Chapter 78 How Did They Even Know?

Chapter 78 How Did They Even Know?
Cody

We're running late to meet Sasha and Carter at the restaurant, as we got briefly distracted by each other. Since Jasmine returned, we've struggled to keep our hands off one another, trying to make up for lost time. I also texted Carter to inform him we'd be a little late. 

“Do you plan to drink tonight?” Jasmine asks as we walk hand in hand towards the restaurant. 

I shake my head. "No drinking tonight. Why?” 

She usually doesn’t ask me that, and I haven't been drinking much lately to cause concern. I've hardly had a drink in weeks. It is a little weird for her to be asking randomly. I would understand if it were a year ago, but now. I am sure she doesn’t mean anything by it. 

She sighs, saying, “I want to enjoy this weekend without too many drinks or hangovers. Since I’m back to work on Monday, our time together will be limited again.” 

“It won’t be easy, but we’ll make it work. I promise. We’ve done it before and can do it again," I reply, squeezing her hand. 

I dread it. It won't be easy, but we'll make it work—as we always do. Even during our time apart, we found ways to make it work. At least now, we'll be able to fall asleep next to each other every night. 

Jasmine nods and kisses my cheek. “We always do.” 

Arriving at the restaurant, I am surprised to see Sasha and Carter outside. I told them we would meet them inside, not wanting them to give our reservation to anyone else. It is always busy here and hard to get a table. I didn’t want to lose it.

“Hey, what are you doing out here?” I ask as we approach. 

Sasha sighs. I immediately think the reservation was either canceled or assigned to someone else, but if that’s the case, it wouldn’t be the worst outcome. 

“I have no idea how they learned our location and time for tonight, since neither of us mentioned anything, but Silver and Toby are inside,” Sasha says. 

Carter shakes his head. “They were at our table when we came in. Thankfully, they didn’t notice us. I have no idea why they showed up.” 

I recently made it clear to Toby that I want nothing to do with him outside work unless he changes his ways and stops encouraging Silver’s pathetic behaviour. He didn’t like that. I probably bruised his ego. Since then, he has been acting even more like a jackass than usual and trying to set me up so it looks like I am cheating on Jasmine. It is pathetic. They need to grow up, and that is coming from someone younger than them. 

“They lead very miserable lives. Toby is upset that I stood up to him. Let’s go elsewhere and leave them waiting. If I go inside, I might end up hitting him.”

I want to avoid becoming that person again and prevent Jasmine from having to handle Silver. 

“Yes, good idea. Sorry they're still making things hard for you. What will you do?” Carter asks. 

“Ignore them and hope they lose interest. They're not worth risking trouble or my job over.” 

I refuse to give up. While Jasmine might urge me to quit, I won’t let them succeed. I have more important matters to focus on than wasting my time on them. 

“We can grab some pizza and ice cream, then head to mine for a film,” Sasha suggests. 

“No, let’s choose a different place to eat, enjoy a nice dinner, and then head out to watch a movie. They won’t ruin our night. We’re all dressed nicely, so let’s make the most of it," Jasmine smiles. 

We all agree on it. It can’t be easy for Sasha to be in the middle of all this. She and Silver are good friends. Why, I have no idea. Maybe she sees something in Silver that no one else does. It isn’t anything to do with me who Sasha is friends with. I just hope Silver doesn’t turn on her. 

We hurry away from the restaurant in case they come out and see us. I would rather not deal with them, even for a second. We find an Asian fusion restaurant; luckily, there are free tables. We are seated quickly. It smells amazing, and what people have on their plates looks delicious. None of us has been here before. It is something new for us all to try together. 

Jasmine and I sit at one side of the table, while Carter and Sasha sit on the other, sitting closer than they need to be. I don’t know why they don’t start dating. They are always flirting and laughing. They get along great. It could just be their friendship, but no one else knows what is going on there but them. I won’t suggest it or bring it up. I don’t want to make things awkward. That is the last thing I want. 

“Should we order three main dishes and some sides? We can put them in the centre of the table for everyone to help themselves. It’s a great way to sample different options since we haven’t been here before," Jasmin suggests, looking at us. 

We all nod in agreement, which gives us some options. Although this wasn’t our original plan, I believe it will still turn out to be a good night. I refuse to let those two ruin it for us. We can try the restaurant another time. I’m still unsure how they discovered our location and the exact time — no one should have revealed it, so they must have overheard us or found another way. Either way, it’s unsettling, and they shouldn’t have shown up. If we wanted them to join us, we would have invited them. 

I plan to do what I need to avoid having anything to do with them outside of work. I wish they would focus on one another rather than trying to ruin things for other people because they don’t like how things are.