HOLD THE FOREVERS

2. Athens-3

By the time seven rolled around, Josie had done her work and I was ready to go. Cole had texted, saying that he was going to come up. Because obviously he could just walk up into the all-girls dorm.

At the knock, Josie rushed to answer first.

“Josie!” I hissed.

She swung it open. “Heyyy!”

I put my head in my hands.

“Uh, hey,” Cole said from the door. “I’m here for Delilah.”

“Lila, your date is here,” Josie called.

I took a deep breath and stepped forward. “Yeah, I gathered that. Thanks, Josie.” My gaze caught Cole’s bright blue eyes, and my stomach flipped. He had on jeans and a white button-up with the sleeves rolled to his elbows. “Hey.”

“Hey, you look nice.”

I bit my lip, and Josie nudged me, as if to say, See.

I’d wanted to go with jeans and a T-shirt, but Josie had insisted that I needed to—quote—“show off your dancer body.” So, we’d compromised on a light-blue wrap dress that matched my own blue eyes and made my brilliantly highlighted blonde hair shine even lighter.

“Thanks.”

“I’m Josie.” She stuck her hand out.

He laughed. “Cole. Are you Delilah’s roommate?”

“No, I go to SCAD. Just here for the weekend.”

“Am I interrupting your weekend? Should we reschedule?”

“No!” Josie said, all but pushing me out the door. “Y’all have a good time.”

She shut the door on the pair of us. I was left shaking my head.

“She seems … friendly,” Cole said.

“She’s a film major,” I said by way of explanation.

We left my dorm and found his white Jeep parked at the front of the lot.

“God, how did you even get this spot?” It was almost impossible to park this close to the dorm.

“Someone was pulling out right as I drove up.”

“Lucky.”

“It’s my superpower,” he told me as he opened the passenger door.

“That is a random superpower.”

“I don’t make the rules,” he said as I hopped in. Then he jogged around to the driver’s side and got in. “It’s just how it happens.”

“Well, the real test will be downtown.”

He grinned. “I got this.”

And he did. We only circled the block once before a prime spot opened up right in front of us on the most coveted corner of Clayton and College. I was so jealous of his parking luck.

“Fine, you win. You have a parking superpower.” I slung my bag onto my shoulder and hopped out of his Jeep before he could jog back around to help me out.

“What’s yours?”

“My superpower?”

“Yeah. Something random, like finding a good parking spot or being able to win things off the radio before nine in the morning.”

He directed us down the sidewalk. “I don’t know. I’m not sure I have one.”

“Everyone has one.”

I bit my lip, contemplating what my power was while Cole navigated us toward The Grill. It was a dive diner at the heart of downtown, known for its twenty-four-hour diner breakfast and milkshakes. It had red plastic booths and a working jukebox. Every orientation group ended up at The Grill when they came into town; it was tradition.

He pulled open the door for me. “This all right?”

“It’s perfect.”

The harried waitress ushered us into a booth and plopped down menus.

“I hope you like feta fries. They have the best ones in town.”

I blinked. “Feta … fries?”

“Uh, yes. They’re phenomenal. We’re ordering some.”

“All right. I do like feta and fries. I’ve never considered putting them together.” I shrugged as I looked back at the menu. “I think I’m getting breakfast. Don’t know if feta fries go with pancakes …”

“They’re a potato. Potatoes go with everything.”

I chuckled. “That is true.”

Once we ordered our breakfasts and fries, complete with two milkshakes—strawberry for me, chocolate for Cole—he returned to the question at hand.

“So … superpower?”

“Okay, okay,” I said, tapping a black-painted nail on the table. “This is going to sound weird, but when I get a Coke out of a vending machine, I almost always get two.”

“What?” he gasped.

“I know. It’s weird. It doesn’t happen every time, but it happens a frightening amount.”

“Forget it. Take my parking power. I want that. We’re going to have to find a vending machine and test this.”

I buried my face in my hands. “No! It won’t work, and you’ll think I’m a fraud.”

