Page 103 of November

“Bar?” Paige asked.

“Can we maybe go to a different bar this time? I think India might like it.”

“Is it an expensive bar?” Lainey asked.

“No, it’s the one we went to the first time. I’m thinking it would be better than the rowdy place we usually go.”

“No problem for me,” Paige replied.

“Sure,” Lainey agreed.

Maisie then made her way out to the bleachers, where a whole ten people sat to support them, including India, who was staring down at her phone.

“Did you watchanyof it?” she asked as she walked up the bleachers to sit down next to her.

India looked up and said, “What? I watchedallof it. I was just looking at the pictures I took.” She angled her phone so that Maisie could see. “You look hot out there.”

Maisie glanced at the photo of herself – bent over, with a glove hanging between her legs – as she readied for a possible hit.

“I look focused.”

“Yeah, focused is hot,” India replied. “I took a bunch. Want me to send them to you?”

“Sure,” she said. “How did your math go?”

“Oh, this place is raking it in. You really should ask for at least concession stand discounts. I bet I can get them for you. Want me to try?”

“As much as I think I would find watching you negotiate sexy, I don’t think it’s really worth your time to get us ten percent off on candy.”

“Ten percent? Please. I could get you at least twenty-five,” India said, winking at her. “So, what’s next?”

“I was thinking we could go to that bar you like. Not the martini one, but the one we went to before we left and got the best fried catfish you’ve ever had.”

Maisie smiled at India.

“Candace’s bar?”

“Is that okay?”

“Yeah, that’s great.”

“You know what I think I might have figured out about you?” Maisie asked, resting her head on India’s shoulder.

“No, but I’m dying to hear it.” India laughed a little.

“You don’t do well with new places.”

“I don’t?”

“You talk about being comfortable a lot, and I think that has to do with knowing or not knowing what to expect. If it’s a new place for you, it’s hard for you to know, but an old one, a place you’ve been to before or an activity you’ve tried, makes it easier. You already know where to park, what they serve, or how long it will take.”

“Is that why you told me that the game would only bean hour earlier? You’ve figured this out about me?”

“One of the reasons, yes,” she said and lifted her head. “I get it. I’m that way sometimes, too.”

“I don’t get that vibe from you at all,” India noted. “You just offered to go to the ballet or opera with me, and you’ve never been.”

“I told you: that’s just about wanting to be with you. I don’t care where it is.”