, when we go someplace more expensive,” he teases me, effectively releasing the tension.
“Gee, thanks,” I mutter good-naturedly.
Once we have our trays of food, we find a table and sit down. Daphne is overjoyed as she dives into her bacon cheeseburger, and she isn’t shy about making ecstatic noises and groans as she relishes it.
Ben gives her a half-lidded, desirous gaze as he murmurs, “It should be illegal for you to be this sexy.”