I peeked up at him, and he was grinning like he couldn’t wait to try it out.

“I need to see this in action.”

“Fine, but if I fold under pressure, it’ll be you suppressing my powers.”

“Fair.”

Our feta fries showed up first, and my mouth watered at the sight of white cheese sauce drizzled all over the double-battered French fries. I dipped the fry in more sauce and then took my first bite. My eyes rolled into the back of my head.

“Oh my God,” I groaned. “Why have I never had these before?”

“Exactly,” he said, pointing a fry at me. “These are to die for.”

And they were. I gobbled up half the tray without pause. I was almost full by the time my pancakes showed up. And though I did try to eat some of the meal, I was too focused on Cole. I’d thought that this would be awkward. First dates were always awkward. Or…the entire two first dates I’d ever been on since Ash were so unbelievably awkward that I’d really never wanted to do them again.

But hanging out with Cole, it felt like I’d known him my entire life. As if he just somehow … fit.

“Let’s take the milkshakes to go. I have an idea,” he said with a gleam in those baby blues.

Once our milkshakes were properly put into giant Styrofoam cups with thick straws, Cole paid for us both, despite my protest, and we headed back out onto the Athens streets. Downtown Athens was a five-by-six block of bars, restaurants, and shopping. It was the heart of the city. And The Grill was directly across Broad Street from North Campus, where the arch stood as a proud symbol of the university.

We waited at the corner, sipping our milkshakes. The city was busier than normal due to the spring game tomorrow. During game weekends, half of Atlanta flooded the small town, burgeoning from a hundred thousand people to three to five hundred thousand overnight.

And Cole was entirely recognizable. In the minute we waited, about a dozen girls ogled Cole as they walked past.

“Do people always act like this?” I asked.

“Like what?”

I shot him a look of disbelief. “Stare at you?”

He looked behind him, confusion clearly on his face. “Were people looking? Sorry. I know it can be weird. I don’t even see it.”

He was serious. He hadn’t even noticed that girls were eyeing him and fans were snapping pictures. That he was a celebrity to them. But he was just a normal guy.

“You really don’t?”

“Nah. I’m used to it, because of my dad. You know my dad’s a Falcons coach?”

“Everyone who listens to ESPN is well aware.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, probs. Well, people would approach my dad some when I was younger, and I thought it was so cool. But he always remained firmly humble. Talent doesn’t make you special. It just means you have a different skill than someone else.”

“That’s actually a great way to look at it.”

Cole shot me that megawatt smile as we crossed the street and approached the arch. He nudged me in front of one of the openings. I gasped and pushed him back.

“Stop trying to bring me bad luck!”

He chuckled. “Afraid you’re not going to graduate?”

As the superstition went, if you walked through the arch before graduation, you wouldn’t graduate. It was a big deal at graduation to get that first walk through, and people lined up for hours to get that special moment photographed. I certainly wasn’t planning to ruin it.

“I have no fears of that, but gah!”

“I wouldn’t actually do that to you,” he said as we slipped past the arch and onto North Campus. “You seem like the smart, studious type.”

“What gives you that idea?”

“You sit at the front of class.”

“Lots of people do.”

“And don’t bring your laptop.”

“So?”

“Because you’re actually taking notes,” he said. “And you answer half of Professor McConnell’s questions.”

“Only because no one else ever speaks up and I cannot handle awkward silence.”

Cole chuckled, draining the last of his milkshake and tossing it in a nearby trash can. “See … smart, studious type.”

“Fine, I like school. Sue me.”

“Nah, I like it.” He flushed slightly, running his hand back into his gelled hair and cursing under his breath as he remembered it. “I was actually … nervous to ask you out.”

I snorted. “Why? You’re Cole Davis.”

“That doesn’t mean anything. And anyway … you’re intimidating.”

“Am I?” I asked with raised eyebrows.

“Well, not now that I know you, but yeah, you kind of are.”

