“I’m sure he’ll have something amazing planned for you.”
“Are the two of you orchestrating things behind my back again?” I rush into the stall and start peeling off my clothes. “Now that we’re dating, you don’t have to do that anymore.”
“Nope. I have no clue what he has planned for you.” She reaches her hand over the door for my uniform so I can change into my normal clothes. “I haven’t talked to him since I sent him your schedule. Everything else has been all him.”
“That’s good to know,” I murmur, pulling my shirt over my head. “What am I going to do if he doesn’t show up?”
“You’ll call me, and we’ll go grab lunch somewhere close by.”
I pull up my jeans and slide my feet into the Vans I keep in my carryon. I pull the door open and wave my arms as if I’m on display. “How do I look?”
Hazel nods her head and grins. “Amazing. Like the girl next door, but not trying too hard. You just need one more thing.” She reaches above me and pulls the hair tie out of my hair. My hair fails down my back. “There, that’s better. You’re ready to go now.”
We walk out of the bathroom and toward the entrance. A man stands by the front door with a sign that says Serena. “What are the chances there’s another Serena coming off a flight right now?”
She shrugs, “I mean there’s a possibility, but I’m going to say it’s slim. We should go see if it’s for you.”
The guy with the sign is looking around the airport. Obviously, whoever hired him didn’t give him a description of the person they are picking up. “I don’t know if I should go up to this guy.” That could be someone else’s ride, and I’d feel terrible if I took it by mistake.
“No worries,” Hazel chirps. She rushes to the man in question, barely stopping before barreling him over. “Sir, can I ask who sent you to pick up Serena?” She points to the sign as if he doesn’t remember.
He takes a step back from her, uncomfortable with how much she’s in his personal space. “Yes, I’m the driver on standby for the Austin Rattlers. Bentley sent me to pick her up.”
Whirling around, Hazel throws her hands on her hips and gives me a satisfied smirk. “I told you he wasn’t here for another Serena.”
I hate admitting she’s right, and I refuse to give her that victory. A pang of sadness hits me in my gut. He couldn’t even come get me himself? He had to send the driver for his team to do it for him. “Okay, so I guess I’m going with this mystery man and hoping he takes me to Bentley.”
Hazel puts an arm around my shoulder, almost having to stand on her toes. “Don’t worry. I’m sure there’s an excellent reason for sending a driver. If anything looks sketchy, send me your location on your phone and I’ll come in for the rescue.” Her whisper is just loud enough to be heard by the driver, and he raises an eyebrow.
“I’ll be fine,” I force a smile. “I’ll see you before the next flight out. Meet you at the gate?”
“Yep,” she squeezes me one more time. “Have fun and try not to be too mad at him for not picking you up himself.”
“Are you ready, Ms. Serena?” He holds his hand out for my suitcase. Wow. He called me “Ms.” I don’t think anyone has ever called me that in my life. It must be a Southern thing, but it makes me feel old.
“Sure,” I pass the rolling suitcase over to him. “Mr.…” I let my voice trail off, waiting for him to supply his name.
“You can call me Sam.” We stroll out of the airport as if we aren’t on any kind of schedule. I only have so many hours before I have to be back at the airport. There isn’t time to dawdle. Not if I want to spend any sort of valuable time with Bentley.
“Where is Bentley?” Maybe Sam can give me a clue.
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Why?” He leads me to a sleek black car and opens the door for me. I lean against the door, waiting for him to answer me.
“He said it’s a surprise.” Okay. I guess that’s the only answer I’m going to get. I slide into the backseat and he closes the door. After stopping for a second behind the car, he gets behind the wheel. “It’s nothing bad, I promise.”
“If you say so.” I put on my seatbelt as Sam pulls into traffic. Tall buildings loom above us, and I’m pretty sure we’re heading into downtown. I spot the capitol building, and I would love to tour it one day. Next time I’m in Austin, I’ll plan on stopping by. I’ll drag Hazel along with me even though she hates that sort of thing.
A few minutes go by and we pull up to a rectangular building that is nowhere near as tall as the ones surrounding it. Before I can even reach for the handle Sam is at my door, pulling it open. “What is this place?”
“You’ll see.” He gestures for me to follow him.
“What about my suitcase?”
“It’ll be here. I’m your driver for the rest of the day.” Is Bentley really that important to have his own personal driver?
I shove my hands in my pockets as he leads us into the building. This whole thing is weird. As we walk through the hallway, I hear bouncing coming from somewhere ahead of us. Surely Bentley doesn’t have a game today. This place isn’t exactly where I’d picture a professional team playing. We enter a gym, and a group of guys is playing basketball. They seem like giants compared to me. My eyes search the court until I find him. He’s hard to see with most of the guys towering over him. He’s tall, but he’s not that tall.
