Chapter 7

Madden

I'm gonna go home. Straight home. Obviously. Not like I can lurk around Penn's apartment and get the rundown as soon as he steps through the door. I have places to be.

Important places.

Busy places.

I crack Penn's front door and glance out into the hall. They're gone. Good.

My gut twists at how much prettier Lana looks straight-on than from the side. And Penn will be looking at her straight-on. Across the table. Where they're probably sitting and naming their future children.

Which is obviously a totally great thing and not at all something I should be worrying about.

They're going to hit it off.

But what if they don't?

That subconscious thought stops me in my tracks. If they don't hit it off, Penn will be upset, and then he'll need a familiar face to turn to. I'm a familiar face. I'm the most familiar face he knows.

Well, shit. Not like I can leave now.

Though I can't exactly wait around his apartment like I'm expecting him to fail. This is tricky. I need to be around if Penn needs me but not give the impression I don't have confidence he'll pull this off.

Hmm … could I say I'm expecting a delivery here instead of at home? For … some kind of reason. I'd stick around to clean up after last night, but he's already done that. Besides, I have no idea if he's got work on today or not. Luckily, I can show up whenever I like.

There's literally no excuse for me to stay here.

I guess that leaves me with no other choice.

I'm going to have to follow them down to the cafe and watch from a distance. If things go south, I'll swoop in. If they're laughing and flirting and having the best time picking out carpet or whatever it is straight people do, I'll leave them to it.

It's my best-friendly duty to check first though.

I grab the shirt I wore here yesterday from the hook by the door. Given I only wore it for about an hour, it's clean enough, so I pull it on, make sure I've got everything, then head out of the apartment.

There's a cafe a block over where they've probably gone, so I take my time, wanting to make sure they're settled and talking by the time I get there. It'll be easier to get the vibe from their date that way.

My feet are stubborn blocks of flesh, so even though I tell them to slow down, I get to the cafe way too fast. My gut is in knots, and I try to trick myself into believing that it's because I'm invested in how this goes for him. That I'm a really good friend and I want him to make other friends, but I know it isn't that.

If Lana really was just a friend, I wouldn't be here in the first place.

But if I know Penn—and I like to think that I do—Lana has big girlfriend potential. She's practically screaming girlfriend material , and my man won't be able to stop from getting sucked into that.

I need to make sure she passes the best friend check. That's why I'm here.

Oh. And because I'm worried about him. That too.

Penn hasn't been on a lot of dates. There have been women since college, but nothing that's stuck long enough for me to be worried. And I'm not worried now. Obviously. But the lonely thing got me panicked, and I don't think I've totally processed it.

Only now I'm here, gazing in at the large, busy cafe, I have no fucking clue what my next move should be. It's crowded, and almost all of the seating looks occupied. There are small booths around a display of plants in the middle of the room, scattered tables filling the floor space, and long bench seats built in around the walls. The line to the right of the counter is long, and when I cautiously step through the front door, glancing around for a glimpse of Penn or Lana, I move to duck down behind it.

I'm a tall guy, and I'm not exactly small or dressed all corporately like most of the people here, but I make an effort to blend in and not weird out the people around me as I scan the area for my bestie.

Fuck. Maybe Penn's not even here. Maybe they went to some other cafe, or even worse, what if the date went so well that it's already over and they're heading back to her apartment for alone time as I lurk here ?

Though, I probably would have seen them if that was the case.

"Ah-ha!" I spot them on the other side of the counter, Penn's back to me and Lana sitting directly across the small table from him. The tables are so fucking small they'd be able to lean forward and kiss, but I don't think it matters how supportive I want to be, I'd never be able to get through watching that.

Already, it feels like … like there's something evil curled up in my chest.

My teeth are grinding hard as I peer around the guy in the plaid button-up in front of me.

"Hey, you wanna step back a little?" he asks passive-aggressively.

I don't know what the fuck his deal is, but I duck down and step away to be shielded by what's probably somebody's grandma instead.

"What are you doing?" she gasps, immediately clutching her bag to her chest.

"Just … it's okay. Just spying on someone."

