Tate exhales slowly and shifts onto his side, propping himself up just enough to look at me properly. “You realize you’re about to walk into a room where everyone knows exactly what you did tonight.”
“I’m trying not to think about that.”
“Don’t,” he says. “Just walk in like you belong there.”
Carter’s thumb brushes once against my back. “Because you do.”
I glance between them, “Okay,” I say quietly. “Then let’s go eat.”
The restaurant Cassie picked is way too nice for a bunch of half-delirious gamers in hoodies, but none of us care.
It’s dimly lit, full of dark wood and clinking glasses, the kind of place where you expect the steak to arrive with a side of attitude and a three-digit price tag. James smooths things over with the host—apparently him and Cassie made a reservation days ago and we’re ushered to a booth near the back, semi-private and perfect.
I slide in between Carter and Tate.
Carter’s hand finds my thigh beneath the table and Tate tosses an arm along the back of the booth behind me, casual but claiming.
Cassie eyes the arrangement and smirks. “So… table for five, huh? Not including the emotional baggage.”
“Technically that makes seven,” Tate mutters, grabbing a menu. “You forgot our crippling commitment issues.”
James laughs into his napkin and Carter groans softly beside me.
The waiter comes and our orders are made. Drinks are poured and suddenly I’m holding a champagne flute, staring at the little bubbles like they might spell out what the hell I’m supposed to say to all of this.
“I still don’t believe it.”
“You should,” Carter says, quietly. “Youearnedit.”
Tate knocks his glass against mine. “You demolished it, actually.”
Cassie raises hers next. “To Haven fucking Thomas. The baddest bitch in digital warfare.”
“Cheers,” James adds, smiling.
We clink glasses and eat like we haven’t had a proper meal in a week.
There’s steak and pasta and someone orders calamari just to make James squirm. We argue about video game bosses, Cassie and Tate debate horror movies until the entire table is crying with laughter, and I nearly choke when Carter says something soft.
The night winds down slow. Cassie hugs me three separate times before they finally head out, promising to meet us back at my place tomorrow if we’re awake before she has to go to work. I doubt we will be.
We step outside, the night air is cooler than I expect, sharp enough to cut through the warmth that’s been sitting under my skin all evening. I inhale slowly, letting it settle.
Carter’s hand finds mine again, his fingers threading through mine. Tate moves in closer on my other side, his shoulder brushing mine briefly before he lets his arm rest across the back of my shoulders.
No one says anything right away, we just stand there for a second, letting the night catch up to us.
“You still with us?” Carter asks finally.
“Yeah,” I answer. “I think it’s finally starting to feel real.”
Tate huffs quietly. “Took you long enough.”
I glance at him, a small smile pulling at my mouth. “I needed a minute.”
“You took more than a minute,” he says. “You took a whole day.”
Carter laughs softly under his breath, squeezing my hand once. “She earned it.”