“You definitely have to come if you haven’t eaten.”
Savannah sighs before agreeing.
“Do you have your car?”
“I walked.”
“Which dorm?”
“Radcliffe,” she shares.
“That’s where Lacey lives,” I tell her, then go to explain who that is, but Savannah is nodding.
“The goalie’s girlfriend.”
“We’ve been friends since high school,” I agree, very curious as to what Lacey might have told her…and vice versa. “I was in Edwards until this year.”
I open the door for Izzie, who sits in the back, then do the same for Savannah, trying not to let it affect my ego that she looks like she’d rather trade places with my sister, climbing in without my help.
“So, second halftime?” I ask once I’m out of the parking lot. Izzie is grinning like it’s hilarious.
“I know that’s not what they’re called, I just didn’t have a better term,” Savannah defends herself, but her cheeks are rosy, and she looks adorable. I think she might be wearing more makeup today, or at least something on her lashes, because her hazel eyes are intense, almost all I can see as she looks at me before shifting away.
“It’s my bad for not realizing that’s part of the basics. We play three periods of twenty minutes each, with two intermissions in-between.”
“Like a play.”
“Call me Shakespeare,” I tease, feeling like an idiot because he’s the playwright, not the actor, but Savannah smiles instead of calling me on it, like she doesn’t want to but can’t help it, and I sort of want to make her smile like that again.
“Not Mama Joy’s?” Izzie asks when I pull into a diner near campus. I’ve only come for brunch with the guys after morning skate, but everything was good, and Tanner said his brother is here all the time. He’s a fancy chef in the city, so praising a hole in the wall must mean something.
“That’s a bit far for Savannah.If it sucks, we can stop there on the way home,” I promise her, but Savannah’s smile drops, like I made her feel guilty for that.
“That’s okay, I’d rather have Savannah than Mama Joy’s.” I could kiss my sister for that save. “But the food there is really good, especially the ice cream, so you should come with us another time,” she invites Savannah. “The waitress has a crush on Noah, so she always slips me extra whipped cream or syrup or French fries…whatever I’m having.”
“She does not,” I argue. I can feel the heat in my cheeks. Britney’s crush doesn’t normally bother me, because she’s a kid, and her mom thinks it’s cute, but I am suddenly very self-conscious about it. I don’t want Savannah to get the wrong idea. “She’s maybe seventeen, and?—”
“He flirts more with Mama Joy than with Britney,” Izzie assures her, giving me a wink like she’s got my back, even though she was the one who initially attacked it. “Mama Joy is old. Like way older than Mom.”
“You like them old?” Savannah asks me, eyebrow raised, before she loses control of her serious face.
“I don’t discriminate,” I’m teasing back, but if I was flirting, I’d say I like them her age. But I don’t do girlfriends, and I can’t blur the lines with Savannah. Not when she’s sweet and shy…and likely to fall for it.
Or do I just want her to?
* * *
It’s busier than I expect, but the service is fast, and everything is delicious. Savannah doesn’t like pickles, so I take hers off her plate, and she steals some of my sweet potato fries in return. I pretend to be offended, but I didn’t ask about the pickle, and honestly, it feels…nice. Comfortable. Like I could do this every Sunday. But then again, maybe we don’t have awkward silences because Izzie hasn’t stopped talking.
They have a pinball machine in another room, which Izzie absolutely must play, so I hand her all my change, then Savannah and I hang back while someone teaches Izzie how.
“Are you going to come to more games?” I ask Savannah once we’re alone. “For research,” I add quickly.
“I’m not sure. It was exciting though. You guys are so fast. My heart was pounding half the time.”
“What was your favorite part?”
She considers it, biting her bottom lip for so long that I would have kissed her to free it if I didn’t hear Izzie’s constant whoops of joy.
