Page 25 of Peaches

I straighten and clasp my hands in front of me, my flush no doubt obvious now. “I’ve had a couple dates, actually,” I explain. “Because I’m . . . dating.”

The thrill exuding from my mother is near palpable. But then something dawns on her, her face morphing into concern. “Wait,” she whispers. “Rhett Bennett was here for you last night . . .” she says, trailing off.

She’d asked last night, when she saw him sitting in that booth, what he was doing here.Notunkindly by any means, but he’s never come in to eat before, and I knew it perplexed her. I’d tried my best to brush it off, telling her he was simply helping me with something.

“Mhm!” I nod but don’t dare say more. Instead, I rip my eyes away from her and stomp to the booth where Charlotte sits typing on her laptop. I glare at her for nearly a full minute before she deigns to look at me with a wide smile.

“Hey girl,” she greets me warmly.

“Since when do you share details of my dating life with mymother?” I whisper-yell through clenched teeth.

Her brow furrows. “You’ve never really had a dating life, so I guess I don’t know the rules?”

I roll my eyes. “Okay, no need to offend me further.” I lower into the booth across from her. “What did you tell her?”

She shrugs. “Just that we shared a not-so-epic double date last weekend and I haven’t seen you since. Pretty harmless, considering you’re almost twenty-four and live in your own house and are perfectly allowed to go on dates.” She crosses her arms over her chest. “I’m confused why you’d be upset about your mom knowing.”

I groan, hiding my face in my hands. “Because Rhett Bennett came here to find me last night after I forgot about our date?—”

“Excuse me!” Charlotte screeches. “You went on a date with Rhett Bennett?”

“Shhh.” I shoot a look around the café, horrified to find that we’ve not only caught Maeve’s attention but just about everyone else’s too. “Lower yourvoice, woman.”

Charlotte stares at me like I’ve grown a second head. “Explain.”

I pull the saltshaker in front of me so I can twirl it while I answer. “I had plans with Tony on Saturday night . . . Remember Tony? From the app?”

Charlotte nods. “You told me about it on Friday when we were getting ready for Spurs.”

“Yep. Well, I took him to Wild Coyote, and Rhett was there bartending and pretty much ran Tony out of the place.”

Charlotte’s eyes go so round I fear she’s going to break a blood vessel. “Hewhat? What do you mean he ran him out?”

“He heard Tony make some stupid comments about my profile and butted in, and then Tony tried to stand his ground and it pretty much turned into a pissing contest.”

“Oh my god, I’m surprised Tony had the balls. Rhett’s like . . . scary.”

“He is not,” I defend.

Charlotte’s mouth curves high. “Okay, so Tony tried to step up and . . . what? Rhett just kicked him out?”

“Basically, yeah. But he mademestay until he got off work and then berated me about dating assholes and told me if I was going to date one, to date him.”

Charlotte squeals again, and I almost smack her. “Oh my god, this is the greatest thing I’ve literally ever heard.” Her smile is so wide I think her jaw might dislodge from its hinges. “And what happened last night?”

I sigh. “It was so busy here I completely forgot that we made plans for dinner. He showed up looking pissed as hell because he thought I was standing him up. But then when he realized I wasn’t, he stayed and waited for things to settle down so I could leave with him. He took me to this amazing restaurant, and oh my god, Char, I fucking kissed him. I can’t stop thinking about it,” I admit.

“Wait.” She holds a hand up, closing her eyes as if savoring the moment. “Youkissedhim?”

I nod, biting the inside of my cheek. “Yeah.”

“Who are you and where the hell is my best friend, Olivia?”

I can’t help but giggle. Because she’s right. None of this sounds like me at all. “I know. I mean, it’s honestly more of a deal we made than anything else—he’s letting me practice dating with him. But the kiss just kind of happened. I’m not sure if kissing is allowed.”

She launches forward, leaning her elbows on the table. “When do you see him next?”

I shrug. But then the realization dawns on me: we never made any future plans. I never asked . . . I used up my final moments with him on a kiss. “Shit,” I whisper.

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