Page 17 of Don't Leave Me

I lean down and press a soft kiss to the top of her head. I wish I had somewhere I could take her so we could spend time together without an audience. Something tells me if I take her home, Sydney, Danny, and Bree will make it impossible for us to be alone.

Instead, I think we’re stuck claiming a booth here and making the best of our situation. I need to start looking for my own place in Maple Springs. I’ll never have a girlfriend if I'm still living with my sister and her kids.

Once Melissa has our goodies boxed, I asked for two large glasses of milk and hand Sophia the box. She grins down at it like a kid on Christmas morning about to open their first gift.

“Why don’t you go pick a table? I’ll grab our drinks.”

She nods her head and slips inside a booth. I watch her, shaking my head. I don’t know how I got lucky enough to be on a date with her, but I'm never going to forget this night.

Placing our drinks on the table, I take my seat across the table from Sophia and crack open the box.

“Now, how are we doing this? Are we sharing each one? Are we claiming cookies? First come, first serve?”

“I think we need to share. I’m going to get pretty upset if you take one I want. It could start a fight and I don’t think you’re prepared for that.” Her eyes sparkle with excitement as she peeks up at me.

“Oh, yeah? You think you can take me?” I puff out my chest.

“I don’t think you understand what I’ll do to get my hands on a cookie. I play dirty.” The most devilish grin I’ve ever seen spreads across her face.

“I'm going to need examples, or I won’t believe you.” I place my elbows on the table and lean in close. I really wish she were sitting next to me so I could touch her in some way.

“Ok… let me think.” She twists her lips back and forth as she tries to come up with a good example. “Alright. When I was little, Jax stole my cookie from me. I told him to give it back or I was going to stab him with my fork.”

“You stabbed your brother with a fork?” My brows shoot up my forehead as I stare at her in disbelief.

“Right in the forehead.” She points to a spot right above her right eyebrow. “Cody teases me all the time and says he can still see the four dots from the fork prongs, but I think he’s just messing with me.”

“Have you ever looked?”

“Jax is six foot six inches. I can’t see his forehead.” She chuckles.

“Wow, okay. I feel like I should take this away from you.” I reach across the table for her fork and she giggles.

“I promise I won’t stab you. I'm pretty sure that would be considered assaulting a police officer.”

“Is that the only reason?” I laugh.

“Nah, you’re too handsome. I wouldn’t want to mess that up.”

She breaks a cookie in half and lifts a piece to her lips. I stare at her as she wraps her lips around the sweet treat. Her eyes slide shut and she lets out the smallest groan.

“Speaking of… someone owes me a verdict.” I grab the other half of her cookie and dip it in my milk before taking a bite.

“I guess I do.” She smirks. “Well, I spent some time stalking your social media after you friended me…”

“Not before? Dang, I expected more from you. I thought you’d know everything about me within ten minutes of me leaving. Your stalking skills are lacking.”

“Eh, it’s not my style. Normally Emma and Bella are my social media stalkers.”

“Hmm, I don’t think you’ve mentioned them before. Your best friends I assume?”

“That’s correct.” She points a cookie in my direction.

“Mulberry Lane?” I guess.

“Of course. Where else do you find best friends?”

“I think I need to visit this place. It sounds too much like a fairytale.”

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