At ten o’clock, we stepped out of the bar.
"I'll stay with you until he comes. Gives me a chance to meet him too," Tom said.
I grinned. "Oh yeah. Please take notes and tell me your impressions later, okay? I might have some lust goggles on, and, as we know, those are not always very objective."
"Don't worry, I can be." He took out his phone and started laughing.
"What?"
He showed me a picture. I leaned in closer to see. It was a huge belly with a scary grin drawn on it.
He chuckled. "Alicia's having fun."
"What’s this?" Colton's voice came from next to us.
I looked up. He stared at Tom and me with a stony expression.
"Colton," I said. "This is Tom."
"You were on a date?"
I blinked, taking a step back. "What the hell?" I replied.
Tom cocked a brow. "Dude, take it easy."
"What do you mean, take it easy?" Colton asked, looking straight at me. "You told me you were meeting your best friend.”
"Yes, Tomismy best friend."
Colton shook his head. "And you expect me to believe that?"
"Yes, I do."
Ah, damn it.It was way too good to be true, huh? The dreamy guy apparently had deep trust issues. I was pissed.
"Why would you even tell me where you were meeting?" he went on.
I scoffed. "Are you serious right now? You're making a scene because you don't believe what I'm telling you?"
He ran a hand through his hair. "He'syour best friend?" Colton asked, his voice dripping with disbelief.
"You know what? I don't owe you any explanation." I turned to Tom. "Can you please take me home?" I felt like an idiot, holding my bouquet of flowers. I'd been so excited to see Colton, and he was being a total jackass.
"Sure," Tom said. He looked at Colton, “You're really barking up the wrong tree here. I’m married, and Zoey has been my best friend since college. She'll be the godmother of my daughter. Your loss, dude."
"Zoey—" Colton started.
"No, I really can't deal with you right now," I interrupted. I turned around and followed Tom blindly. I had no idea where he'd parked.
"Icannotbelieve him," I said when we finally reached his car. I put the flowers on the back seat and then climbed in the front passenger seat.
Tom gunned the engine. "You never mentioned to him that I was a dude?"
"No, I just saidbest friend, and he jumped to conclusions."
The car lurched forward, and Tom remained silent.
"Why aren't you saying anything?" I asked.