“I knew it!” I yell, pointing at him.
He lifts his hands. “Not what you think, but caffeine is technically a drug.”
“Caffeine?” I ask, he nods happily, bouncing on his toes again. “How much have you had?”
“Solamente tre.”
“Three? You had three espressos?”
“No, doubles.”
“Colton! Three double espressos? Your heart’s gonna explode.”
He shakes his finger at me, eyes narrowed like he’s letting me in on a secret. “But I won’t fall asleep.”
“Because you’ll be dead!”
“Colton’s dying?” Inez asks as she comes bounding out of her room in a sundress completely at odds with my gown. She’s glowing and adorable and perfect, and yet I still shake my head.
“You look stunning, and yet you disappoint me,” I say.
She smiles and twirls, the light blue fabric making her brown skin pop as it flows around her. “Some of us have to make do without our entire wardrobe to choose from.”
I sigh, loud and overly dramatic, which is perfectly on brand for a night at the opera. “You have so much to learn from me.”
Colt looks at his watch again, moving to the door as he speaks. “We need to get going.”
Inez sends me a questioning look, and I just shake my head as we follow him down the stairs, a good flight behind his fast, long stride.
We take a taxi instead of relying on public transportation, and Colton’s knee bounces for thirteen of the fifteen minutes spent in the car. A week ago, I would have placed my hand on his leg to help calm him. I’d have leaned into him, laughing into his shoulder about the ridiculousness of the situation. But now I resist the urge, trapped inside my head, the anxious buzz of his body matching the anxious buzz in my mind.
I spot Tomasso as soon as we pull up, and my skin goes uncomfortably tight. Inez is out of the taxi and halfway to him before I can open my mouth.
I turn to Colton on my other side. “Is this a double date?”
“What?” The pitch of Colton’s voice goes up several octaves and his whole body tenses.
“Sorry,” I jump in, shifting the fabric of my dress so I can climb out of the cab without tripping. Colton’s hot on my heels. “Obviously it’s not a date. It’s just I saw Tomasso and he and Inez have been so… attached this past week. I freaked myself out.”
Colton smiles, but the severe lack of a dimple tells me how forced it is. “I don’t want it to be like this between us.”
I sigh and drop my head forward. “Me neither.”
“I know last week was… intense. But we’ve survived worse, right? Like that time we holed up in your apartment for a week with the flu? You were so fucking gross, and I still kept you around.”
“Oh yes, you cleaning up my vomit is totally the same as me watching you come all over our shower,” I say, completely deadpan.
He rubs a hand over his mouth to hide his smile, but after a second, his eyes go somber. “I swear, I reached out to Tomasso because he had connections to get us last-minute tickets, and I wasn’t about to tell him he couldn’t come when he was helping us out.”
“No, of course not.”
“You have nothing to worry about. I’m just trying to enjoy this summer. This is a fun friend outing. Nothing more.”
“No, I know.”
“I’m serious. I’m not trying to date you. Or anyone.”
I get it. I don’t want to date him—or anyone—either, so I don’t understand why the words feel like a grip around my lungs, making it hard to breathe.
