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Zach sobered, his own melancholy taking a backseat for a moment. Some days it was easy to forget what Cody and his son, Dylan had been through. Other times, like now, he was reminded of just how strong his friend was.
Cody’s wife, Dylan’s mom, had passed away four years ago after a long battle with breast cancer. His friend had no time to grieve though. No time to mourn the loss of the love of his life – overnight he’d become a single dad to a confused and grieving five-year-old. And that’s all he focused on at the time and all he’d focused on since. Being the best dad he could be to Dylan.
Nowadays, that’s what defined Cody. Being a dad first. A cop second. The man he is outside of those two things rarely made an appearance. But tonight, Zach saw a glimpse of him. The old Cody. The funny, carefree, wild guy he used to race ATVs with.
“Come on, spit it out. Who is she?” Cody’s question brought Zach back to the present.
“Libby. Her name’s Libby.” Zach was back to fiddling with his beer bottle. “There’s just something about her ... I don’t know, I can’t explain it.”
“Okay, so what’s the problem? Those dimples of yours not working out for you this time?”
Zach scoffed. “You could say that.” He ran his nail through the damp label, slowly picking off the paper. “Apparently she doesn’t date.”
That statement earned him another chuckle. “Let me guess ... you’re trying to change her mind?”
“I just don’t get it ... why she’s fighting it. There’s something between us, and I know she feels it, too. I mean it’s fucking electric, man. Seriously, since the first moment I laid eyes on her. Anytime she’s near me, my whole damn body lights up like a freakin’ Christmas tree.”
Cody let out a low whistle. “She’s that hot, huh?”
Hell yeah, she is.
“It’s not just that. Yeah, she’s hot ... but it’s more than that.” It was hard to explain. Even to himself. But he would try. “I like who she is as a person. All the different sides. The sweet side, the shy side, the sassy side. She makes me laugh. She’s real smart too. And so easy to talk to. Like, one minute we’re joking around with each other and the next we’re having a serious conversation about our lives. Nothing is forced, it just feels natural.” He let out the breath he’d been holding. “I like her, Cody. A lot. And for the first time ever, I don’t know what to do about it.”
Cody looked at him thoughtfully. All traces of humor gone from his face. “You know what to do.”
“I do?”
“Yeah, man ... you do. Let me ask you something. The girl doesn’t date, right?” Zach nodded despite his friend already knowing the answer. “So how is it you’ve been hanging out with her? Seeing all these different sides to her?”
He didn’t know where his friend was going with this, but he’d take all the help he could get.
“Well ... the first time there was a fire, that’s how we met. The second time, I ran into her at the Farm n’ Fresh” – Zach rolled his eyes as Cody choked mid-sip and sprayed beer all over the table – “where other than me inviting myself over to her place, nothing happened.”
“Sorry, sorry,” Cody said through laughter. Definitely not sorry at all. “Go on. You invited yourself over, and ...”
“And,” Zach continued. “Well, we hung out. I brought over some Chinese food and a toaster – long story. Before I left, I invited her to that fundraiser we had at the fire station. After some convincing, she agreed to go with me, and it was nice. We spent the whole day together and she met the guys. Then I take her home and she drops the bombshell that she doesn’t date. No explanation. Just that she thinks I’m a nice guy, blah, blah, but she doesn’t date.”
Ever since she’d told him, he’d regretted not asking why. At the time, he didn’t want to spook her. He wanted to see her again and he knew pushing her would jeopardise that. But now he was kicking himself. Driving himself crazy trying to think of all the possible reasons why she would give up on dating.
When he glanced up at Cody, he had a smug grin on his face. He’d grown up with that grin. It was the same one he offered up every time he’d beaten him at video games as a kid.
“What?” Zach asked, growing impatient.
The grin grew wider. “When did you say you were seeing her again?”
He didn’t. But he had a feeling Cody already knew that. “Dinner. Friday night.”
Cody barked out another laugh. “Jesus H Christ. You really have no idea, do you?”
What the hell was he talking about? A question he was quick to ask.
“Come on. Take a moment. Think about what you’ve just said,” Cody teased. When Zach only glared, he decided to put him out of his misery. “Fuck, man. You are dating her! Dinner, day out, another dinner ... I bet you got her number too, right?”
“Yeah, but—”
“But she told you she doesn’t date.” His friend took the words right out of his mouth. “Yeah, yeah. See, here’s the thing about dating – you use that time to get to know each other, right? Talk, go out, not have sex ... Well, it seems to me that’s exactly what you’re doing.”
“Friends do that too.” Zach pointed out.
