Coley Does Things Novels & Stories

Cole walked the perimeter twice before we went inside, checked every exit, positioned us in a corner booth with a clear sightline to the door and the street outside. The diner was quiet. An old man with a newspaper. A woman feeding a toddler. A server who refilled our coffee without being asked. Cole watched the door. I watched Cole. "You're doing the thing," I said. "What thing?" "Where you go somewhere else in your head. Where you're already three moves ahead and you forget I'm sitting here." He looked at me. Pulled back from wherever he'd been. "Sorry." "Don't be sorry. Just come back."