Chapter Fourteen

 

Colton

 

 

 

As soon as Elle peeks around the back of the diner, I grab her hand and gently pull her toward me. I place a featherlight kiss on her lips, even though I want nothing more than to kiss her long and hard. I know I can’t do that, though. This is hardly the place and time for it, not to mention the fact that there’s nothing romantic about kissing a girl next to a pile of garbage bags. She deserves better than that.

Her face lights up with a gorgeous smile, making it even harder to refrain myself from full-on kissing her.

“Weren’t we going to go on a date first before we did that again?” she asks, her fingers touching her lips as if she can hardly grasp what just happened.

“I know,” I say while I trail my fingers over her arm, “but I just couldn’t wait. I promise I’ll keep my hands to myself from now on. At least, until our date.”

“When?” she asks.

“Tomorrow night?”

She nods. “Perfect.”

I look over my shoulder. “We should head back inside.”

“Yeah, even though I don’t really feel like it. I mean… snack chef? Shampoo influencer?”

“I couldn’t even tell if they were joking or not,” I say.

Elle lets out a laugh. “I’m pretty sure they weren’t.”

I let my fingers run through her red hair. “Truth be told, you could be a shampoo model if you wanted to.”

“Oh, Colton, stop it,” she says as if she’s embarrassed, but I can tell she loves it. “Anyway, I think Kitty and Ryan are much more compatible. Maybe they’ll end up together after tonight.”

“I totally agree.”

“So, let’s head back in?”

I nod. “You go first. If we arrive together, they might start asking questions. And Elle?”

“Yes?”

“If at any moment you need my help to get out of there, just let me know.”

She smiles. “Like, with a secret wink or something?”

“Or something.”

She disappears around the corner, and when I hear the back door of the diner close, I let out a groan. I promised her I’d take her out on a date, and I will, but not being close to her is driving me crazy. When Ryan entered the diner and had his eyes all over Elle, I felt something I haven’t felt in a long time. Jealousy raced through my veins at the thought of another guy getting close to her. It’s ridiculous and not logical at all, but I can’t help it. I want to spend every waking minute with her, getting to know her, exploring her mind, her dreams, her body.

I realize Maggie has set us both up with people that don’t have a clue they don’t stand a chance. That doesn’t sit well with me. I’m not the kind of person to mislead people. But I can’t act as if Kitty lights a fire inside of me either.

When I slide back into my chair at our table, those worries turn out to be irrelevant. Ryan and Kitty have switched seats so they’re sitting together, and are completely mesmerized by each other. Maggie doesn’t pay us any attention either. A part of me wants to just up and leave, take Elle with me, and go for a walk on the beach. I won’t, of course. The decent thing to do is get through this night without being rude. If anything, I now get to talk to Elle for the remainder of the evening, as she’s seated right next to me, and her date doesn’t pay her any attention anyway.

Our burgers and fries arrive. Elle and I reach for the ketchup bottle at the same time, causing our hands to touch for just a moment. It’s enough to make me ache with longing.

I open the bottle and squirt a big dollop of the red sauce on her plate. “Enough?” I ask.

“A bit more,” she says, her voice an odd murmur.

“Of the ketchup?” I ask, unsure of why that question pops into my head. What else would she want more of?

She nods. “For starters.”

A few of her red curls fall from behind her ears, blocking the right side of her face, but it doesn’t prevent me from seeing the light pink blush creeping up her cheeks.

I look at my burger. How long will it take us to clear these plates? How long should I stay so that I don’t come across as a tool running away from a blind date? How much longer until Elle and I can finally be alone?

I put a handful of fries in my mouth, counting down the minutes until we can get out of here.

“What about you, Colton, are you in?”

Kitty stares at me with an expectant look. I’ve clearly missed part of the conversation while I was munching on fries and dreaming about a date with Elle.

I clear my throat and take a long swig of my beer, to buy time. “Come again?”

She lets out a laugh. “Truth or dare. Are you in or out? Please tell me you’ll join us.”

Elle looks as horrified as I feel. Isn’t truth or dare a game that’s normally played by hormonal teenagers? Or is that a prejudice of mine I didn’t even know I had?

“Come on, it’ll be fun,” Maggie says.

I give her a long look. Why is she okay with this? I know for a fact that she hates this game with a vengeance, or so she told me a few years ago.

My phone buzzes with a text and I gladly welcome the distraction. When I see who it’s from, I snort.

 

Just say yes, this date is going so well. I might have finally found love – M

 

“Really, sis?”

The pleading look she throws my way makes me cave.

