22. CADE
CHAPTER 22
CADE
L ucky and I rush to follow after Garcia and Kim once they start heading out of the restaurant. Halfway before the exit, I brake suddenly and Lucky slams into me.
“Dude, we have to pay first,” I say.
Lucky steps back, saying, “Oh, right. Why don’t you go ahead while I pick up the tab?”
“Thanks, I’ll see you outside.” I offer my fist and he bumps it before I keep going.
But Garcia and Kim aren’t out of the premises yet. The hostess and another employee have detained them to take pics with Kim, pics that Garcia herself is snapping on someone’s phone. I retreat a few steps and hide behind a tall plant. They both know I’m here, but I’m still trying to respect the fact that this has to feel like an actual date. I’m not going to interfere if they do, in fact, hit it off.
I force my fists to relax as I wait for the pleasantries to be over. My eyes zero in on Kim guiding Garcia out, his hand on the small of her back. The large doors swing closed behind them and when I step out of hiding, they’re both laughing in the middle of the parking lot.
See? That’s why he’s the right guy for her. I can’t think of a single time I’ve made her laugh like that. If anything she’s always irritated at me.
“Ready?” Lucky’s voice drifts from behind me.
I open my mouth to speak and that’s when I notice how hard I’ve been clenching my jaw. “Yeah, let’s go.”
We trod out of the restaurant, still keeping a big distance behind the couple. I mean, Garcia and Kim. They’re not a couple. Yet.
Then they stop and so does my brain, because Kim positions himself in front of Garcia and grabs her face.
“Oh shit,” Lucky whispers with amusement, snapping his fingers. “They’re gonna kiss, aren’t they? Dude, they’re gonna make out!” He smacks my chest with the back of his hand.
But I can’t move. I certainly can’t find it in myself to show any amusement.
Garcia’s back is to us. I kinda wish I could see from her expression if this is all she’s ever wanted. Maybe that would make it a lot easier to grab this weird feeling in my gut, shove it in a box, and toss it nearby in Lake Eola.
I swallow hard as they kiss, mentally cursing at myself for being such a damn good cupid, but also angry that I have the balls to feel angry in the first place.
Like geez, dude, what right do I even have to feel jealous? I have no interest in Hope Garcia. And if I did, that would make me a complete asshole anyway.
I barely register as Kim pulls away but next thing I know, Lucky’s jerking me hard to hide behind a car.
“What the?—”
“Shh,” he says with a finger against his mouth. He stretches to peep over the hood of the car but when I try the same, he jerks me back down.
“What are you doing, Rivera?”
“Looking out for you, trust me.”
Still crouching, I rest my elbows on my knees and bring my hands up to rub my face. My voice comes out garbled as I ask, “What do you even mean?”
A car roars by and when Lucky motions at me to stand again, it clicks that it must’ve been Kim driving away with Garcia on his passenger seat. I swallow down the bitter taste on my tongue.
Lucky observes me for a moment with his game face, not his usual clown grin that precedes some sort of prank—but like I’m a rival he expects to bat a nasty hit from that’ll make him earn his sizable paycheck.
“You dipshit,” he says at last.
I jerk back as if hit. “What?”
“Are you in love with her?”
“No!” I exclaim, my face scrunching, my palms sweating, my skin itching.
“Let’s say I believe that. But clearly you feel some typa way over her. It’s written all over your face.”
“I told you not to have that second whiskey.”
He shoves me. Hard. “Stop bullshitting, man. Why aren’t you the one taking Garcia out on a date, then?”
“Because I don’t feel anything for her.” For the first time in a long time—and the last time was when I ate the last slice of his pizza—Lucky glares at me so I hard that I wouldn’t be shocked if he socks me in the eye. “Trust me, I—I really don’t.”
“I’ve never heard you stutter before.”
Grunting, I run both hands down my hair. “Fine. Maybe I do feel some typa way, like you said.”
