Jake notices first. “You gonna wear a trench in the floor, Miller, or are you just trying to summon her with your knees?”
I check my phone again. “She said she was leaving ages ago.”
Before he can respond, Gary appears at the booth table, holding two large baskets of fries.
“Tell your girl to stop sending me videos of that damn dancing otter,” he says, tossing the fries into the middle of the table. “Idon’t know what the hell ‘main character energy’ is, and I don’t want to.”
Charlie leans over Jake to grab a fry. “She sent it to me too, and said it reminded her of Logan and Dusty.”
Jake wipes his hands on a napkin. “No offense, but that otter’s way more coordinated.”
“Can we not compare me to an aquatic rodent tonight?” I mutter, checking my phone again.
Zoe arches a brow. “Still nothing from Lulu?”
I shake my head, jaw tight.
“She said Betty was making her try on her fur coats a while ago,” Zoe continues. “She texted me a photo of her in this amazing floor length one. Like, full mob wife energy.”
A groan escapes me, and I drag a hand down my face. “That woman’s a menace.”
“Relax,” Chase says, kicking my shin under the table. “Your girl’s got flair. You should be thrilled she’s letting the menace dress her.”
“She’s not dressing her,” I mutter. “She’sactivatingher.”
“Dude,” Eli says, “your leg is bouncing like a jackhammer. Why do you look like you're about to propose again?”
“I’m not,” I bite out. “I did that already.”
Eli doesn’t even look up. “Just keep your pants on this time.”
Charlie immediately splutters into her drink and Zoe coughs into her elbow. Jake groans, clearly wishing he hadn’t been told about the rock sex in the first place.
“Jesus Christ,” I mutter.
Chase leans back with a grin. “Man’s whipped.”
“I’m engaged,” I correct.
Charlie nods. “But to be fair, you were twitchybeforethe ring.”
“And you’re worse now,” Zoe adds. “Which is honestly kinda sweet.”
I take a long drink of beer so I don’t say something embarrassing. Like the fact that she’s been gone for less than an hour and it already feels like the night’s missing a piece.
Lulu does that—walks in and changes the temperature of a room without even trying. I didn’t think I’d be the guy who needed that kind of thing, but here I am. Craving her.
“You’ve gone soft,” Chase says, shaking his head with mock horror. “Might have to revoke your Storm jersey.”
“Pretty sure scoring two goals last game bought me a few credits.”
“That’s true,” Jake says, pointing a fry at me. “You’ve scored in nearly every game since the engagement. Are we all in agreement this man is powered by sex and pool inflatables?”
Zoe lifts her glass as Eli groans. “Cheers to that.”
I flip them all off and take a long sip of beer.
Tamara laughs into her drink. “The more he denies it, the deeper he’s gone.”
