The Ninth Inning (The Boys of Baseball #1) - J. Sterling Page 0,54

types of juices. Ten! The waffles were made to order, not stacked and waiting for you to take one, like they were at other places. They featured eggs made five different ways, or you could order an omelet with whatever you wanted on it. The fruit was all farmed locally. And they even had a tea corner that showcased honey from all local beehives.

“This place is heaven, and I’m going to eat here every day until I die,” I said to Cole as we walked back to our table, balancing our too-full plates in our hands.

He laughed out loud. People stared. “You haven’t even tasted anything yet,” he said with a smirk once we sat down.

I spread butter across my hot waffle and watched it melt into the deep squares. Cutting a small piece off, I took a bite and moaned. “Holy crap,” I said around whatever blissful ingredients were currently melting in my mouth.

“Told you.”

“But why? Like, I don’t understand why it’s so good. What’s it made of, rainbows and puppy breath?” I asked seriously because I really didn’t understand how a waffle could be so superior tasting to other waffles. Don’t they all have the same ingredients?

“Honestly? I think it has something to do with the flour they use. They don’t buy it in the grocery store. It doesn’t have any of the extra crap in it to make it last on a shelf. At least, that’s what they told me after I came in here, asking once,” Cole explained, but I was too busy chewing and living in food ecstasy to pay attention. Cole laughed as he watched me, and I knew that he’d realized he’d lost me to the waffle. “Tell me what’s going on with work,” he asked, knowing exactly how to bring me back to him.

“Work?” I scrunched up my face as I swallowed. I wasn’t sure what he wanted to hear.

“Yeah. I know you took on Jason’s band. How’s that going?”

I smiled. “It’s going so good. I’ve made a few changes and improvements to their accounts. I’ve already seen their follower numbers double on one platform, and their video views have tripled on another.”

“I love watching you talk about this,” he said, staring at me like I fascinated him somehow, but it was a little embarrassing. He was so focused on me, so mesmerized, that it was unnerving.

And suddenly, the last thing I wanted to do was shovel more food down my throat.

“What? Why?” I looked away, but Cole wasn’t having any of it.

“Look at me,” he insisted, and I slowly looked back up. “You light up when you talk about this. That’s how I know you’ll be great at it. I mean, you already are.”

“Thanks, Cole,” I said quietly, a little taken aback by the compliment as I reached for my water and downed half the glass.

“Don’t get embarrassed,” he said, totally calling me out as he worked on one of the three waffles on his plate.

“I’m not. It’s just …” I paused for a second. “I’m not used to having someone be so supportive.” I started shaking my head because that wasn’t it at all. “That sounds wrong and isn’t what I meant. I just … I think I’m more comfortable with encouraging you to chase your dreams than talking about mine.”

“Why the hell would you be more comfortable with encouraging me than yourself?” He sounded as bewildered as I felt.

“I don’t know.” I started to work out the reasoning in my mind. “I think because my goals feel so private, and talking about them out loud makes them really real. And then if I fail, I won’t be the only one who knows it.”

He chewed on his food, nodding, like what I’d said made complete sense to him. “I get it.”

“That doesn’t sound stupid?”

“Not at all. Our goals are private. They’re personal as hell. I mean, everyone knows that I want to get drafted. I never got to keep that to myself. And you’re right; if it doesn’t happen for me, everyone will know. But the flip side is, if it does—”

“When it does,” I interrupted because I refused to sit here and listen to him talk about his future as if was an option.

He cleared his throat and took a drink. “Okay. When it does, everyone will know.”

“And they’ll celebrate with you,” I added with a knowing nod.

“Yeah. Same thing goes for you,” he said, but I wasn’t convinced.

People wanted to be a part of other people’s successes, especially