Hold the Forevers

Tony broke the tension. He pushed out of his seat and hugged Cole. “Good to see you, man.”

“Yeah, it’s great to see you.”

“Can you fucking believe that I just ran into Lila?”

Cole met my gaze. “I honestly can’t.”

“Well, say hi and then sit down, asshole. I’m buying. Do you still drink cheap swill?”

“Get me the expensive stuff,” he said with a shake of his head.

“Lila?”

“I’m good,” I said, holding up my water.

“Shut the fuck up. I haven’t seen you in four years. I’m buying you a drink.”

I held a hand up in surrender. “I was drinking a Hurricane.”

Then Tony sat at the bar to order, turning his back on the pair of us. I took a sip of my water just to have something to do with my hands. It had been over a year since I’d seen Cole. Since he’d kissed me with everything that he had outside of my mom’s house. I didn’t know how to be with him right now. How I should even feel?

Besides exactly the same.

“Hi,” I said. “Surprised to find you here. Visiting Tony?”

“No, I’m staying at the hotel. My business partner and I are pitching my new marketing company to the Saints.”

My eyes widened. “Wow, Cole! That’s incredible! What an opportunity.”

“Yeah. It’s sort of taken off in the last six months or so. I’ve been hopping all over the country. Saints are our last pitch.”

“New Orleans would be a big move.”

He nodded. “It wouldn’t be that bad though. My girlfriend’s from here.”

My stomach hit the floor. My throat felt like a boa constrictor had tightened around it. Everything was suddenly hazy and shaky. Maybe I’d had more to drink than I’d thought.

“Your girlfriend?” I stuttered out.

“Yeah. Harper.”

I nodded, and then I realized I hadn’t stopped nodding and glanced away. “That’s … great, Cole.”

“And you?”

“What about me?”

“Why are you in New Orleans?”

“Oh. Right. I’m also at this hotel for a PT conference.”

“Still with Ash?” he asked, his voice low.

I swallowed and nodded.

“I see.”

“Here we are!” Tony said. He passed us each a drink. “Lila, you’re going to have to stay and reminisce on the good ole days with us.”

“Oh, I can’t. My girlfriends are over there.” I pointed across the room. “I should probably get back, but it was great to see you.”

“Come on! It’s been years.”

I glanced at Cole, waiting for his objection.

“One drink won’t hurt you,” he said.

A shadow passed across his vision, and then tension lifted off of his shoulders. I didn’t know how to interpret that.

“Okay. One drink.”

I seemed to be saying that a lot lately. I jogged over to Trish and said that I’d run into friends and to not wait for me. Then I went back and took a seat next to Tony, keeping him between me and Cole.

“Y’all will have to come to the wedding. We’re saving up for it, so it might not be for another two years. I want to give Gina the best wedding I can,” Tony explained. “I actually wanted to see if you’d be best man.”

Cole beamed. “Hell yes, I will.”

“Gah, that sounds amazing,” I said.

Though I doubted that I’d ever end up at that wedding. Even if I wanted to be there. Cole and I would have to be in a completely different place than where we were now for that to happen and that seemed impossible.

Cole regaled us with his new marketing project, and I told them all about PT school and the insufferable job market. How much I wanted to work in the Falcons training room and how unlikely that was to happen. Tony gushed about Gina like a man besotted. He kept telling us how much he wished that we could meet her.

One drink turned into two and then three. I was definitely drunk by then. I knew that I should have stopped after one. Guzzled some water and then disappeared for the night. It was nearing midnight, and I hadn’t gone over my presentation once. Even worse, I was definitely going to have a hangover in the morning. Whoops.

“Gah, is it really this late?” Tony asked, rubbing a hand down his face. “Gina is going to kill me. I hate to cut it short, folks, but I’m outta here. It was so good, seeing you both.”

He hugged Cole and then me before dropping some cash on the bar. “Text me tomorrow, and maybe Gina can come out with us.”

“I will,” Cole agreed.

“You too, Lila!”

I laughed. “I might just do that.”

He nodded at us both and then ambled out of the bar. Leaving us all alone.

“How does this keep happening to us?” I asked, leaning an elbow against the bar and looking at him.

He shrugged one shoulder and tossed back the rest of his bourbon. “I’ve given up on coincidences.”

“Same. Third time in three years,” I muttered. “Crazy since you live on the other side of the country.”