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“We missed you, too.” He taps my back and pulls away. “This nice young man came to my door this morning and told me that I had tickets to a Wildcats game, and that you were coming too. Can you believe it?”
“No, I-I can’t.”
Micah stands at my side. “Raeann, this is Joey.”
“Oh, you’re Joey?”
Joey gives a slight bow with a bigger flourish of his hands.
“Which one’s Joey?” Tab calls out.
Joey raises his hand and peers around me.
“You, my dude, need a raise. We love Jace.”
Joey flashes a grin at Micah, then rearranges his dark-rimmed glasses on his face, his shoulders pulled back straight.
“Well, I’ll be…” Pawpaw’s voice trails off with a hint of awe. “Raeann, is that Micah Freeman?”
“It is, Pawpaw.”
He squints like he can see Micah better that way, and then he nods when he finally accepts that piece of information.
“I told you, Mr. Gorman. In the flesh,” Joey confirms.
“But, why?”
“I’ll let you two handle that,” Joey says, walking toward where Jace and Tab are huddled together and staring. Jace is about as wide-eyed as my grandfather, so I’m guessing he’s a big football fan.
Micah doesn’t say anything, even though I look up at him expectantly. I mean, he’s the one who put this together.
Pawpaw’s still looking for an explanation, so I stammer out, “Micah and I know each other. Remember when Tab posted that video of me?”
“And you met on that show with that girl who talks too loud.”
I cringe. “Yes, her.”
He turns toward Micah. “Are you dating my granddaughter?”
“I would if she’d let me.”
Pawpaw’s perpetually moist eyes flip to me. “Did you turn down the best running back the Wildcats have ever seen?”
“N-no,” I stammer.
Suddenly, it’s as if a hundred spotlights are burning down on me. Pawpaw takes my elbow and angles us away from Micah. “Did you know this man owns a private jet?”
“Technically, I don’t own it,” Micah says. “I rent it for important occasions.”
Pawpaw waves his hand above his head as if Micah should stop talking now.
A lead weight drops in my stomach. “Pawpaw, tell me you did not fly in Micah’s plane.”
“I sure did. Do you think I’m going to pass up that opportunity? Plus, Joey here insisted. He said it would be rude to reject his offer, seeing as how Micah is—unequivocally—the best running back the Wildcats have ever seen. Are you seeing a pattern?” He gives me a playful wink. “Also, that was the most relaxing flight I have ever experienced. Of course, the only other one I had was when I flew out to Vietnam, so that might not be saying much. Did you know you can drink alcohol on planes?”
Despite myself, I start to giggle. He must’ve had the entire plane crew laughing. “How much did you have?”
“A couple drops of whiskey.” He lowers his voice to a whisper. “He won’t miss it.”