Page 9

My fingers absentmindedly stir the now-lukewarm coffee as I sit in the back booth of the diner. The air smells like fresh pancakes and frying bacon, the comforting scent mingling with the low hum of conversation and the occasional clatter of dishes from the kitchen.

I miss this. I miss working here where the worst thing that happened was the occasional handsy customer leaving no tip.

I only left because I thought Behind Closed Doors paid more, a decision that ranks right up there with agreeing to cut my foster brother, Jeremy’s hair one time.

Now I can’t leave that neon hellscape even if I wanted to.

And I really want to.

Chloe wipes the table as she prepares it for her next customer.

When she looks up, she offers me a sweet smile before heading over to help a customer.

I don’t know why she works as hard as she does.

Her brother is in the NFL and has offered to pay for everything to get her set up in life, but she refuses to accept it.

She says she likes to keep busy, as if college isn’t enough work on its own.

She doesn’t go to Covey U. Apparently, her brother was too much of a hotshot there to make it appealing, so she attends Southern Collegiate, and this diner just so happens to be right in between them.

“Want a refill?” Chloe asks, gesturing to my cup as she heads over to take my empty plate.

“I’m okay.” Chloe and the guys at the diner are good to me, offering me a free meal whenever I drag my sorry ass through their doors, but I don’t want to become a burden on them, so I try to limit my appearances to when I’m one hunger pang away from fainting.

As Chloe picks up my plate, she freezes, her eyes locking on the two crisp tickets sitting on the table. The ones I’ve been staring at for the last two hours, unsure of what to do. “What are those?”

“Tickets.”

“To…” She draws out the word with interest.

“A game.” My face starts to flush as memories of Cade awkwardly shoving these my way come back. “My, uh…” How do I finish this sentence? What the hell is Cade to me? My potential stalker? My midnight fantasy? Maybe both? “Friend got them for me. He’s playing in it.”

Even calling him my friend doesn’t sound right. We’ve barely talked outside of our study group, but he still invited me.

“A friend?” Chloe says with an amused lilt that makes me want to crawl under the table. “What’s your friend’s name?”

I hesitate for a second because saying his name makes this more real than I can comprehend.

“Cade Bright.” I’m relieved when I finally say it, but that quickly washes away when I see Chloe’s face.

“Stop looking at me like that. It’s not what you think it is.

” It’s so much more pathetic than whatever she’s imagining.

“It’s not?” She takes no invitation to slide into the other side of the booth, tossing her rag on the table and motioning to Joe in the back. “I’m just taking my ten-minute break,” she says and Joe nods in response.

“Why are you taking your break now?”

“Because I’ve never heard you talk about a friend, no less a boy friend.”

I close my eyes, willing the ground to swallow me whole. “No. It’s not like that. He’s not my boyfriend.”

“Not yet,” she singsongs.

“Not ever.”

“Well, why’s he giving you tickets if he doesn’t want you to watch him play?” She rests her elbows on the table, studying me. I don’t know what to say.

I stare at the glossy paper, my thumb tracing over the embossed lettering. “That’s what I was hoping you could explain.”

“I might need a little more context if you’re expecting anything profound from me. I’m a college student moonlighting as a waitress, not a psychic.”

“I know him from class. We sit next to each other and are in the same study group.”

Chloe nods, taking it all in.

“We’ve only ever occasionally spoken, although recently, he’s been talking to me more.”

“What has he been talking to you about?” She leans in closer, practically salivating for details about my nonexistent love life.

“Nothing major. Just wants to know how I am and mentions some of the stuff we’re doing in our study group. He’s asked me out for coffee a few times, but I’ve always been busy with work.”

“He’s asked you out for coffee?” Chloe looks shocked and when I nod, her eyes nearly pop out of her head. “So he likes you.”

“No. Not like that.”

“How do you know?” She crosses her arms, challenging me.

“Because he’s Cade Bright.”

“What does that mean?”

My hands start shaking just thinking about how inadequate I am compared to him. “He’s smart, and people like him. Not to mention he’s probably the prettiest guy I’ve ever seen in real life. His dimples alone make my heart stop, and now I’m rambling about a guy who doesn’t even see me.”

Chloe’s got an amused smirk on her face.

“So you like him?”

I gulp down the knot in my throat. If only she knew how much I’ve fantasized about a different life with him. “No.” There’s no point even entertaining the idea of something more with a guy like him when I’m one missed payment away from being completely owned by Luke.