"Spying?"

"He's my friend, it's fine."

A woman in a suit, scrolling on her smartwatch, glances up and eyes me. "Are you bothering her?"

I raise my hands to show my innocence while staying in my slouched position. "No. It's fine. Everyone go about your day."

"Us? I think you need to leave."

"Really, ignore me. I'm minding my own business."

"He's spying on someone," the presumed grandma says. Though with this gossipy attitude, I wouldn't be at all surprised if her family disowned her.

" Spying ?" the businesswoman repeats, like an unnecessarily loud echo.

My hands are waving now. "Not spying," I whisper-hiss. " I'm checking that my friend is okay on his date. See? That's him there. That's all. I'm being a good guy here."

"Your friend?" The woman glances around like she's looking for someone to back up my story. "Does your friend know you're here?"

"Well … no," I answer truthfully, well aware it's not helping my case. "But he wants me here. I promise."

"Want me to get security?" the granny asks, looking like she's ready to punch me in the face.

"No security. No need for that." Fuck, I'm glad I decided to put my clothes on before I came out, or this would be a thousand times worse. "I'm not hurting anyone. I'm making sure that he's having a nice time and doesn't need me to run interference or whatever."

The woman scowls and silences a call on her watch. " Men ."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Run interference? Come on. The woman he's with is like five six and a hundred and fifty pounds. The only thing you need to interfere with is her hideous boots."

I tilt my head, a peek of the boots obvious from back here. "I liked them."

"Take my word for it, they're outdated and look stupid on everyone."

"Right …"

The woman steps up to take her drink order that's just been called, and the second she steps forward, Lana glances my way.

I throw myself after the woman, using her as a shield from Lana's gaze.

"What the fuck are you doing?" she shrieks.

"Shh … I'm hiding."

"You need to leave. Immediately. Before I call the cops."

I frown up at her. "Call the cops for what? "

"You're disrupting people. And making them uncomfortable."

I'm really, really glad I wore my clothes. "You can't call the police about that."

Granny's back. "Want me to do it on my cellular phone?"

"No," I cut in weakly. "If you do, I'll tell them you're harassing me."

The businesswoman gives me a look. "You're crouched behind me so the people you're stalking won't see you. Who do you think the police are going to believe?"

"Is there a problem?" the barista calls over to us.

Fuck. "No problem!" I dart from the people waiting on orders to hide between one of the shelves of plants dividing the room.

This was a terrible, terrible idea. I'm actually sweating, heart beating hard, as I stretch my brain, trying to figure out how to throw these people off. My plan was to walk in, casually grab a coffee, and then sip it at a table where I could see him and he couldn't see me. This is … the furthest thing from that plan ever.

"… harassing your customers."

Oh, come on . I turn and pin the old woman with my glare, hoping it will get her to back off. I'm trying to do some protective best friend stalking here, and if Penn knew about what I was doing, it would all be completely consensual. I just don't actually want him to know about it at this point because I'm beginning to get worried that I've crossed the line from protective to needs-a-restraining-order, and I'd like to take a moment to reevaluate my choices before Penn finds out about literally any of them.

"Sir, you have to go," the manager on duty says.

I glance toward Penn and Lana through the bushy ferns to make sure I haven't caught their attention .

"What if I promise to order a drink and stay at that table and you won't hear anything else from me?"

"You're scaring people off," she says in a bored voice.

"I'm sorry. I promise I am. Here." I dig out my wallet and wave my card at her. "Put through my coffee and charge your lunch to it as well. I'll be sitting right here. Not saying a word to anyone or going near a single person."

Her eyes narrow a fraction. " Right there."

I quickly sit my ass in the free chair beside me. From here, I can still part the plants enough for a good view of Penn. "Promise."

She sighs but plucks my card from my grip and heads back to the register. The old woman says something, but the manager shrugs and, judging by the way her lips move, says, "Free lunch."

I don't want to know what she's making me pay for right now.

Not that it matters. My heart rate is returning to normal, I have a good view, and my gut isn't at all churning over the way Penn is laughing at something Lana just said.

The day is off to a fantastic fucking start.