“Fine,” I say.

She always does this, making me do things I don’t want to do. Like when she asked me to pick Elle up from the airport. But hey, that turned out great, so… Maybe this truth or dare thing won’t be too bad either. Besides, we’re at a diner, it’s not as if we can go crazy in here.

“Great. Want to go first?” Ryan asks.

I shrug. “Sure.”

Maggie mouths me a thank you.

“Truth or dare?” Kitty asks.

“Truth.”

She mulls over her words for a moment, then asks, “What’s a quality that makes you fall in love with someone?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” I say. “I’m really not good at these kinds of questions.”

Maggie pouts. “Come on, brother. You’ve got to give us something.”

“Yeah,” Kevin chimes in. “Don’t leave us hanging.”

I flick my gaze to Elle, just for a nanosecond, and the way she smiles changes something in me, as if I’m finally seeing the sun for the first time and it’s awesome.

I clear my throat and speak. “I’d say someone’s smile. And laugh.”

“Care to elaborate?” Kitty asks.

Silence fills the air while I think about how to explain this to them. I don’t know if I have the words to do so, but I give it a shot anyway. “Have you ever realized how a person’s laugh can make you fall in love? As if the frequency of their laugh and the way their eyes light up set your insides on fire, and then that feeling spreads like a hot flame through your body every time they laugh, and every time you so much as think about their laugh. They don’t even have to be near you for your heart to explode with longing and love. I’m telling you, laughter is magic. It’s a person’s secret spell. And all you want to do is make them laugh even more, so you try your best to sprinkle joy into their lives. The way their smile brightens their face makes you want to be near them, all the time. So yeah, I’d say a girl needs to have a smile that shatters my world in order for me to fall in love with her.”

No one says a word. Kitty’s jaw drops to the floor, and Maggie looks as if she’s seen a ghost. I don’t even dare to look at Elle. Those words that just tumbled out of my mouth were for her, and if I catch her eye, I won’t be able to stop myself from kissing her.

“Wow, Colton, I never knew you had such deep feelings,” Maggie says. “Not that I think you’re shallow, but if someone said those words to me, well… I’d be a puddle on the floor.”

“I like your smile,” Kevin tells her, a hopeful look in his eyes. “It reminds me of a blossoming rose garden.”

I chuckle, then pretend it was a sneeze.

“Who’s next?” I ask, glad my part in this silly game is over.

“I know one,” Kevin says, his eyes zooming in on Elle. “Want to go?”

“Okay,” she replies, hesitation lingering in her words.

“Truth or dare?”

She thinks for a moment. “Dare,” she says, her answer more of a question than a confident reply.

“I dare you to look into Ryan’s eyes as long as possible without laughing,” Kevin says. “Oh, and your noses have to be touching.”

Oh my goodness, what is this, kindergarten?

Elle looks at me briefly, concern written all over her face. I can’t let this happen to her. I’ve got to help her.

I get up from the table, and the loud bang of my chair falling to the floor makes everyone jump in their seats.

“What are you doing?” Maggie asks with an incredulous edge to her voice.

“I just remembered that Elle and I have to go.”

She frowns. “Now?”

I extend my hand to Elle. “Yeah, we have a work thing. Isn’t that right, Elle?”

Her features go from confused to relieved. She gets up as well, albeit much more gracefully than me. “Was that meeting tonight? Good thing you didn’t forget.”

“Wait, Frank has asked you two to come into work at eight thirty in the evening?” Maggie asks. “Why?”

She knows something is not right. The park closed at five, and I’m only required to work late when there’s a parade, which is only twice a month.

“I’m afraid I can’t disclose that information. I promised Frank I wouldn’t share any specifics. It’s top-secret amusement park stuff.”

“Sorry,” Elle says. She throws her napkin down and grabs her bag. She looks just as eager to get out of here as me. “Well, have fun, you guys. Thanks for an interesting evening.”

We head out, the doors of the diner closing behind us before anyone can stop us.

Twenty minutes later, Elle and I are on my bike, making our way to The Magic Wonderland. I figured our lie would be easiest to maintain if we actually went into work, even though I know the place will be deserted. Right before we left, I sent a message to Frank telling him I had forgotten something in The Village and that he doesn’t have to be worried when he gets notified that someone turned off the alarm system.

I’ve never brought a girl here. Heck, I don’t even have anything planned as it was a spur-of-the-moment decision.

I park my bike right at the park’s entrance and shut down the engine, then help Elle get off. We’re both smiling sheepishly. Man, I should’ve thought this through. Now what?