“Uh huh.” He folds his arms and leans his head back to stare me down.
“But I’m not the right guy for her, man.”
“Why the hell not?”
“You’re kidding me, right?” I give out a dry laugh while motioning at myself. “What do I have to offer? Literally nothing.”
“That’s not how you use the word literally, you absolute fool. Literally—” he says in a sinister tone as he advances to poke my chest, “—means not even yourself, and last I checked you’re single as shit.”
I bat his hand away. “That’s not what I mean and you know it.”
“No, I literally don’t understand you right now.”
Exasperated I basically shout, “I have no family! No past. No legacy. I don’t even know what day I was really born. I don’t know if I still have parents. Or siblings. I don’t know where I came from, what health issues I may develop, or worse. I—I…” I breathe hard, swallow with difficulty. “I don’t know if my biological mother was hurt for me to exist. Or if she just didn’t want me. I’m all alone, Lucky. I have nothing and she deserves everything she wants and then some.”
Somehow his chest rises and falls with the same cadence as mine, as if we’re running around the field instead of standing in the middle of a quiet parking lot.
Stepping back, Lucky lets out a shaky breath and a string of Spanish, aimed pointedly at me, which can’t be any good. Then he says, “You do have a brother. Me .”
My eyes pop.
“And you’re not alone.” He points a finger at my face. “You have a whole team behind you. You have fans.”
“That’s not the same,” I say, my voice raspy after shouting like a fool.
“Yeah, it is. I bet some fans probably love you more than relatives would.” He wrinkles his face. “And screw your parents. They don’t deserve you, you’re clearly too good for them.”
I sigh. “Lucky, I get what you’re trying to?—”
“Shut up.” That snaps my mouth shut. “Listen to me. You raised yourself better than most people are raised by their parents. I’m not gonna accept any Cade Starr slander, not even from yourself.”
Casting my eyes down at the asphalt, I say, “Can we pretend like I never said shit?”
“No. I’m actually glad you spewed all that bullshit so it doesn’t fester anymore. Look at me, gringo.” I glare at him and he returns it even harder. “If you want her, don’t let anyone take her from under your nose. And don’t you dare talk yourself out of what you deserve.”
“I don’t deserve her,” I grouch, balling my fists. “She’s her own person and doesn’t owe me crap.”
“Argh! I really want to punch you in the nose right now.”
Dryly, I say, “Fine, do it.”
“No. Your hard head would probably break my hand.” Grunting, he makes as if to walk away but then returns right back. “You fight for her, you hear me? And if you need help getting Logan out of the picture now, I’m here for you.”
“Whatever.”
“Not whatever.” He claws at my shoulder and stops me. “I’m here for you, Cade. For better or for worse.”
“Are you trying to marry me?” I joke to deflect.
Lucky frowns harder. “Clench your jaw tight because I’m gonna punch you now.”
I shrug out of his hold and jam my hands in my pockets. “Keep yapping all you want, I’m going home.”
He waits until I’m far enough, and right as a group of people are coming out of the restaurant, to scream, “I love you, man!”
I cringe and try to hide my face from the now giggling strangers. It makes me rush to my truck but then once I’m inside, the fact that I’m not safe here either punches me in the nose. And that is because of the lingering smell of vanilla.
My eyes fall on the empty passenger seat where a certain athletic trainer sat for a good part of the afternoon, enough that the scent of her skin still permeates the air. Unbidden, my nostrils flare trying to absorb it all in one go.
A weird laugh bubbles up my throat, and it doesn’t stop. I’ve finally gone and lost my last marbles. Heat rushes up and settles on my face and I don’t know if it’s residual embarrassment, effort from the unhinged laugh, or what. I bury my face in my hands, waiting until the fit subsides, and rest my forehead on the steering wheel.
Muffled by my hands, I ask, “What the hell am I gonna do with myself?” But as I search for that answer, I have to make sure not to act weird around Garcia and Kim, no matter what it takes.