Tonight is obviously a special occasion since it’s Stas’s first time home in a year, so it’s nice to see what type of restaurant makes it on her favorites list.
It’s too fancy for my onesie, I’ll say that much. Quiet atmosphere, low lighting, intimate. Taking a peek at the menu, I pretend to look at it for the first time, not revealing to Julia and Colin that Stassie made me study it in detail fifteen minutes before we left the house.
All that prep work and she still won’t know what she wants. I lean in, looking at her menu with her. “What are you getting?”
“I don’t know,” she says, confirming my suspicions, chewing on the inside of her cheek as she flips the menu to study the other side.
“What are the choices?”
She flips it back over. “Crab ravioli or the chicken pizza. I sort of want the ravioli on the pizza, is that weird?”
Her parents overhear her, both looking at us over the top of their menus, nodding in unison. “Yeah.”
“Why don’t I order the pizza and you order the ravioli. We can switch if the food comes, and you get buyer’s regret.”
Placing the menu on the table, she looks at me, eyes swimming withsomething. “Have I told you you’re my favorite human today?”
“Good, even—oh, hey guys.”
Turning away from Stassie, I look at the waiter who just approached our table. He looks oddly familiar, despite the fact I’ve never been here before.
Looking to Stas for guidance, it’s clear she definitely knows him by how awkward she looks. Julia stands from the table, leaning in to kiss the guy on the cheek. “James!” she says cheerfully. “How nice to see you, honey. I didn’t know you were working here.”
It’s funny to see Julia force a smile, because it’s exactly the same as Stassie’s forced smile—terrible. As soon as she saysJamesI realize who he is. I’ve been looking at pictures of him all afternoon, younger but still the same face and sandy blond hair.
James was Stassie’s skating partner before she started college. He was also her first boyfriend, first love, first everything.
Great. So glad he’s here.
Colin shakes James’s hand, and they both look as awkward as I feel. “Here for a few weeks while I’m home for the holidays.” His eyes travel past me and land on the woman beside me who hasn’t said a word. “It’s good to see you, Stassie.”
Hearing her name seems to knock her out of whatever weird moment she’s having. “You, too, James. This is Nathan, my boyfriend. Nate, this is James. He was my skating partner until I moved to Maple Hills.”
Boyfriend.
It’s the first time I’ve heard her say it, and she said it so confidently. I definitely didn’t imagine it.
This isn’t the time to have an internal meltdown, Hawkins.
I hold out my hand to shake his, weirdly formal, but it’s what Colin did, so I’m doing it too. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” he says, doing an awful job of not looking awkward. “What can I get you guys to eat?”
After taking our orders, my new buddy James disappears, and when our drinks come, it’s a totally different person.
The food is delicious, the conversation is easy, and I can’t believe how different this would be if it were Stas meeting my dad. Which makes me so fucking glad we’re flying back to LA before he gets home from vacation.
Wiping my mouth with my napkin, I summon the courage I’ve been looking for for the past five minutes. “I’d like it if you’d let me pay for dinner, as a thank you for you welcoming me into your home.” Colin’s mouth opens, but I carry on before he can say anything. “And I know you’re going to say no, but just know, I’m not above pretending to go to the bathroom and paying sneakily. I’ve had a great day with you guys, I’d like to say thank you by paying the bill.”
“Oh, Dad, let him.” Anastasia groans. “Honestly, he’s so stubborn he’ll argue with you about it for hours.”
We all look at her, our heads moving in slow motion, the same identical baffled look on our faces. “Wait,I’mthe stubborn one?”
Her fingers thread through my hand resting on the table and her laugh is soft and musical. Her eyes are shining as she tries to hide her smile. She’s mesmerizing. “Uh, obviously.”
Fuck.I am so in love with this woman.
THIRTY-FIVE | ANASTASIA