Not that I’d heed his command. If it meant sitting away from Phillipa, I’d reassign my seat to economy. Not being model-tall meant I could withstand less legroom for three hours. Of course, that was a last resort and something I’d work on later.
“Chess? It’s a go,” I said when she answered her phone.
“Awesome! When should I tell Dad you’ll be starting?” Her enthusiasm warmed my insides.
“I’m flying back here the day after Christmas, so I’ll be at your place the next day. I’ll get in a few days of work with your dad before I blow his good opinion of me when I corrupt you on New Year’s Eve.” I laughed.
“This is the first time since I started college that I’m looking forward to Christmas break.”
“I’m looking forward to it too.” I smiled into my phone. “Shall we go out and celebrate?”
“Ready when you are.”
“Pick you up in ten. You decide the place.”
When I arrived at Chessly’s dorm, Saylor was there, bouncing on Chess’s bed like Tigger. “Chess says we’re celebrating. What are we celebrating? Never mind. I’m in for the fun.”
Chessly and I exchanged a grin.
“I successfully cut my family vacation short. If I manage things right, I won’t have to spend time with Phillipa at all. Instead, I’m spending the break learning all about how to run a hardware store and keeping Chess sane.” I winked at her. The expression on her face as she nodded said I’d spoken Gospel.
Saylor bounced up from the bed. “Good enough. Where are we going?”
Chess slid a sly grin my way. “How ’bout Stromboli’s? Pizza and beer is a perfect way to celebrate spending Christmas in the middle-of-nowhere Montana.”
“Really, Chess?Really?”
Her expression was all innocence. “Why not?”
Blowing out a breath, I reached for the door. “Why not, indeed. Stop conniving, Chessly Clarke.”
Saylor giggled as she joined me in the hall. “Do you think your hot football-player hookup will be there on a Thursday night before a big game? How lucky would that be?” she asked as she linked her arm through mine.
“Would you two stop?” But I asked the question with a smile.
The bar was more packed than we anticipated when we arrived a short while later. A rowdy group of football players sat at the far back booth as usual, but they’d invited another table to pull up beside theirs, extending the booth out into the path of the servers. From what I could see when the crowd parted to let the servers step around the extension, several women were sitting with the players.
Beside me, Chessly tensed, her eyes focused on that extra table. Following her line of sight, I clocked what—or rather, who—had riveted her attention. Tory Miller held court with the team. That girl made family money look terrible. The trouble she’d caused my friend should have had her booted from the university last year. Instead, according to Chess, she’d joined a sorority and continued to cause trouble in the dorms with her “recruiting” tactics. Judging from how hard she tried with her makeup, the girl sitting next to her had some years to go before her ID matched her age. A freshman, no doubt. Considering Tory herself was only a sophomore, it didn’t take much of a leap to guess none of the females sitting with the team were old enough to be in the bar.
“We can go somewhere else,” I said into my friend’s ear.
At that moment, the booth beside us opened up.
“Nah. We can sit here and not have to see the little bitch at all.” An evil gleam came into Chessly’s eye. “I wonder if the bouncer knows he let in a bunch of underage girls.”
Saylor and I slid into the booth while Chess stood beside it, continuing to stare at the action going on at the back of the bar.
“Chess?” Saylor asked. “You joining us?”
“In a minute.” She spun around and headed for the door.
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I pulled in a lungful of air then caught my other friend’s attention. “This is not going to end well.”
“I know.” Saylor’s eyes sparkled. “But I bet it’s going to be entertaining.”
Chapter Eleven
Wyatt
