Page 52 of Dove
“Your birthday’s soon,” I mentioned. An obvious attempt to change the subject to chase the sadness from his eyes.
“Next week,” Josh agreed, pushing off from where he was leaning to take a few steps toward me until he was close enough to rub a finger between Omen’s eyes, who squirmed in my arms at the attention. I likely had a few more seconds before he’d jump straight into Josh’s arms.
Omen made a choked off meow, and I huffed, depositing him into Josh’s hold. “Fine, go on then, traitor.” Omen’s content purr was his response.
“Are you planning on going out with Eddie?” I asked as nonchalantly as I could, slipping my hands into my back pockets. “Like he offered?”
Josh’s large hand nearly engulfed poor Omen as he pet him, but the cat looked pleased as punch to be curled up in his arms.
I glanced away, hating that I was envious over a damncatof all things.
Josh looked up at me, then back down. “Maybe.” Then a sly grin broke out onto his face. “Why? Areyouplanning something?”
“Me?” I scoffed. “No!”
“Because I can easily cancel those plans.”
That sounded flirtatious, I thought with a thread of panic.Was he flirting with me?
Should I flirt back?
My heart pounded behind my rib cage and the sun shone too warm over my heated skin, and words just tumbled out of my mouth. “You’ll be subjected to a boring night in if you do, because I don’t have anything planned. Unless you want to spend it mucking stalls with me.”
I groaned internally.Mucking stalls, really? I was hopeless, flirting skills nonexistent.
“Oh no.” He laughed and shook his head, a smirk curling on his gorgeous face, that dimple I loved so much toying with me. His eyes shone with amusement. “Can’t have that.”
I bit my lip, contemplating if I should say what I’d been thinking since Eddie had brought the night out up to Josh.
“Actually, I was…” I hesitated, then continued as our eyes met. “I was thinking I’d come with.”
His eyebrows rose toward his hairline.
My shoulders rose defensively.
“I haven’t been out in a while,” I explained quickly. “And I wasn’t twenty-one before you—left.” I stumbled over the word. “So, we’ve never had the chance to drink together.”
“We’ve drank plenty together,” he argued.
I rolled my eyes. “Partying by the lake doesn’t count, and you watched me like a hawk anytime I picked up a drink.”
“Because you were underage,” he pointed out, annoyingly sensible.
“So were you!”
“That’s different.”
“Not really.” I waved a hand dismissively. “Either way, it doesn’t matter now. I’m of legal drinking age, and I think it would be…fun. To go out and drink. With you.”
I hoped the flush rising in my cheeks wasn’t obvious.
“And friends,” I tacked on hastily when Josh continued to stare at me, eyebrows drawn together.
After a beat I added, “I think it would be fun to go out with your friends.” There, that sounded better.
“You know Eddie wouldn’t exclude you, Dove,” Josh reminded me. “That invite included you, too.”
I shrugged, toeing at some loose gravel with my boot. “He’syourfriend, though. Maybe he just wanted it to be the guys, or whatever.”
