Be My Forever

Chapter 10

Danté, Alex, and a few other of his friends were sitting at one of our round tables. They had been at it for an hour already, and they didn’t look like they were about to leave. At one point, they even hooted, not that I heard what it was about. Every now and then, I glanced at the table. Well, not at the table, but at the blond guy sitting there, laughing and cracking jokes. How much time did I have left? Now that I knew that this sight would end up disappearing, I found myself looking more and more. Maybe that was a tad bit creepy. I just didn’t want to miss a minute of him. Especially now that he might slip away from me. My heart was still beating painfully fast in my chest, beating so fast it felt like I would pass out from fear and panic. I had to do something. Anything! Even though my head was running three hundred miles an hour, I felt absolutely, utterly stuck. Danté and I had never worked out, so what could I possibly do to make it work now? The only thing I was certain of was that I would never forgive myself if I didn’t try my luck. Because I’d had two years to do something, and I’d wasted those two years pining after him, then dating a guy just to try to stop the pining.

When Alex made a sign for us to take their order, my heart squeezed from the panic. I glanced at Chloe. As always, she just shook her head.

“I’ll leave them to your good care.”

Since the very beginning, she never wanted to take Danté’s orders if I was around. I swallowed, then grabbed my little notepad and went to their table. I plastered a polite smile on my face.

“Can I get you anything?”

“Can you bring us a few slices of chocolate and coconut cake?” Alex asked.

What can I say? My chocolate cake brings the boys to the yard. Most guys nodded in agreement. Everyone, except for one. I caught Danté’s blue gaze. My smile became genuine when he made a face. Chocolate wasn’t his favourite. Though he had never said so out loud, Danté had always avoided our drinks and pastries that contained chocolate. It had taken a chocolate chip cookie for me to understand it.

“Alright. Five slices of chocolate cake. Anything else?”

They looked at each other, then at me with confused faces. There were six, so of course it looked like I got the order wrong. Instead of explaining, I looked back at Danté.

“I made a lemon cake with icing. Would you prefer that?”

Danté nodded, thankful. If the others had an opinion, they at least had the decency to keep their mouths shut.

“Sounds great.”

Chloe raised a questioning eyebrow when I got back to the counter.

“Since when are you so kind to him?”

“Don’t be so dramatic. I am a kind person.”

“Oh, please.”

I turned back to her, arms crossed. Chloe flung her arm around my shoulders. When I had started working here two years ago and said I missed having my sister around, she had taken it too seriously. Two years later, Chloe was still pestering me on every occasion, just like she had also become a dear friend.

“You know what I mean, Evy. Of course you are a kind person, but you coddling Danté is unusual.”

“I am not coddling him,” I tried. “The guy just doesn’t like chocolate.”

A knowing smile played on her plump lips. I had to admit, my excuse sounded weak, even to me.

“You would know that, wouldn’t you?”

I couldn’t help the heat creep up my neck and cheeks. Chloe had always known I liked him. Probably anyone could see it, anyone but one. She had even slapped me every day with a towel on the shoulder when I had started dating Robert. At least the first month. When she realized I was rather serious (well, sort of), she gave up.

The six men were in deep conversation when I put their pieces of cake and cutlery on the table.

“I was convinced that Alex would be the first one of us to get married.”

Some of them laughed at that while Alex’s cheeks went beet red.

“Still working on that,” he muttered.

Of course, I knew Alex was seeing someone. I just had no idea that it was that serious. Sometimes I wondered what kind of creature would date Alex. Not that he was a bad guy. I simply had a hard time figuring the guy out. The man next to him, Jamie, clapped his shoulder.

“Sorry brother, I didn’t want to wait any longer. Will Elena be there?”

“No, she’s still in Russia. I’ll come alone.”

His girlfriend was in Russia? That was one hell of a long-distance relationship. I grabbed the empty cups and put them on my tray.

“And you, Danté? Who is your plus one?”

My head shot up, the empty coffee cup still clutched in my hand. My heart clenched at the question. It was none of my business. I knew that. And yet, I waited for his response, steeling my spine for the blow that would come. Another of his friends laughed loudly.

“He probably can’t decide and will find a random girl a few hours before the wedding.”

A muscle twitched in his jaw, but he stayed silent.

“Well, we never saw him with a girl,” said yet another one, “so I am not even sure he’ll have a plus one.”

Both Alex and Jamie made a face. They had seen Danté with many, many girls.

“Nonsense,” I shot back.

All eyes landed on me, and I wanted to hit myself in the face with my tray. If it hadn’t been full of dirty mugs, I might have done it. Danté looked at me, curiosity dancing in his blue eyes. I swallowed and kept my customer-friendly smile as I placed myself next to Danté, putting a hand on his shoulder. There was tension underneath the fabric of his sweater. Alex watched me, silently assessing my next move.

“If you really want to know a bit more about him, Danté’s favourite kind of girls are the ones with dorky personalities and funky pyjamas.”

A silent laugh shook him, and the tension in his shoulders lessened. Danté nodded. “They are.”

My eyebrows shot up. I shook my head and regained my composure. He was just playing, just like I had before. This wasn’t real. I nodded once and went back behind the counter on unsteady legs. Get yourself together, Evelyn! Don’t take everything so seriously.

A few other customers walked in, and I focused on them. It was easier to pretend that Danté’s words had no effect on me as long as I could concentrate on something else. One by one, his friends paid, then left the café.

When everyone was gone except for Danté and Alex, I sipped on my water. Danté walked over, taking out his wallet.

“Was everything to your liking?” I asked.

“Your cake was great. Thank you.”

I couldn’t help but smile like an idiot. Danté smiled back, the skin around his eyes crinkling cutely.

“Sorry for having stepped in. I was joking.”

Danté opened his mouth, then closed it. Had I overstepped a boundary by chiming in while he was with his friends? He shook his head, a small smile still on his lips. What was going on in that pretty head of his? I bit my lip, waiting. Danté rested his elbows on the counter.

“Would you like to be my plus one?”

I choked on my water. Worry crossed over his face as I felt mortified.

“I beg your pardon?” I asked between coughs.

I had misheard that, right? Danté grabbed a paper napkin and offered it to me. I dabbed at my mouth.

“Will you go to the wedding with me?”

I cleared my throat. My mind had a hard time processing what was happening.

“Why would you want me as your plus one?”

“Because you’re my dorky neighbour who has a whole collection of funky pyjamas.”

I crossed my arms, doing my best to keep from laughing. Danté’s lips twitched, but he waited expectantly. Under regular circumstances, I would’ve found an excuse to not go to something as official as a wedding. Or something that almost sounded like a date. But maybe this was my very last chance. And maybe it was time for me to stop pining and panicking, and to finally do something. No matter how things would go.

“How can I say no to that?”

“Is that a yes?”

“Yes.”

Danté let out a loud breath. Like he had been expecting things to go differently. He quickly regained his composure, standing a little straighter.

“Great. Let’s grab a coffee tomorrow, and I’ll give you all the details.”

Part of me wanted to do a happy dance. Instead, I simply answered, “Okay.”

He hesitated as if he wanted to add something. Nothing else came.

“Bye, Squirrel.”

He waved before heading for the door where Alex was waiting for him. Once they were all gone, Chloe came back from the kitchen. She patted my shoulder.

“That was about damn time.”