Page 96 of The Fire We Crave

“Go big or go home, eh?” Atom asks, with a grin.

“It’s time I stopped doing things in half-measures,” Smoke says. Atom stands, and they do that complicated man hug that involves weird handshakes and back slaps. “Did you guys already order? Because we don’t want to interrupt you.”

Ember hugs me. “No. Please. Sit. And, for the record, I totally called this.”

Atom looks at Ember. “You did?”

Ember nods smugly. “Yup. The day you dropped me off and took Smoke to the clubhouse. The looks he was giving her could have set fire to tap water.”

A server, seeing what is going on, quickly moves the empty two-seater table next to theirs over, so we can sit as a four.

I’m about to sit next to Ember when Smoke gently tugs on my wrist to move me next to Atom. “The chairs are fucking tiny. I’ll end up sitting on Atom’s lap if I try to sit next to him.”

“You are quite the pair of amazing shoulders,” Ember says.

I glance at my friend. “Indeed.”

“So, what the fuck happened?” Atom asks after we’ve ordered our food. “Thought you guys hated each other.”

I’m thinking of how to answer that question in a way that’s respectful of our past, Melody, and the things we’re working through now, but Smoke beats me to the punch.

“She bakes like I fight.”

I smile, even as I’m confused. “What?”

He looks at me. “You’re all in, sugar. You want to be the best at what you do. You work hard for it. You make it look easy, and the outcome is always what you planned. Plus, you look fucking cute doing it.”

I’m not sure where all this romantic conversation has suddenly appeared from, but I am more than willing to accept it.

“Do you look cute fighting?”

Atom laughs. “All the time. It’s all his charisma. I mean, the guy is packed with charm and?—”

“Fuck you,” Smoke says.

Atom laughs hard, and I reach for Smoke’s hand across the table. “That was really sweet of you.”

When he smiles at me, everything feels right with the world.

“Let’s go to the bathroom before our meal gets here,” Ember says suddenly, standing from her seat.

I don’t know what makes me look to Smoke for approval. It feels like the most natural thing in the world. He nods, a minute gesture that most people in the restaurant would have missed.

Not even Ember noticed, because she’s already walking toward the back of the restaurant.

No sooner have I pushed the doors open than she tugs me inside and pulls me into a full hug. “I’m so excited for you. How is it?”

I’m not entirely sure I know what she’s asking, but I try to be honest with my friend. “It’s unexpected, and different, and absolutely perfect.”

Ember smiles as she grips both my arms. “I never saw Smoke as someone who was going to settle down. And I don’t want to make assumptions, but I would imagine his accident can change perspectives.”

I think about the deeply personal conversations he and I have had, and it feels like a betrayal to reveal any of that content,even if it’s to one of my closest friends. “Things change. Like you and Atom. Who knows why the timing or circumstance was once very wrong, and yet now feels very, very right?”

“Well, from that kiss in the middle of the restaurant, I would say things are going very, very, very, very?—”

“Alright,” I say with a chuckle. “I get your point.”

“Right?” she says emphatically.

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