Page 56 of Restricted List

“Hair of the dog always helps, though,” I smile, handing her the bottle of water I grabbed and twisting off the cap of my beer.She may not be drinking, but I am—I think I need a little liquid courage to stave off the nerves. One should be enough to just take the edge off.

“No, thank you,” Rory laughs, taking the seat next to me. “Thank you for dinner, Cole.”

“Don’t thank me yet. I’m not even sure it’s edible.”

“I’m sure it’s fine.”

Rory places her elbow on the table, propping her head up against her hand. I mirror her position.

“You look great tonight, Starlight.”

Her cheeks flush, and a soft smile tugs at her lips. “Thank you. You don’t look too bad yourself.”

“It’s the hat, isn’t it?” I smirk. “I know you like a backward hat.”

She groans. “I need the girls to take my phone away from me when I’m drunk.”

I decide to push further because, apparently, I like playing with fire. “Do you not like it then?” I eye her mischievously, stoking the flames.

Rory throws her head back and sighs. “Yes, I like it. Yes, it looks good. Yes, I remember telling you that, and it’s kind of mortifying.”

“I think we’ve had far more mortifying moments recently. You telling me I look good in this doesn’t even crack the top ten.”

She genuinely laughs now. “We have been really good at that lately, haven’t we?”

I smile back at her. “Come on, let’s eat. We can talk after dinner.”

“Well, it wasn’t terrible,” I say as Rory and I both flop onto my sofa.

“Perfectly edible,” she laughs, slipping off her boots and tossing them to the floor.

“You know what? I’m just going to take that as a compliment.”

I lean against the plush cushions, turning sideways to face her. Rory sits on the other side, back against the arm, with her legs tucked under her.

Her face turns a bit more serious. “What is it you want to talk about tonight?”

I take a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” Rory asks, clearly confused.

“I feel like I’ve been crossing the line a bit recently, and I’m sorry for that. We’re friends, and I shouldn’t be behaving inappropriately.”

Rory looks down, fidgeting with her sleeves like she does when she’s nervous or uncomfortable. “I… don’t think you’ve been inappropriate.”

My heart beats loudly in my chest. I wonder if she can hear it. “You don’t?”

“No. I, uh…” she looks up, meeting my eyes, “like it.”

“Oh,” is all I can manage. Here I am, trying to apologize, thinking I’ve crossed a line, only for Rory to tell me that she likes it. She likes that I’ve been blatantly flirting with her.

Great.

Really fucking great when I’m supposed to be using tonight to reel it back… again.

I need to change the subject.

“So, how was Vegas?” I blurt, desperate to change the conversation.

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