I shook my head at how ridiculous I was being. "I know. Sorry."
"I see the way she looks at you," he said, ignoring my irrational moment. "It's pretty obvious she feels it, too. Why don't you just go for it?"
"Go for what?" I asked.
If he was suggesting I just try to bang her before she left, there was a chance I might deck him. Angel deserved better. The thought of anyone trying to take advantage of her situation made my blood boil.
But I should've known better. Colton knew me better than that and he proved as much when he spoke next. "If you want to be with her, really be with her, then do it. Get to know her. Take her on dates and stuff."
"She's only here for three weeks," I pointed out.
"So? That's enough time for you to figure out if there's something real there."
"And if there is? Then what? I'll be here and she'll be two thousand miles away."
Colton shrugged. "Figure that out when the time comes. If you want it bad enough, you can make it work. This could be the best thing that ever happened to you," he spouted optimistically. "And if isn't, then hey, she'll be two thousand miles away." He grinned.
He had a point.
"You know, you're a smart guy sometimes," I told him before I turned to the door. "And sorry for almost punching you in the face."
"You didn't almost punch me in the face," he said, confused.
"But I thought about it." I grinned.
Colton chuckled. "Wouldn't be the first time it happened."
True. I could count on one finger how many times we'd come to blows, and it was the same story I'd told Angel about the first time Colton and I met.
The talk helped to shed some light on my predicament. He was right. Angel and I had three weeks together, and I decided I wanted to make the most of it.
*
Angel and I left for The Brick House before Colton, and I told him we'd snag a table before it got too busy.
As I opened the passenger door to my 1972 Chevy to let Angel in, she shot me a look. I laughed because I could tell what she was thinking and she didn't even have to say it.
"I know, I know. You can get in by yourself. I just really want to impress you right now." I winked and she laughed.
Once I got into my side, I turned the key in the ignition, loving the familiar rumbling purr of the engine.
"Well, I love your truck. Is it vintage?" She rubbed the tan leather seats with her hands. "I really don't know anything about trucks but it looks old."
I grinned. "Yeah, you could say it's old. I restored it myself the first year I was working at the shop. Someone sold it to Hank as a junker for three hundred dollars. I'll never forget when Hank handed me the keys and told me it was an early graduation present. You can imagine my surprise when I tried to start it up and nothing happened." I chuckled at the memory. "The engine had to be rebuilt and the transmission was shot. I had a lot of fun fixing it up, though. It's a gas-guzzler, but I don't drive it much." I lovingly rubbed the dashboard.
Even though it had a few rust spots, I'd left the outside of the truck alone. It was painted an aqua blue, and there was no way the exact same color could be replicated. Besides, I liked the imperfections.
"You've got a really good thing here, you know that? Colton and Hank … I don't know if I've ever had friends like that." She paused and glanced my way. "If I'm being completely honest, I'm a little jealous."
"You don't have to be." I frowned. I didn't want her to feel like an outsider while she was here. "Colton and Hank are like a couple of ticks. They'll accept you as their own and you'll see what I mean. Once they latch on, it's hard to get rid of them," I joked. "Just wait ‘til you meet my mom."
"Your mom?" she asked, her tone incredulous.
"Yeah, tomorrow night," I said. "I have dinner with her every Saturday."
"Travis, you don't have to let me tag along to everything you do. I know you have a life here and I don't want to impose."
"Believe me, she'll love you," I assured her.
In all honesty, my mom would probably be planning our wedding before the evening was over. I'd never introduced a girl to her before. To say she was going to be excited was an understatement.
Pulling up to The Brick House, I could see the Friday night crowd was already in full swing. I parked my truck and told Angel to stay in her seat so I could open her door.
As I helped her out of the truck, I laced my fingers with hers.
"You really don't have to do that, you know. Not only can I get into a truck by myself, I can get out, too." She smiled cheekily.
"I know," I told her. "But I want to do things right tonight."
"Is this a date?" she asked candidly, her head cocked to the side.
"Yes," I said without hesitation.
"Oh." Her face showed she was a little shocked by my answer. The smile on her lips also told me she was happy about it.
"Is that okay with you?" I asked as I squeezed her hand and led her toward the building.
"Yes," she said without hesitation, and I laughed.
The Brick House looked exactly as the name said. From the outside, it looked like a normal rectangular ranch-style home with a natural brick exterior. It had a metal roof and the shutters were painted a bright bubblegum pink.
The inside, however, was set up like a sports bar. As soon as I opened the door, sounds of voices, raucous laughter, and music carried out.
The open space was basically one giant room. A long bar jutted out on the left side, and on the far right end of the large dining area there was a dance floor which was empty at the moment. In between, there were dozens of tables scattered over the floor. Most of them were filled with people, but I saw an open booth in the back close to the dance floor.
On the way to our table, I guided Angel with my hand on the small of her back and politely said hello every time someone greeted me. As always, there were a lot of familiar faces here tonight.
"Wow, you know everyone," Angel said.
I shrugged. "Small town."
Our waitress, Tammy, came over with our menus. Colton used to have the biggest thing for her in back in the day, but she was crazy in love with her high school sweetheart. She ended up marrying him a couple years ago.
Just like me, Tammy was a small town lifer. Born here. Raised here. Would probably die here.
"Hey, Travis. Good to see ya. Who's this?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at Angel.
"This is Angel. Angel, this is Tammy. We went to high school together." I was able to put my arm around her shoulders because I had her take the seat next to me in the booth.
"This might be the first time I've ever seen Travis here with a date," she said to Angel. "I could tell you some stories about this guy."
"That won't be necessary," I cut in with a smile.
"So lame," Tammy sighed, and Angel laughed.
"You may as well leave a third menu. Colt should be here any minute."
"Sure thing." She nodded and took our drink orders-beer on tap for me and an ice water for Angel.
Angel perused the menu, but I didn't need to because I already knew what I was getting.
"What's good here?" she asked while looking at the sandwich section.
"I always get the loaded nachos."
She hummed. "That actually sounds really good."
"We can just share if you want. It's huge."
"Okay," she smiled and set her menu aside.
"You know, you really do look beautiful," I told her as I ran my hand through her hair. "I should've told you back at my place, but Colton kinda beat me to it."
"You didn't really have to say anything." Her lips curled up at the corners. "Remember how I looked at you when you came out of the shower?" she asked and I was surprised she was calling herself out like that. "Well, that's what you looked like. I think I might have even seen some drool."
"What can I say? You're worth drooling over," I said honestly, and she blushed.
Colton slid into the booth across from us. "Alright, what did I miss?"
"We already ordered. Tammy's our waitress tonight." I smirked at him.
He put a hand over his chest like he was wounded. Even though he'd moved on from that long-ago crush, I still liked to remind him of the rejection from time to time.
"She wanted to tell me stories about Travis, but he wouldn't let her." Angel mock pouted.
"Oh, don't you worry about that. I've got plenty to tell," Colton offered, and I shot him a glare.
Thankfully, our food and drinks showed up, interrupting any embarrassing tales from my childhood.