“Okay, I don’t believe you, but let’s pretend I do. He sounds pretty perfect.”

I nod.

“So why do you think he’s not interested.”

“Why would he be? I’m nothing special.” Nothing but damaged goods with a mountain of debt and enough baggage to fill a 747.

“That’s not true, Savannah. You’re gorgeous. You’ve got these killer green eyes with amber specks in them and when you smile, albeit it’s not too often these days, you make me smile too.”

I look out into the parking lot, studying the cracked yellow lines, refusing to make eye contact with Chloe. I wasn’t fishing for compliments, and I know if I say anything else, I’ll dig a deeper hole.

“Not to mention you’re one of the sweetest, most loyal people I know. You love so fiercely that you’ll fight until the end for your sister.”

“He’s not interested, trust me,” I say more forcefully, pushing her away from that idea. “When he gave me the tickets, he made that crystal clear. He barely looked at me and told me to bring my boyfriend.” I let out a dry laugh, shaking my head. “As if I have one.”

“Your boyfriend?” She sounds just as confused as I did when he said that. What even makes him think I have one? I don’t talk to anyone in class. Anyone except him. Maybe he thinks I have some fantastic social life or something instead of sleeping in my car between shifts and classes.

“Yeah.”

Chloe stares at me like I’ve grown a second head. “You’re a complete idiot, you know that, right?”

“What? Why?” I genuinely have no idea what I did wrong.

Her eyes widen. “Wow. Do you speak to anyone at college?” When I shake my head, she blows out an exasperated breath. “Of course you don’t. You’ve just got a one-track mind on getting Adley back.” She sits up straighter and looks at me seriously. “How did you reply when he said that?”

“He didn’t give me time to reply. He just started nervously laughing and then asked me out for coffee after the game. That’s when I said ‘you want to go to coffee with my boyfriend and me.’”

“Oh my God.”

“I know, it’s weird, right?”

“You’re a lost fucking cause, Sav,” she says, laughing so hard she snorts.

“Don’t you get it? He was doing recon. He mentioned a boyfriend because he was checking to see if you were dating someone and you all but confirmed it with your weird-ass response.

You basically gift-wrapped the idea you were taken and handed it to him. ”

“Did I?” My voice sounds small even to my own ears.

“Yes. So we’re going to the game to sort this disaster out before you completely torpedo any chance you have with the only guy I’ve ever seen you smile about.”

She moves out of the booth, pulls her phone out, and takes a picture of the tickets.

“What are you doing?” Panic creeps in my voice.

Her gaze flicks to me and she offers me a wicked smile. “I’m just checking out the time and location of the game.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m going to come with you, silly. I want to see this guy’s face when he realizes you didn’t bring a boyfriend with you. Plus, I want to watch a hockey game. I’m always being dragged to football because of my brother, Devin. I’d like to try a new sport.”

My cheeks heat, just thinking about watching Cade do anything. I can barely concentrate in classes when I watch him write. How am I going to act when I see him doing something even more athletic than typing on a laptop?

“I’ve got to get to work,” I say, suddenly desperate to escape this conversation before Chloe extracts any more embarrassing truths from me

Chloe nods. “But we’re agreed? I’m going to meet you at the game tomorrow at seven?” When I hesitate to answer, she rolls her eyes. “Come on, Sav. You get no time to be a normal college student. This guy… your friend , is offering that to you for free. Live a little.”

“Okay,” I find myself saying before I can think.

She squeals, pulling me out of the booth and giving me a hug. “If you want some Covey U memorabilia to wear, I’m sure you can borrow some of my brother’s fiancée’s stuff. Devin bought her like twenty sweatshirts when they first started dating, which would go perfectly in your wardrobe.”

I blow out a breath, looking down at my Rome U sweatshirt. I’ve been so used to wearing it when I’m not at the club that I’ve forgotten what I look like in normal clothes. “What if I don’t want to wear a sweatshirt?” I say, feeling hopeful. I don’t know why, but I do.

“Seriously? Is this your way of telling me you’re going to let me dress you up?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You didn’t say no.” She claps her hands together and dances lightly on the spot. “Oh, I’m so excited. I’ll make sure you have the perfect outfit to impress your friend . What’s his name again?”

“C-Cade.”

Joe calls for Chloe and she raises her hand with a point. “One second, Joe. Meet me here tomorrow at six and we can get dressed together.” With that, she gives me one final hug. “I’m so happy for you.”