Chapter 29
Oscar
There is just a different energy when traveling. Everyone is a little quieter, a little more reserved, and the social media content is way different—more behind the scenes and travel with us content than dances and trends.
“Are you ever going to ask her out on a date or just keep thinking about it?” I ask him as he opens the video to see if she’s commented. He already chickened out last time I thought he was on a date with her. He didn’t tell me the truth for two days.
“She intimidates the hell out of me, I lost my nerve,” he says, still scrolling on the phone.
“Yeah, I can see that, but she and Mare have hit it off, why don’t we take them both out when we get back to Mango Bay.”
“Like a double date?” he asks. “That sounds a little desperate, like I can’t man up and take her myself.”
“I’ll have Mare invite her, and then it can give you guys a chance to hang out.” My suggestion isn’t shot down, so I’m guessing he’s in, or at least considering.
Mare and I are on opposite sides of the terminal waiting to board the flight because Horner grounded us from each other after he was forced to listen to our fun night through his hotel wall, so I shoot her a text.
Me: Want to go on a double date with Jax and Sloan?
I see her eyes shoot up and she smiles when she makes contact with me.
Mare: He finally asked her out?
Me: No. He’s a pussy. I told him we’d think of something fun to do and you would invite her to come along.
Mare: Grand Slam
Me: Huh? Is that supposed to be some sort of cute play on baseball terms? Like you think I have a good idea?
Mare: Fuck a tit
Me: I’d love to, but we’re in public…
Mare: It’s the new smash room that just opened up the street from Ruby’s. People talk about it all the time when they come in to eat.
Me: What in the hell is a smash room?
Mare: You go in and break shit with bats.
Me: That actually sounds not lame. I’ll call and make a reservation when we get home.
Mare: This is going to be so much fun! I’ll text her after you make the reservation.
I turn to Jax, who is currently going down a rabbit hole of pictures and videos of Sloan.
I watch him for a second and remember when I used to do the same thing when Tatum and I started dating.
I really hope she doesn’t break him the same way Tatum broke me.
If it wasn’t for Mare, I would not have recovered.
It’s a damn good thing she came on this trip so I don’t have to pine over pictures, I can just stare across the terminal.
“Mare suggested Grand Slam, it’s some—”
He cuts in, already familiar with the place, “That smash room? I heard it’s a fucking great time.”
“Let’s surprise them with dinner at our place afterwards,” I suggest. “I’ll cook, you get the wine.”
“Since when do you cook? Do you even know how to cook?” His insult lands hard.
“I know how to cook.” I’m slightly offended by his assessment.
“Mac and cheese is not cooking.”
“Well it can’t be that different from making spaghetti. I’ll call my mom and get her recipe.”
His sardonic laugh echoes across the open space catching the attention of everyone around us, including Mare. “Mac and cheese and spaghetti are not the same, Oz.”
“It can’t be that hard,” I say, pulling out my phone and scrolling social media for various cooking videos.
To my surprise they are not the same at all, and there are a lot of different ways to make spaghetti, but now the competitive side of me has to prove him wrong. I pin a few that are similar and place a grocery order to be delivered a few hours after we get home.
“Why are you ordering all of the ingredients for spaghetti now?” He chuckles as he watches me fish out my credit card.
“I have to have a few practice rounds before that night. I can’t serve her food that tastes like shit.”
“You do know you don’t have to make the sauce from scratch, there are plenty of good pre-made sauces in the pasta section.”
“If I’m making her dinner, I’m doing it right,” I say in a flat tone. “It looks easy in all these videos. That night I’ll even make a fresh salad and garlic bread.”
“You’re going to do all that after we go to the smash room? Are we eating at midnight?”
“Fuck off, Jax. All the videos say you can make the sauce the day before and then the flavors settle in more.”
Why is he acting like this is going to be so fucking hard. It’s pasta. How hard can this really be?
Just then, I watch her stand from her seat and make her way to the coffee stand nearby, catching my eye.
Me: Wait for me
I stand up and run over to follow her to the coffee stand.
“You want coffee that bad?” she asks.
I’m standing behind her in line and she is talking to me still facing forward at such a low voice I can barely hear her.
I hate that I have to pretend she’s not my entire world.
“No, but I couldn’t miss an opportunity to be close to you,” I whisper the words as I lean in slightly, just enough to smell her shampoo. I close my eyes taking in the flowery scent.
“Cinnamon Latte,” she tells the barista when we reach the front of the line. There is no one behind us.
“Add it to mine,” I say, sliding in behind her and placing a bottle of water on the counter.
“No coffee?”
I smile at her, but don’t answer. Instead, I tap my card on the reader and use my hand on the small of her back to usher her towards the end of the counter so she can wait for her order.
“I need to sleep on the plane to make this torture feel like it’ll end a little sooner. I’ll meet you at your apartment after the flight. Just go straight to the car with Horner. I’ll get your bags.”
I’m so close to her when I speak that I can see the goosebumps form along her arms.
I walk back over to where the team is sitting, and watch her pick up her cup and take a slow sip, and suddenly, I can’t wait to be crammed in the small seat on the plane. The sooner we get going, the sooner I’ll have her to myself.
I pick up my phone and shoot off a text to Sadie.
Me: Don’t wait up for her. She’s mine tonight.