“No and ew. But you might be the one consuming.”
“Come again?” He blinks and grins.
“Nate, I’m taking you somewhere, but it’s a surprise, so just shut up and get changed.”
“I like this bossy side of you,” he says, eyebrow raised. “Okay, okay, I’ll change. For you.”
IDON’T SHOWER.IT’Sso hot out that by the time I’m upstairs, my suit is pretty much dry already, so I just grab another sundress—this one probably a bittooshort, but is that really a bad thing?—and throw it on right over the bikini. My hair is tangled from my swim, but I find that I don’t really care.
It’s not like this is adate, anyway, and I don’t want Nate to think that I think it is.
Just friends.
So maybe it’s better that I only finger-combed my hair while racing back down the stairs, a little breathless.
And then before we can run into anyone who might ask where we’re going, I meet Nate by his truck, and off we go.
“THIS IS THE BIGsurprise? You’re taking me to a greasy-spoon diner?” Nate asks as I direct him into Sadie’s parking area.
“Not just any greasy-spoon diner. Just you wait.”
I don’t know where the idea came from, really. I was just looking for an excuse to get away from the house, I guess. And to spend more time alone with Nate.
Just as friends, of course.
Butashis friend, I couldn’t help but think about what he told me the other day when he was dragging me around the lake on the kayak. About his mom’s grilled cheese sandwiches. This place had flown out of my mind and been shuffled away with all my other strange associations withLovedByuntil Sloane’s call.
Nate hops out of the car and opens the driver’s side door for me, helping me out.
“Check out the menu,” I direct him as we approach the diner. A laminated menu is pasted to the window. “See that?”
“It’s… all variations of grilled cheese,” he reads out. And then his expression changes, and he turns toward me. “You remembered.”
“I mean, it was only a few days ago,” I say, blushing. “My memory’s notthatbad.” I look away. “But you have to try it. I doubtit could ever rival your mom’s recipe, but you can decide that for yourself. Maybe it’s, I don’t know… A little portal back into those memories.”
I dare a glance at him, and tears have welled up in his eyes. “Nikki, that’s—”
“What friends do? I know.” I shrug. “Come on, let’s go in. I’m starving.”
WE’RE SEATED IN Abooth near the window, and the midday sun streams through.
We place our orders—me the tomato and bacon variety, Nate the simple Cheddar-and-American-on-White—along with shared fries and a couple sodas.
While we wait for our orders, a silence descends between us. Our feet brush under the table, and I almost jerk back, heart skipping. It’s absurd—but after yesterday’s kiss, even this small contact feels loaded. I glance at him, and he looks back, eyes flickering away too fast.
The waitress comes back with the fries, and we both thank her at the same time.
“My Aunt Maggie would love this place,” Nate says as the waitress walks away. He gestures around at the kitschy decor. “She’s a big fan of bright colors. And feathers.”
I grin. “Was this aunt on your mom’s side or your dad’s?”
“Mom’s,” Nate clarifies. “Though she wasn’t her sister, more like an older cousin, I think? After my mom passed, she was around a lot—kind of like surrogate mother and grandmother figure.”
“That’s really sweet. I love that, actually. Like a fairy godmother.”
“Are any of your grandparents living?”
I shake my head. “I was close to my mom’s mom—Meema, we called her—but she died when I was ten. It’s actually her gazebo you’ve been repairing.”
