Danny: Make room for a third. See you in ten.
Wait,what? He was ditching his teammates to have dinner with us?Why?
The beeper in Zoe’s hand did its thing telling us our table was ready.
When we headed inside, I said to the server, “Is there a chance we can have a table for three? A friend texted and wants to join us.”
“Sure, no problem.” She led us to a table with four chairs situated near the back of the café.
Clearing her throat as we sat, Zoe said, “Table for three? Someone’s joining us?” The naughty gleam in her eyes hollowed out my stomach almost as much as Danny’s text inviting himself to dinner.
Holding out my phone to her, I said, “I did not invite him.”
As she read our texts, the look in her eyes turned speculative. “This might be a little different from high school. Maybe giving four years of his life to the government changed his priorities.”
Shaking my head, I tamped down the tiny flutter shifting through my body at her words. Danny was still Danny. I was still me. Nothing had changed.
We were in the middle of deciding our meals from the ridiculous array of burgers when I sensed Danny’s presence. Pulling out the chair beside mine, he sat down and made himself at home.
“Hey, T.” As always his smile lit me up. “Hi, Zoe. Long time no see. How have you been?”
“Just ducky.” She grinned. “Seems like you didn’t miss a step in your four years away from the game.”
Our server showed up with our drinks and asked Danny what he wanted. After putting in his order for iced tea, he replied to Zoe’s unspoken question. “I found time to toss around the old pigskin.” Tilting his head, he shot her a suave grin. “My unit had the best flag football team in our division.”
“No doubt because your team had a receiver who doesn’t drop balls.”
He touched his fingers to his forehead in a salute. “Exactly.” Turning to me, he asked, “What did you think of the game?”
Tapping my index finger to my lips, I pretended to consider my answer. “It’s kind of mean to beat up on a lower-division team, isn’t it?”
“No one twisted their arm to play against the big boys.” He smirked.
“Mmm, their AD might have, what with our AD offering them the big bucks to take you guys on,” Zoe added sagely.
“Do not harsh my buzz, Lampee,” Danny warned, but the corner of his mouth hitched up. Sliding his arm across the back of my chair, he said, “Seriously, T. What did you think of the game?”
I knew he meant his game, but his arm across the back of my chair distracted me.
“I can tell you what she thought,” Zoe chimed in. I shot daggers at her with my eyes, but she blithely ignored me. “She thought she needed to take my arm off helping me ring my cowbell when you made a catch.” Her unapologetic smirk warranted the kick I landed on her shin beneath the table. She didn’t even flinch. Traitor.
The server arrived with Danny’s drink and to take our orders. I ordered the Burger Bill’s special with fried onions and huckleberry sauce. Danny, who hadn’t even glanced at the menu, copied my order right down to the truffle fries. Zoe asked for her usual mushroom Swiss with extra jalapeños.
Leaning back in his chair, he regarded me. “So you enjoyed the game. Enough to try to take more Saturdays off?” The hope hiding behind his cocky tone surprised me.
“I’m working fewer weeknights, so I’m going to need those Saturdays to pay bills.”
It was Zoe’s turn to kick me under the table. Unlike her, I wasn’t stoic.
“Ouch! What was that for?”
An eye roll was my answer, which made zero sense. Wasn’t she just berating me about succumbing to my old crush on him before he arrived?
“We’ll figure something out,” he said as though he had a say in my schedule.
I blinked.
“Why aren’t you at Stromboli’s with your teammates? Isn’t that the Wildcats’ hangout?” I asked. “I’ve seen several of their commercials for it.”
