“Are you sure?” Saylor asked. Her concern gave me a warm glow.
“Yeah.” I smiled again for emphasis. “I’m working my way through the possibilities.”
Chess rolled her eyes. Guess she wasn’t buying it.
“Here’s the thing. Not sharing a holiday with my family truly doesn’t bother me. We aren’t lovey-dovey like your family”—I tipped my cup in Saylor’s direction—“nor the back-each-other-at-all-costs sort like your family,” I said, addressing Chessly. “After Pippa and I graduated high school, our parents pretty much left us to our own devices, even on the holidays.” With a sip of my coffee, I shrugged. “We might have a meal together, but it won’t necessarily be on Thanksgiving Day if Dad and Mom have a ski trip planned or a work event or whatever. Two Thanksgivings ago, I ate a turkey sandwich while watching movies on my iPad in my old bedroom and prepped for finals.” My mouth turned down, my coffee going sour in my mouth. “Last year, I went over to Charlie’s and watched football with him and his brother and dad.”
“Jeez, that’s depressing.” Saylor covered my hand with hers and I returned a wan smile.
“This year I’m leaning toward roasting a turkey breast in my tiny oven and accenting it with real cranberries and homemade dressing like my granny made when I was little. Maybe binge Pedro Pascal movies or something.” I waggled my brows, trying to infuse my words with some enthusiasm.
“Good thing the Wildcats don’t have a bye this weekend.” A sly expression crossed Chessly’s features.
“Exactly what does that have to do with anything?” I demanded.
Her coffee suddenly held all her interest, but I noticed her lips twitching, holding in a grin.
And we’d circled back to the one topic my friends had wanted to discuss every time we’d hung out for most of the past month.
“Look, for the thousandth time, I only hooked up with Wyatt Baxter once. One and done. Stop trying to make it into something it isn’t.” I downed the dregs of my coffee and did my best not to mangle the cardboard cup into something unrecognizable.
“Did I say anything about Wyatt Baxter?” Chessly glanced over at Saylor. “Did you hear me even mention the guy’s name?” When she glanced back at me, mischief danced in her eyes. “Do I detect a bit of defensiveness in your tone, Miss Piper? Are you hiding naughty thoughts from your besties? Because you’ve certainly not shared anything juicy with us besides that you hooked up with him.”
“Nor do I plan to. Guess you’ll have to make do with your overactive imaginations.” I walked my cup over to a trash can nearby and returned to the table to retrieve my messenger bag. “Sorry to drink and run, but my next class starts in ten. I’ll see you guys when you get back from break, yeah?”
My friends stood, and we all hugged each other.
“I hope you have some fun over Thanksgiving, Piper,” Saylor said, her eyes troubled.
“Give Pedro our best. Maybe go out and buy a Mandalorian helmet to channel him.” Chessly’s grin said she was far too pleased with her little joke.
“Yeah, I’ll do that.” I rolled my eyes and hugged her again.
A group of Wildcats players walked into the Union as the three of us walked out. One of them stepped in front of us. “Chessly?”
She glanced up and stopped in her tracks. “Finn?”
“You know this girl?” He nodded in my direction.
At his question, my friend’s hackles jumped straight up. “Why do you want to know?”
“Because everyone at the house thought she was a unicorn until Bax dedicated that pick-six to her two weeks ago.” He gave me a once-over, lingering on my hair. “Then in last week’s game when he overachieved again, he dedicated the second one to her.” Pure speculation colored his features.
Chess narrowed her eyes. “A unicorn?”
The guy’s face lit up. “You know, a mythical creature. The kind our buddy Bax hooks up with.” He and his teammates cracked up.
From the looks they exchanged, I gathered they were sharing an inside joke. My stomach knotted with the idea of it being at my expense.
Chessly, the traitor, grinned back at him. “We had kind of the same idea about Piper hooking up with Bax.” She and Saylor exchanged a smirk. “She won’t tell us anything, which begs the question of what is really going on between them.”
“Piper, huh?” The guy stuck out his hand. “Finn McCabe. I’m one of Bax’s roommates.”
As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t leave the guy hanging without it causing a scene. Reluctantly, I extended my hand, which his swallowed as we shook.
“Nice to meet you, Unicorn.” He smirked again. “How is it that a smoke show such as yourself hooked up with Baxter?”
My brows shot up at the way the guy tossed Wyatt under the bus.
