He chuckles, scratching the back of his neck. "Yeah. Hard to believe, huh?"
I don’t respond because, honestly?Yeah.Itishard to believe.
"You heading home?" he asks, shifting slightly closer.
I shake my head, forcing myself to break free from whatever weird nostalgia is creeping in. "No, just grabbing something to eat in the cafeteria."
Holden’s smile grows. "Mind if I join you?"
I raise an eyebrow. "Yeah, that sounds… nice."
We fall into easy small talk as we grab brown food trays and move down the cafeteria line. Holden went to school in Little Rock—less than two hours away—but spent weekends back home helping out at his dad’s lumber mill, the one Dad works at.Workedat? Special orders, mostly. His younger sister, Mabel, who was in the same grade as Jasper and Brooks, got married last summer and is expecting twins. His life is… neat. Simple. Settled.
"What about you?" he presses, grabbing a water bottle from the fridge. "What have you been up to?"
I exhale, reaching for an orange. "Turning out content and trying to go on brand trips."
His eyebrows lift, clearly impressed. "Sounds pretty glamorous to me."
"It’s not as glamorous as it sounds," I counter as he motions toward a few empty tables near the floor-to-ceiling windows.
We sit, and I absently wave a hand through the air. "It’s all so…superficial."
"You’ve never been one for superficiality," Holden laughs.
I smirk. "I’m as real as they come." But I’m not. Not really.
"You are," he reinforces, and for a moment, we just… smile at each other. A little too long.
And it makes me feel seen in a way that isn’t filtered or curated. I don’t know if that’s comforting—or dangerous.
I shift, scratching the side of my face. "This might be a weird question, but why did you choose to do your residency here?"
Holden clicks his tongue, hesitating before answering. "Fair question. When I found out Mabel was pregnant, I didn’t want to be too far away. I want my nieces or nephews to know me. I’ve been so busy the past few years that I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss out on anything else."
"That’s sweet," I murmur, hiding a smile behind my hand.
He grins. "I’m a sweet guy."
I chuckle. "You were.Then you cheated on me."
Holden groans, leaning back in his chair, stretching his arms over his head like this conversation physically pains him. "Oh, Ellie, do we have to go there?"
I start peeling the orange.
"I think we do have to go there."
He sighs dramatically. "It wasonekiss. And it sucked."
I scoff. "Just a kiss? You spent the night at her house."
"It was a party," he argues. "I slept on the couch. With, like, three other guys."
I tilt my head, sizing him up. "I don’t know if I believe you."
"Why would I lie about it now?" he challenges.
I pop a piece of orange into my mouth, chewing as I consider. "I don’t know. But that was not cool."
