Chapter 18
EDEN
My heart is racingas I walk up the block in the direction of the bar where Gavin is waiting—and not just because I’m nervous to see whatever this disaster is.
That’s small beans in comparison to the way my heart is thrashing against my ribcage at the thought of picking up where Danny and I left off.
We kissed. We actually, finally kissed. Sure, it barely lasted two seconds and we didn’t get a chance to involve our tongues at all, which is a major, major bummer. But that lips-only kiss was tantalizing. The moment I felt Danny’s lips on mine, the moment his breath sheeted across my skin, I was weak—in the knees, in the elbows, in my ankles, in my skin, in my bones. My body was vibrating with anticipation. And if that’s what one lips-only, two-second-long kiss from Danny can do to me, I’m going to explode the moment we do anything more with each other.
I open the door to the bar and quickly scan the room for Gavin’s tall, lean frame. I spot his shaggy, gold-brown head of hair at a table in the back.
“Over there.” I point him out to Danny.
I weave through the haphazard configuration of bar tables, trying my best not to bump into anyone.
“Gavin. What’s going on?” I ask when I make it to him.
He spins around, a giant smile on his face. And that’s when I see the table is full of about twenty people, all of them Dream Guys.
“Surprise!” they yell in unison. I catch a flash of bright purple and see Kayla jumping and cheering at the far end of the table.
I stammer. “Wh-what’s this about?”
“It’s a surprise party!”
“For you!”
My gaze bounces between Gavin as he pulls me into a side-hug, and Kayla, who rushes up to me.
“But…why?”
Kayla raises an eyebrow at me. “This is a surprise party we’re throwing for you, CEO and creator of Dream Guy, because the app just reached ten thousand downloads.”
I gasp and jump-hug Kayla as the guys around us cheer. I spot Danny high-fiving and hugging them.
“I can’t believe it! How did you know before me?” I ask Kayla.
“You left your laptop open when you left earlier tonight, and I happened to see the subscriber list when I plopped down on the couch. Thought you deserved an impromptu celebration. You’ve been working so hard.”
The bartender drops off two bottles of champagne at the table and my eyes go wide. “Kayla, wait. That’s legit champagne, not the sparking white wine stuff that we normally have to buy because it’s way cheaper?—”
Kayla cuts me off with a nod of her head. “Nope. Tonight you don’t get to worry about budgets or the cost of things. Just enjoy the moment. You deserve to celebrate.”
“Cheers to you, Eden,” Gavin says. “This is the best job I’ve ever had. I get paid to go on dates with hot women. And it’s because of you.”
All the guys nod along.
“This job is so much better than when I was a barista,” Gavin adds.
“Last night I went to a concert with a date because she didn’t want to go alone. Freaking sweet,” Paul says.
“All I had to do on my last Dream Date was go with her to some opera and tell her how pretty she looked the whole night,” one of Danny’s professor friends says. “Easiest five hundred bucks I’ve ever made.”
Someone’s already poured the champagne into glasses. Kayla leans down, grabs two flutes, and hands me one. “To Eden!”
Everyone at the table yells “To Eden” before cheering and guzzling their glasses. From across the table, I catch eyes with Danny, who winks at me above the rim of his champagne glass.
There go my knees and elbows and everything again.
“To Kayla!” I say after taking a second to collect myself. “She’s the one who convinced me to create this app. Without her I wouldn’t be here. None of us would be. Plus, she’s the one who makes you guys look hot in all your profile pics. She’s the real MVP.”
Kayla gives me a playful nudge while everyone laughs and cheers. When I finish the rest of the champagne in my glass, I grab one of the bottles to top myself off. I turn to Kayla to offer her some and notice her exchange a look with Brendan. I can’t tell if she wants to kiss him or kill him. He clenches his jaw before the guy next to him pulls him into his conversation.
“What was that about?” I ask her.
My question must break her out of whatever trance she was. She blinks and shakes her head. “Nothing.”
“You sure? Because I couldn’t tell if you were going to jump Brendan’s bones or strangle him.”
She sighs. “Long story that I’ll fill you in on later. And then you need to fill me in on what you were doing with Danny before you walked in here.”
She wags an eyebrow. I bite my lip to keep from grinning too wide, but it’s no use. A giddy smile escapes anyway. But even if I had managed to keep my face in check, Kayla would still be able to tell that something’s up. We’ve been friends since we met while traveling abroad years ago and she’s always been able to read me like a book.
“Something may have happened,” I finally say. She starts to squeal, and I roll my eyes. “It’s not what you’re thinking.”
