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rest of the evening talking and she had gotten so wrapped up in their conversation she hadn’t paid attention to much of anything else.
    “We should probably get going,” Nate said, looking at his watch.
    Ryan looked over to Mallory and she thought she detected a look of disappointment in his eyes.
    “Yeah.  I’ll meet you back at the car in a minute,” Ryan said.  Nate nodded and walked away and then Ryan looked back to her. “I’m glad we came tonight.”
    “Me too.”
    “Maybe we could hang out again?” he asked.
    “I’d like that .”
    “Can I give you a call some time?” he asked, taking his phone out of his pocket.
    “Sure,” she said and then gave him her number.
    “I’ll see you later then,” he said , standing up.
    He smiled at her once more and she watched him until his silhouette faded into the darkness.
     
    ****
     
    “How’d it go with Ryan?’  Kenna asked as they were cleaning up.
    “Fine,” Mallory replied, not wanting to read too deeply into the connection she thought she’d made with Ryan. “He said he’d call me.”
    “Sounds promising.”
    “You seemed pretty enamored with Nate.”
    “Um…I think it’s the other way around.  He was enamored with me .”
    “I think you scared him,” Mallory laughed.
    “Maybe a little,” she agreed with a wink. “I’ll loosen him up.”
    Mallory just shook her head and continued picking up.  Cole walked over, carrying the pot they’d cooked the clams in.  She could hear the sound of water slushing as he got closer and then he poured the pot full of sea water onto the fire, causing it to sizzle and then fizzle out as a plume of gray smoke spilled into the air.
    “I think that’s everything,” Cole said as he stirred the ashes with a stick to make sure the fire was out. 
    “I think so,” Mallory agreed as she picked up the garbage bag and began walking towards the parking lot.  Cole and Kenna followed behind carrying the pot, rakes, and buckets and then they loaded everything into the back of Kenna’s Volkswagen.
    “I’ll see you guys later,” she said , getting into the little car and with a wave, she sputtered out of the parking lot.
    “She’s such a flake sometimes,” Mallory said with a laugh.
    “She’s your friend,” Cole pointed out.
    “She’s your friend too.”
    “Only because she’s your friend.  You and Kenna are kind of like a package deal.”
    “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she agreed as she turned and walked towards her car with Cole following at her side.
    “So, you and that Ryan guy,” Cole began hesitantly. “What’s up with you guys?  Are you going to be seeing him again?”
    “I don’t know.  Maybe.”
    “What’s his story?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Exactly what I said.   What do you know about him?”
    “Not much.  He seems like a nice guy though,” Mallory said, opening the car door and as she looked at Cole, she could see the doubt in his eyes. “C’mon, Cole.  Don’t look at me like that.  You always do that.”
    “I do not,” he said defensively.
    “Yes, you do,” she insisted.
    “Only because I care about you.   It just makes me a little nervous, you going out with someone you hardly know.”
    “Who knows if he’ll even call?  But, if he does, I am going to go out with him and there’s no reason you need to worry about anything.”
    “Fine,” he said , smiling as he held his hands up in defeat.
    “I’ll see you later,” Mallory said, getting in the car and turning on the ignition.
    He shut the door for her and waved as she pulled away.  She looked back in her rearview mirror at Cole who was walking towards his car.  He was such a good friend, but sometimes he was too protective.  She wished he would just forget about what they’d once had and move on. 
     

Chapter Four
    Mallory felt like a teenager over the next couple of days, finding herself glancing at her phone, hoping Ryan would call.  She even found herself checking the phone to