I give him a quick side hug. We were never big on affection, but lately I've felt the need to hold onto him when I can.
A few minutes later, I hear her voice behind me.
"You ready?"
"Absolutely."
We head toward her car, walking slow through the night air.
"It's up a bit," she says. "I use the free parking as much as I can."
"Same. Plus, no drunks puking or fucking on your car."
"Please tell me that doesn't happen."
"I've seen my fair share of shit."
That gets a quiet laugh out of both of us.
"Thank you again," she says. "Seriously."
"Of course."
Then she looks up at me and asks, "Do you have a phone?"
"Uh, yeah. Who doesn't?"
Her cheeks go pink. "I mean, can I give you my number? Just in case?"
"Y-yeah."
I hand over my phone way too awkwardly, and she types her number in before sending herself a text. Her own phone dings from inside her purse.
"Perfect," she says with a smile.
Those lashes flutter once, and I swear I forget how to breathe.
"What are you doing tomorrow?"
"I don't know yet," I say, thinking of my dad trying to arrange things on the fly.
"If you don't have plans, I'm bartending a private event. I get a plus one. I wouldn't mind it being you after tonight. Just in case."
I nod, trying not to look too excited. "I can see if I can make that happen."
"I'll text you the details."
"Cool."
We stop at the cheesiest yellow Volkswagen Beetle I've ever seen in my life. This car is basically a walking target.
"This is me," she says, unlocking the car and opening the back door to set down her purse.
I reach around and open the driver side door for her.
She blinks up at me. "Oh, what a gentleman."
I smile, hearing that in my mother's voice for a second. I barely remember her saying it when I was little, but the feeling lands anyway.
