“How did that go?” I asked, after chewing the bite and swallowing.
“Not bad, actually.” Ryan grabbed his Pepsi and took a long drink. To give him more time to think before saying more? “You know I’m not exactly on the best terms with him.”
“Mhm.” Damn, the nerves were intense in my stomach.
What had they talked about? My lungs started to burn, and I realized I’d been holding my breath waiting for him to continue.
“I’mstillnot on good terms with him,” Ryan added, picking up a fry and turning it between his fingers before picking it apart. “But… I don’t know. Again, you got me thinking about shit. I might have my issues with him, but he’s still my dad.”
Was he going to tell me what those issues were?
I already knew, but I wanted him to feel comfortable enough to tell me. He had found out about Emery while we were already friends. Instead of talking to me, he had kept it bottled inside and let it eat at him. Like a festering wound.
“I think your dad is pretty cool,” I said, grabbing another wing. “Whatever issue you have with him… I think it’s fixable. He loves you like crazy.”
Oh, shit. I shouldn’tknowEmery well enough to say something like that.
Ryan remained oblivious.
“Yeah, I know.” He exhaled and shoved another fry into his mouth. “Just complicated as fuck.”
“You can talk to me, you know,” I said, somewhat hurt that he hadn’t already. But I had no room to talk. I was keeping ahugesecret from him.
“I know, man. Just not ready to go there right now.”
“Cool.” I nodded. “Whenever you’re ready, I’m here for you.”
“Can I have another?” he asked, eyeing my precious food. “You said you’re here for me and everything.”
“Nowyou’re an asshole,” I said, grabbing a few wings and putting them on his plate. “Mr.I’m not hungry, I’ll just order friesand then you eat all my shit.”
Ryan barked out a laugh.
“Cason?”
I turned to see Faith. Out of all the places I could run into her, I would never have thought I’d see her in Hooters.
“Hey, Faith,” I said, and then I quickly wiped my mouth since there was probably barbeque sauce all over it. It sure as hell was all over my fingers. “Didn’t expect to see you here.”
She smiled. “Came for the wings. Best place in town for them.”
“Wow,” Ryan said, looking between the two of us. “It’s you in girl form.”
Faith lightly laughed and tucked her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear. She was sweet, and I got a good vibe from her.
“If we keep running into each other, I’ll have to consider a restraining order,” Faith said, still grinning. “Stalker.”
“Hey, I have an idea.” Ryan turned in his seat so he could face her. “Let’s all go to the pool hall after this. I can invite my girl too.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, knowingexactlywhat Ryan was doing. Setting up some stupid double date. Before I could turn down his idea, though, Faith chimed in.
“That’d be fun!” She seemed so excited.
Shit.I didn’t want to be a buzzkill and ruin the night. And I didn’t have a good reason to say no. Emery and I weren’t meeting up, so I couldn’t say I had other plans.
“Let’s do it,” I said, admitting defeat.
How bad could it be?
