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“I think this might be the best day of my life,” I whispered, just as Nicholas delicately spun me around before pulling me back into his arms.
“I wouldn’t say that,” Nicholas replied, his chest pressed close to mine. “There’s always tomorrow, after all.”
“Always tomorrow…” I grinned before pressing a kiss against the bottom of his jaw. “Sounds good to me.”
20
NICHOLAS
“Nicolas! Over here!”
I turned my head at the sound of my name being called out, quickly finding the source of it. It was Jacob waving me over to a table, a welcoming smile on his face. We’d driven up here together in separate cars, all the guys deciding that a Wild Woods HQ road trip was finally in order. I hadn’t seen Jacob since we’d stopped for gas about two hours ago, filling up our respective trucks and then getting back on the road.
“Did you change on the way to the restaurant?” I pointed toward his outfit as I walked up to greet him. “I could’ve sworn that you were wearing something different when we were at the gas station?—”
“Yeah, that’s the price you pay when you’re riding in a car with Damon and Sam.” He held up a hand, as if in apology. “Sam said something about me not dressing right for the occasion. He said I should be trying to make more of an effort and Damon agreed with him.”
“More of an effort? About what?”
“Snagging a man!” Sam’s words were singsong as he walked up to our conversation. “Seriously, though. Doesn’t he look so much better?”
“I think he looks fine, either way.” I offered Jacob a smile. “You shouldn’t have to work so hard to snag a man, anyway. If someone likes you, they should like you for who you are, right?”
“Of course.” Sam beamed. “But there’s nothing wrong with accentuating the good.”
“Sam!” Parker called out, joining our conversation. He took a moment to look Jacob up and down. “New outfit?”
“Yeah, okay. At this point, I think it’s easier if I just wear a sign,” Jacob mumbled before he took a seat at the table.
“Don’t let them get to you, Jacob,” Damon added as he sidled up to Sam, wrapping an arm around his waist. “I may have been on board with the outfit change but if I overheard Nicholas correctly, it really does come down to people liking you for who you are.”
“Was that a preface for another outfit change?” Jacob asked.
“No. Not this time.” Damon chuckled as he took his seat next to Jacob, with Sam following suit. The rest of us found our seats then, too, as acoustic music floated over the restaurant’s speakers. This place had come highly recommended by Sam, and since he was the hippest member of our little group, we’d just taken his word for it. The décor was a little off the wall, with colorful parrots and peacocks being painted on nearly every corner of the place. There was also the matter of how the employees were dressed, rainbows everywhere for as far as the eye could see, some of them even sporting neon hair.
“What’s the food situation here again?” Parker asked, as he casually flipped a menu over in his hands.
“Good. That’s the situation,” Sam replied, with a laugh. “Trust me. Anything you order off this menu is going to blow your mind.”
Half an hour later and our food started to come out of the kitchen.
I couldn’t pretend that I wasn’t nearly salivating as the waitress set our plates down at our table, a homemade chicken noodle soup chock full of carrots and onions, a layered lasagna that looked like something right out of mom’s kitchen, a plate of salad piled high with croutons and tomatoes and a blanket of shredded cheese resting right on top of it.
I knew there was more food on the way, but I couldn’t hold myself back any longer. I found myself digging in, sharing in Parker’s order of soup, licking my spoon clean by the time I was finished with it.
“Looks like you were right about this place, Sam,” Damon said, before taking another bite of his salad. “Everything looks delicious so far.”
“I told you so.” Sam chuckled. “I’ve got a real nose for these things. That and I obsessively checked each and every review on Yelp for restaurants on our road trip route as soon as you said you wanted to go on one.”
“Ah. There it is. There’s that magic.” Damon chuckled, too, before he placed a small kiss on Sam’s cheek. “That’s my Sam.”
“So, Nicholas,” Jacob started. “How are you liking working at the fire station near the airport?”
“It’s pretty much all he talks about, that’s how he’s liking it,” Parker answered on my behalf, already grinning.
“He’s not wrong,” I admitted. “What can I say? I’m a big fan of the place. It’s a good group of guys and the schedule is pretty manageable, too. Plus, the pay is better the closer you are to Roanoke.”
“He’s just excited about the opportunity to whip some of those guys into shape.” Parker laughed. “They’re going to be regretting adding him to the team when he starts inviting them out on his infamous death hikes.”
