Luca and Lainey talk back and forth as I lead the way to the front door, cutting a path through the crowd.
“God, that feels nice,” I exhale, stepping outside into the cool night air.
“I love you,” Lainey mutters to Luca, who pulls her in for a hug.
“I love you too.” Luca kisses the top of her head before running his knuckles over the same spot. He looks up at me as Lainey fights free from his roughness. “Let me know when you get her back to her place.”
“I will.” He daps me up, and I don’t miss the opportunity to slap his back as hard as I can as he pulls me in. “Fucking dick.” He slaps me back, calling it even, and I can’t help but to laugh as Luca heads inside, trying to rub the spot between his shoulder blades.
It’s weird, having all three of us back together. It’s somehow easy, nostalgic, and as if we picked up right where we left off, before Cole isolated Lainey from everyone and villainized me.
But this glimpse into the past has beeneverything.
I don’t blame Lainey for taking his side—that’s what you do when you love someone. He blinded her, and she’ll come to realize that with some time away—she already has to an extent.
I wonder what the final straw was that pushed her past her limit.
Lainey hooks her arm in mine, and all thoughts of Cole disintegrate instantly. “Where are we going again?”
“Our place.” I smile, looking down at her, amused that she already forgot our conversation from a few minutes ago.
Her gaze flicks up at me, the streetlights glistening off her eyes as she holds her breath. “Our place?”
“McDonald’s.” I chuckle, and she laughs as it dawns on her.
“Oh my God!” she exhales. “That soundssogood right now.”
“Probably because you’re a little drunk.”
I know she doesn’t drink much—or at least she didn’t used to—but dear God, she’s an impressive lightweight.
“I want a?—”
I finish her order for her from memory. “A McChicken with Big Mac sauce, a large fry, and a strawberry shake.”
She looks up at me with awe and big eyes. “You remembered?”
I smile, feeling more at peace in this moment than I have in a long time. “You’d be amazed by the things I remember when it comes to you.”
Her gaze softens, her lips parting. She stutters a step but I keep her upright as we reach my car.
I open the front passenger door. “After you.”
She playfully chuckles. “Why, thank you, sir.”
Plopping into the seat, she sets her purse on the ground and buckles up as I shut the door and walk around the car, sliding into the driver’s seat.
Pressing the button, I turn the car on, and Lainey wastes no time getting accustomed to my radio system, syncing her phone.
“No, that’s totally fine, Lainey. I don’t mind if you play music.” I mock her, and she giggles unapologetically.
“To McDonald’s!” she orders, pressing play on a song that instantly teleports me back in time.
The song keeps playing through the speakers, and a chill runs through me. I haven’t heard this in years.
“What, you don’t remember the lyrics? Or are you too cool to sing along with me now?”
I shrug. “Too cool.”