“Fine, we’ll save it for later.” She taps her glass against mine. “Right now, we’re celebrating you.”
I grab her hand. “I feel guilty taking all the credit for this.”
“What do you mean?”
“Dream Guy was your idea, technically. I should be throwing you a party.”
She shakes her head and waves a hand like I’m speaking complete nonsense. “You’re the one who designed the actual app. You do all the coding and the testing, you fix all the glitches, you do all the social media marketing. No way could I ever manage any of that. I’m all about taking pretty pictures, remember?”
I laugh.
“I gave you the nudge you needed. You pay me for my work on the Dream Guy profiles. And I’m your hype woman—and best friend. It works out perfectly.”
I pull her into another hug. “I love you, Kay-Kay.”
“Love you right back, Edie.”
I smile at us pulling out the silly nicknames we use when we get tipsy. Gavin announces that it’s time for shots. Kayla lets out a “Woo!” in support.
A few minutes later, tequila shots are dropped off at our table. We all do the customary prep: sprinkle salt on our hands and grab a lime wedge to chase. We down the shots. When I look back up, I see Cruz standing off to the side at a table with a few guys I recognize from his office.
He does a double take. “Eden?”
My eyes go wide. “Cruz.”
As he walks over, I glance around the table. As grateful as I am to be working with such a thoughtful and supportive group of people, I don’t want to explain the app to my brother. It’s not that I’m ashamed of it—far from it. I’ve never been prouder of any work I’ve done in my life. And I know Cruz would be proud of me no matter what I do for work.
It’s just that he’s super close with my parents and will inevitably tell them about the app, and I know they’ll be beyond disappointed that I’m using my skills for a fake dating app, of all things. They’d lecture me for the millionth time about how I’m wasting my potential on something so meaningless in their eyes. We’ll probably argue. Better to avoid that mess completely.
I hop up and walk over to him. “Hey!” We hug. “What are you doing here?”
“Just grabbing some drinks with my coworkers. You?”
“Same. Kind of.” I laugh, hoping that covers my half-lie. “Me and a bunch of my classmates from Portland State College wanted to blow off some steam.”
“Good for you. You’ve been working hard lately.”
He starts to speak but then stops when he looks up and sees something past me. “Danny?”
I glance over my shoulder and see Danny walking toward us. Crap.
I tamp down the panic swirl inside of me. There’s no need to freak out. It’ll be fine.
Cruz claps him on the back before pulling him into a hug. “Hey, man. What are you doing here?”
Danny’s smile twitches as he looks down at me. Well, that’s a guilty-as-hell look. God, I hope Cruz didn’t notice that.
“Some of the adjuncts joined us students for drinks,” I say quickly.
“Oh, cool. Do you guys see each other often?”
“Nope.” Danny says it so quickly that I’m caught off guard.
“We’ve seen each other from time to time,” I say.
“While we’re on campus.”
“Yes. Right.”
I hold my breath for a few seconds as Danny and I stand and look at Cruz. God, that was ridiculously awkward. Will Cruz notice?
But then I take in the slightly glazed-over look in his brown eyes. He’s tipsy, and when he’s tipsy, he’s notorious for missing details, like subtle body language.
Just then, Cruz shoves his shoulder in that playful way he always greets his friends. “Dude, you are the worst at texting me back.”
“I’m sorry, I know,” Danny lets out a breathy laugh, like he’s relieved. “I’ve just been busy with work.”
“You still doing Uber Eats?”
Danny shakes his head. “Uh, no. Thankfully my class schedule picked up. That’s why I’ve been shit at texting you back.”
“That’s awesome, man.”
Cruz reaches over and ruffles my hair, like he did when we were kids. I shove his hand away as he laughs.
“Gotta say, it’s a relief to know that you’re at the same university that my kid sister is at.”
I frown at Cruz. “Why is that?”
“Just me being a big brother. Nice to know that I’ve got a friend there looking out for you.”
I cross my arms. “I can look out for myself. I’m not a kid anymore.”
“Yeah, but you’ll always be my little sister, Eden.”
Even out of the corner of my eye, I don’t miss Danny’s reaction to Cruz’s words. His brow is furrowed, and his stare is focused as he looks between Cruz and me.
One of Cruz’s coworkers hollers at him that they’re headed to the next bar. “I should get going,” he says. “See you guys later. And Danny, we need to get drinks soon.”
“Of course. I’ll text you.”
Cruz leaves and I look over at Danny. Even before he speaks, I brace myself. I know I’m not gonna like what he’s about to say.