Caufield's girl

Chapter Sixteen

It's a usual Monday afternoon, and today I decided to meet Maddie after our lectures. We both finished at 6 p.m., so we were thinking about grabbing some dinner after, along with Mark, and checking up on each other. We were all craving Thai food, so we didn't have to fight about the choice of restaurant. I was waiting for her just in front of the university library. After a few minutes, she finally arrived. "Oh, there you are, finally! Everything alright? Where's Mark?" I asked immediately. "Yeah, all good. Mark's just going to join us in a few minutes." She replies as she hugs me before we head to the main entrance of the campus with the intention of waiting for Mark. We're having a usual chat as always, until we reach the main entrance and we're interrupted by the revving engine from the black SUV that has parked just in front of us. It wouldn't be weird at all if it didn't seem awfully familiar. But when the pretty short shadow steps out of the car, I put two and two together.

"What are you doing here?" I asked in shock. "Did you not miss me?" he shoots a question back. "Well, no. Yes, what?!" I panic in shock. "Oh, she very much did indeed. You forgot to mention how she watched you play on Friday. She was all goggly-eyed and stuck to that laptop screen, ain't that right?" Maddie humbles me once again. "Maddison, for the love of God, please, just shut up." I give her a hateful stare. "Oh, is that so?" he asks with a smirk. "Hey, there..." I hear a familiar voice belonging to a more than confused Mark, who has no idea what's going on. "Man, that can't be right. What is Cole Caufield himself doing here?" Mark says this in shock.

"Well, I was hoping to catch up with my girl." He responds casually. "And you are?" Cole asks in confusion. "Nice to meet you, man. I'm Mark, Maddie's boyfriend." He immediately introduces himself. "Hey, good to meet you, man. ." Cole shakes his hand. "So, we were just headed for dinner all together. Would you like to join us by any chance?" Maddie suggests it eagerly. "Well, I wouldn't like to interrupt." Cole says it humbly. "Oh, c'mon, we'll be more than happy to have you; it'll be fun." She tries to persuade him with her infamous puppy eyes, and it seems to work once again.

"Okay then, I'll gladly join you." He puts on a smile as he looks at me. "Is that fine with you?" He poses a question at me directly. "Absolutely, as long as you're willing to listen to bullshit all evening." I attempt to joke. "Sounds like exactly my kind of fun." He plays along. "Okay, double date it is then." Maddie announces it happily. "Well, what are you waiting for? I'm driving." Cole says this as he's on his way to open the passenger door for me. "Perfect." Maddie and Mark say this at the same time. "Thanks." I give him a soft smile while Maddie and Mark climb into the back of his SUV. It only takes a few minutes until we arrive at the Thai restaurant, or, better said, the place of our so-called double date. God, I hate that word so much. But I guess here we are; this is gonna be interesting.

We walk in and find a spare table just in the corner of the restaurant. Just perfect for tonight; at least like this, there's a better chance of Cole not being recognized in public. We ordered Thai food, and the awkward as hell evening could begin. I've had no idea how this may end up, so just in case, I made sure to have enough alcohol in my system to survive. "So, when did you guys become a thing?" Marks starts to inquire, and instead of responding, I shoot the glass of gin and tonic down my throat. When Cole becomes aware of the fact that I ain't going to talk, he does me a favor and does it himself. "Well, no longer than two months, but I'm sure it's long enough, right?" he says, looking at me in the hope I'll support him. "Yeah, plenty of time. Plenty." I add, nodding like a psychopath. This is making me slightly uncomfortable, in case you haven't noticed by now.

"You make such a good couple for real." Maddie states with a smile from ear to ear. "Thank you." Cole says politely as he reaches for my hand and squeezes it in order to calm me down a little bit. "And what about you, guys? How long have you been together? You seem like a very steady and compatible couple indeed. " Cole inquires in return, and I'm very thankful for the fact that attention is slightly diverted from us, at least for a moment. "Oh man, for ages. It's gonna our five-year anniversary in the spring." Mark responds gladly. "Wow, that's long. But amazing, for real." Cole states this in amazement. "They were the high school sweethearts, indeed." I added to make it sound more cringe-worthy. "Yeah, at least we had each other. You've never even dated anyone." Maddie remarks on nothing but the truthful facts. "Yeah, Maddie, because all of the guys were assholes and they still are, apart from him." I point directly at Cole. "And your man, of course." I add.