“I’m not sure that’s a compliment.”

His eyes were so bright when he looked over at me that my heart practically stopped. He reached out and took my hand in his. Our fingers threaded together. I could feel my heartbeat everywhere at once. That one easy movement changed everything. Now … we were holding hands. And he just smiled.

“It’s a compliment, Delilah.”

I swallowed and looked up into his face. He tugged me toward an admin building.

“Come on.”

“What are you doing? Everything is locked.”

He shot me a mischievous look and opened a side entrance.

My eyes widened. “That’s not supposed to happen.”

He didn’t respond, just drew me inside. The lights were off, but brightened his phone screen until he found what he was looking for and flipped on the lights.

“Aha!” he said.

And then I saw it—a vending machine.

I couldn’t help the bubble of laughter that exploded out of me. “You dragged me into a dark corner of campus to find a vending machine?”

“Work your magic, Delilah.”

“I don’t have any change.”

He winked at me and pulled out his Bulldog Bucks card. “Got you covered.”

He passed it to me as if he never considered that there might not be any money on his card. That it would just be there when he needed it.

I swallowed back my emotions on that, like I did everything, and hoped my superpower wouldn’t let me down.

With a deep breath, I swiped his card on the machine and pressed the Coke button. We both waited with anticipation as the machine rattled, taking its sweet time. It was an old model, and honestly, I was surprised it had card access at all.

Then there was a sturdy clunk, followed immediately by a second clunk.

“Ohhh!” Cole cheered, throwing his arms in the air and doing a two-step, as if I’d scored a touchdown.

I burst into laughter at the display and joined him, dancing circles around him. “It worked! Superpower unlocked!”

We dug into the bottom of the machine and pulled out the two Cokes. Cole looked at it as if it were a goddamn miracle.

“This is seriously the coolest s**t,” he said after we shut all the lights off and headed back to his car.

“It’s so random.”

“That’s why it’s the best superpower ever.”

“I accept this great achievement.”

He slipped his hand back into mine and gave me another look that made me melt into a puddle. “I don’t want this night to end.”

I flushed again. “Me neither. I’m having a great time.”

“We could go get a drink,” he suggested.

“I don’t have a fake.”

He shrugged. “You don’t need one. I can get us in.”

“Are you that self-assured about everything?”

“No,” he said. “I wasn’t sure that you’d say yes.”

“I didn’t.”

He leaned back against his Jeep and finished off the Coke, setting it on the hood. “Yeah. Why did you say no anyway?”

“I kind of swore off football players.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You dated a football player here?”

I shook my head. “In high school.”

“Well, damn, guy must have broken your heart if you swore off all of us.”

“Something like that.” Not that I wanted to talk about Ash at all.

“So, why’d you say yes then? I’m still a football player.”

“Don’t remind me,” I said with an eye roll.

“I guess it doesn’t matter. I’m glad you did. I’d been working up the courage for weeks.”

“No, you haven’t!”

“I’m serious,” he said. “I liked that you never gave a s**t who any of us were.”

“So, you do notice that people notice you,” I teased.

He held his hands up and shot me that same cocky grin he always shot the camera. “I mean … I noticed more that you didn’t notice.” He tugged me a little closer until we were nearly sharing the same space. “I like that.”

I cleared my throat, feeling everything in me set aflame from that look. “What if I said I had noticed?”

His eyebrows shot up. “That so?”

“Maybe,” I said with a laugh.

His eyes dipped down to my lips, and for a split second, I thought he might kiss me. Right here in the center of downtown, where anyone and everyone could see us.

I realized two things simultaneously: I wanted him to kiss me, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for that to happen.

This date … this date had been perfect. Easy. Uncomplicated. I’d made out with random strangers, and it hadn’t meant anything. But I knew without a doubt … this would mean something.

Cole Davis meant something.

So, I took the step back that I needed to breathe in his presence.

“Why don’t we get you home, Lila?”

I nodded. This time, I didn’t correct him.

And I never would again.