Page 23 of Don't Look Down
Cayden leans forward, elbows on the table to whisper-yell at me, “You! Did you just ask her to sugar your rim?”
My hand automatically finds my chest in awho, me?gesture that perfectly matches my wide eyes. I couldn’t have. “What? No way.” He raises that eyebrow again, and I replay the last few minutes over in my mind. Laughter unexpectedly bubbles out of me.
“Ohmigod, oops, maybe I did.”
We dissolve into hysterics. Sometimes my mouth moves faster than my brain. I can’t help it.
We munch on chips and make small talk for a few minutes. “You know I miss you on COD, right? You should hop on when you can. I think I’ve mentioned my friend Landon before, right?”
His face scrunches in thought. “Vaguely, I feel like I remember you telling me I’ve been replaced by him. So rude!”
That draws a scoff out of me. “Um, excuse me, bitch. You replaced yourself, okay? You’re more than welcome to play with me anytime you want. Or us. We’ll make it a threesome.” My eyebrows bob up and down at him.
His laugh makes my smile widen. “I’ll see what I can do. It sounds fun. It has been a really long time since I’ve been on.”
“Yes. Yes, it has. But I’m glad you’re with me now. I’d take seeing you in person over a video game any day of the week.” Puckering my lips, I blow him a kiss. He blows one right back and winks at me.
It’s almost like old times. God, I missed him.
Anita delivers our drinks and takes our orders. We hardly ever look at the menu anymore, since we always end up getting the same meals every time. Today is no different. Our regulars for the win.
My favorite meal is their surf and turf taco combo. I was elated when they added it to the menu, because I always want to order everything. This combo is the best of both worlds for me. Shrimp, birria, and al pastor. Cayden, on the other hand, doesn’t like seafood, so he gets their land lover combo. Al pastor, birria, and chicken.
Now that we’ve ordered, it’s time to work on pulling Cayden into deeper conversation. I don’t like how deflated he seemed this morning, and I need to figure out why. Gently.
“So, boo, how’s the wedding planning coming along?” I ask as nonchalantly as I can, while sipping my margarita. The watermelon flavor is refreshing. Just what I need.
His eyes light up with the excitement this topic brings him. Most people are stressed while making wedding plans. But not Cayden.
“It’s going very well. We’ve picked a venue, but we haven’t decided on the exact date just yet. We’re planning for the last week of August, or within the first two weeks of September.”
“Awesome, there’s still plenty of time to finalize all those little details. Are you able to share the venue yet?”
“It’s not set in stone, but it will be within the next few weeks. We fell in love with the pavilion at Lighthouse Point. It’s perfect.If they have any of our preferred dates available, we’ll be paying a deposit. But get this, Andrew wants to make a grand entrance.”
“No way!” I rush to cut him off when I see his mouth is already opening. “Let me guess. He wants to drop into his own wedding.”
“You know it. I mean, it has the potential to be absolutely amazing.” Hesitation enters his tone, so I leap at the chance to dig deeper.
“But…?” I encourage him to finish.
“How do you always do that? You always know.”
I buff my nails on my shirt. “I’m just good at reading your tells.”
“Ugh, you really are. It feels… I guess… Well, it kind of feels a little too ostentatious to me. Weddings are alreadylook-at-me-I’m-getting-married, but this is a step further. I guess that’s my issue.” He pauses to take a big gulp of his drink. “But we’re compromising, right? He wants a hall. I want the beach. If we’re married outside, he gets to skydive into the wedding. It shouldn’t be a big deal.”
“I must admit, it sounds super fun.”
Cayden’s head bobs side to side. “To an extent, but either way, we’re spending our honeymoon in Dubai or New Zealand.”
Understanding dawns fully. “So, Andrew wants to hit some of the best skydiving spots on your honeymoon, but he also wants to skydive into the wedding. It seems a bit selfish? Am I right?”
A murmur of assent leaves his lips, he’s currently fiddling with his silverware, eyes downcast. My bubbly friend is not himself right now. Discussing the wedding gives him joy as a whole, but once we get deeper, the joy fades.
Briefly, Cayden meets my eyes before answering. “Yeah. I hate to agree with you, but I feel like he’s picking things that he’lllove, instead of us as a couple. A newly-married couple. I feel like I’m being irrational, though.”
“What? Why?” I lean closer to him, arms folded and resting on the table.