“Sandwiches.”
She beams back at me. “Ham?”
I set the basket down, drop onto the blanket, and start to pull things out. I hand her the sandwich wrapped in brown butcher paper. “Of course.”
“Did you?—”
“Leave the mustard off? Of course. Bottle is in here. I know you don’t like them to get soggy,” I finish for her.
“It’s like you know me or something.”
I don’t miss the blush that creeps up her cheeks as she kicks off her sandals and plops onto the covered ground.
I pull out a small bowl of fruit, some pita chips and hummus, and hand over the yellow bottle to her. She wastes no time pulling off a slice of the sourdough bread and covering one side in mustard.
“Did you save any for me?”
“There’s plenty left.” Chloe takes a hearty bite and smiles at me as she chews.
I grab the bottle and put some on my own sandwich. “Sure there is.”
She leans over and pecks me on the cheek. “Thank you, Dax.”
My entire body seizes up. One peck and I’m a goner. I don’t know how I’ve made it this far in life keeping my emotions in check around her.
I give her a smile. What that smile tells her, I don’t know, because she sets her meal down and brushes off her hands.
“Are you okay?”
“Why wouldn’t I be okay?” I fire back.
“Because you look nervous. And you’re never nervous.”
Sunglasses hide my eyes from view. Of course she would still be able to tell I’m nervous. I mean, why wouldn’t I be? Asking my best friend to take a chance on me when she ran out on my brother?
Why would I have anything to be nervous about?
Her eyes trail over every inch of me. From my black T-shirt to my tan shorts all the way to my scuffed-up Converse sneakers.
“Why do you think I’m nervous?”
She points to my hand resting on my knee. “Your fingers keep tapping.”
“Am I that easy to read?” I shove a nervous hand through my hair.
“Yes.”
Do I rip the Band-Aid off and just blurt it out, or do I ease her into this?
“Spill it, Dax.”
Band-Aid it is.
“About the other night.”
A flush creeps up her cheeks. “What about the other night?”
“Look, I know we said nothing would change, but it feels like it did.”
