Page 3 of When Stars Collide
“All right, then. I guess we’re taking orders.”
“I’ll take a John Collins. And don’t expect a tip.” Peter smirked.
Elle snickered. “Fine, just as long as you don’t expect your drink not to have a little spit in it.”
“I’ve had worse.”
“Why doesn’t that surprise me?” Elle pursed her lips, cringing. “What about you?” she asked me.
“I’d say surprise me, but after that conversation, I’m going to take a hard pass on that. A rum and Coke will be fine.”
Peter reached for his wallet in the back pocket of his shorts.
“I got this round,” Luke stopped him. “You can get the next one.”
“Looking forward to it.” The two shared another knowing look, revealing a glimpse of the secret to which only the two of them were privy.
More perplexed than before, I took Peter’s hand and climbed with him up to the top of the dune, taking a seat on Luke and Elle’s beach blanket. “Okay, spill it,” I pressed.
“What makes you think I have anything to spill?” His eyes shone, silently laughing at me.
My mouth pressed into a hard line, my frustration evident.
“Have I ever told you how cute you are when you’re on the verge of losing your mind?”
“You’re pretty cocky for a man who’s one butt cheek away from spending the night on the couch.”
“Oh, so it’s like that, is it?” Wrapping his arm around me, he pulled me into his body, rubbing circles on my arm with his thumb. “Just think about it; you’ll figure it out,” his voice whispered softly in my ear.
Let’s see. You whisked me away from the airport for secret plans with your friend, who’s acting just as strangely as you are, and Elle, who the best I can tell, has no idea what’s going on, either. We’re at one of the most picturesque places I’ve ever seen, and said friends are now walking hand in hand toward the lake and not the tiki bar …
“Holy shit!” I blurted out, my eyes widening. Below us, Elle and Luke paused mid-stroll, abruptly turning around. Luke shook his head; Elle stared at me, concerned. “Oh, never mind. For a second there, I thought I’d left my toaster oven plugged in back home, and then I realized I don’t even own a toaster oven. So, carry on.”
“Smooth, Inspector Clouseau.” Peter kissed the top of my head as we watched Luke and Elle return to their stroll down the shoreline.
“Maybe we should go after them.”
“Why do you say that?”
“You weren’t there the night they met. I basically did all the talking to set up their first date. And if Luke’s about to do what I think he’s about to do, we may be here for the rest of the day—hell, possibly into this evening—waiting for him to make a move while they awkwardly stare at each other, instead.”
Peter pulled me in even closer to him, but I wasn’t entirely certain whether it was to keep me all to himself or because he was legitimately concerned that I may take off after them. “I remember Luke telling me about that night. He’s not usually intimidated by much, but he knew better than to get on your bad side … and that he’d better watch himself around you.”
“Good. That’s what I was going for.”
“He was so struck by how protective you were of Elle. How you had her back and what a good friend you must be to her. Then he proceeded to rattle on about how he felt that was the kind of friendship we had.”
“And what exactly did he say about that?”
“I don’t know, the Titans were playing and I kind of tuned him out. Everything was ‘blah, blah, blah, loyalty, and blah, blah, blah, you’re like a brother to me, Monroe.’”
“Sounds about right.”
My heart rate increased in anticipation with each step Luke and Elle took. Luke had been right in his initial assessment of me. I had been protective of Elle—I still was. Someone had to be. Between her absentee, alcoholic mother and the abuse she’d endured growing up, she’d been something of a lost lamb in a forest of wolves when I met her at Cogsworth. Truth be told, I was, too—I had just been better about hiding it. Together, we’d clicked, traversing the campus jungle and settling into a life away from the small towns from which we were accustomed. And then Luke, the proverbial knight in shining armor, came along and permanently altered the trajectory of all four of our lives.
“Any farther and we’re not going to be able to eavesdrop on them.” I strained against Peter’s arms to try and catch a brief snippet of any conversation that may be going on between them.
“I’m not one hundred percent certain on this, but I think that’s by design,” Peter replied. “My guess is that Luke wants to avoid any chance that we may ruin the moment with our colorful commentary.”
