Chapter 166 Metal Cups and Milkshakes
Chapter 166 Metal Cups and Milkshakes
Two weeks passed in a blur of classes, cold mornings, and quiet evenings at the penthouse.
Nate had been… steady. Not calm, not relaxed, but steady in that way he got when he was trying very hard not to break anything. He drove me to campus every morning, picked me up most afternoons, and didn’t hover unless he thought I wasn’t looking.
And for the first time in weeks, I hadn’t had a nightmare. No sleepwalking, no waking up on the balcony with the wind in my hair, no finding myself standing in the hallway without remembering how I got there. It wasn’t gone — I could feel it lingering under my skin, waiting — but the quiet was a relief I didn’t know how to trust.
It wasn’t perfect.
But it was something.
I was halfway through reorganizing my notes for an upcoming exam when my phone buzzed on the coffee table.
ELIZA:
‘Can you talk?’
I wiped my hands on my leggings and called her immediately.
“Hey,” I said.
Her voice came through the speaker lighter than it had sounded in weeks. “Okay, so—don’t freak out.”
I sat up straighter. “That’s never a good opener.”
“I know,” she said, laughing. “But I’m excited, and I don’t want you to ruin it with your face.”
“My face is neutral.”
“It’s never neutral.”
I rolled my eyes even though she couldn’t see it. “What’s going on?”
She inhaled sharply, like she’d been waiting to spill the words. “I’ve been seeing Caleb.”
I blinked. “Seeing him?”
“Not like… seeing seeing,” she said quickly. “Just coffee. And walking to class. And talking. A lot of talking.”
“That’s good,” I said carefully.
“It is,” she said. “He’s easy to be around. He doesn’t make me feel like I’m auditioning for something.”
I leaned back against the couch cushions. “I’m glad.”
“And,” she added, voice rising half an octave, “he asked if I wanted to go out with him. Like… out out.”
I paused. “Eliza—”
“It’s not fancy,” she rushed. “Not a date-date. Just a modest night out. His words. He said he didn’t want to overwhelm me.”
“That’s… considerate.”
“It is,” she said. “And I want to go. I really do. But I don’t want it to be just us.”
Ah.
There it was.
I rubbed my forehead. “Eliza…”
“I know what you’re thinking,” she said. “But it’s not a rebound.”
“You met him two weeks ago.”
“Okay, maybe it’s a tiny rebound,” she admitted. “But it’s a healthy rebound. A normal rebound. A rebound with a Honda Civic.”
I snorted. “That’s not a selling point.”
“It is for me,” she said. “I need normal. I need someone who doesn’t come with a security detail or a legacy or a father who could buy the building we’re standing in.”
I didn’t argue. She wasn’t wrong.
“And I want you there,” she said softly. “I want it to feel safe.”
I closed my eyes for a moment. I could picture her on the other end of the line — sitting cross‑legged on her bed, twisting the ends of her braid, trying not to sound like she was asking for too much.
“It’ll be small,” she said. “Just dinner. Maybe a movie. Nothing fancy.”
“Eliza…”
“Please,” she said. “I don’t want to do this alone.”
That did it.
I couldn’t stand the thought of her being lonely. Not after everything Gavin had put her through, not after the flowers on the doorstep. Not after the weeks she’d spent pretending she wasn’t hurting.
“Okay,” I said quietly. “I’ll go.”
She let out a breath that sounded like relief. “Thank you.”
“But,” I added, “I’m not promising I’ll like him.”
“You don’t have to like him,” she said. “You just have to be there.”
I nodded even though she couldn’t see it. “When were you thinking?”
“Saturday night,” she said. “He suggested this little diner near the river. It’s cheap. And warm. And they have those milkshakes with the metal cups.”
“That’s oddly specific.”
“He said it’s his favorite place,” she said. “And he wants me to see it.”
I smiled despite myself. “That’s kind of sweet.”
“It is,” she said. “And I want you to bring Nate.”
I froze. “Eliza—”
“It’s a double date,” she said. “That’s the whole point.”
I sat up straighter. “You just spent ten minutes telling me how much you need normal. Caleb is normal. You want normal. Nate is… not normal.”
“I know,” she said quickly. “But I want you there.”
“You can have me there without Nate.”
“No,” she said firmly. “I want it to be a double date.”
“Eliza, Nate shows up at places with a driver. He has a penthouse. He has a last name that makes people stand up straighter. Caleb is going to think—”
“He’s going to think I have a best friend with a boyfriend,” she said. “That’s it.”
“Eliza—”
“Mila,” she said, her voice softening, “I don’t want to feel like I’m stepping into something alone. I want you beside me. And I want Nate beside you.”
I didn’t respond.
Not because she was wrong — but because she was too right.
“Just ask him,” she said. “If he says no, we’ll figure something else out.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll talk to him.”
She hummed happily. “Good. Because I’m excited. And I haven’t been excited in a long time.”
I softened. “I know.”
“And Caleb’s nice,” she said. “Really nice. He listens. He laughs at my jokes. He doesn’t make me feel like I’m being studied.”
“That’s important.”
“It is,” she said. “And he doesn’t know anything about Gavin. Or your world. Or the penthouse. Or the law firm. He just knows me.”
I swallowed. “That’s probably good.”
“It is,” she said. “I need good.”
We sat in silence for a moment — not heavy, not awkward, just quiet.
“Okay,” she said finally. “I have to go help my mom with dinner. Text me after you talk to Nate.”
“I will.”
“And Mila?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
I smiled. “Anytime.”
She hung up.
I stared at my phone for a long moment, the screen dimming in my hand. A double date. With Nate. And Caleb Miller. And Eliza, who was trying so hard to stitch her life back together.
I wasn’t sure how Nate would react.
I wasn’t sure how I felt about it either.
But I’d promised her.
And that meant I’d follow through.
I set my phone down, pulled my knees to my chest, and waited for the sound of Nate’s key in the lock.