“You got heart eyes popping out of your face, Campbell,” one calls.
“Is that your girlfriend on the phone?” Another yells.
A burst of‘oooh’rises from the men in the room.
Rather than answer, I grab my duffel and head out the door with a wave to the guys. All of ‘em are too nosy.
“Are you busy tonight?” I ask Riley as I press my shoulder into the double doors of the arena and step into the cool night. “Since you’ve been such a good citizen today, I’ll treat you to something tasty.”
“I really wish I could, but I’m brainstorming at the garage. I want to blend the structure of my AMT training to fit the flexibility of an autoshop. There has to be a happy medium and I’m determined to find it.”
“Alright then. Happy brainstorming. Call me if you need to bounce any ideas off me. I might not be any help, but even a stupid idea might spur some inspiration.”
She laughs. “What are your plans tonight?”
“I’m watching game tapes to find an advantage that will make me irresistible to the Lucky Strikers. Our next scrimmage is Friday, and it might be my last shot to impress the team manager. It’s do or die.”
“How very Sparticus of you.”
I grin again. Have I mentioned how much I like talking to Riley?
Because the answer is ‘a lot’.
We both go quiet and I’m reluctant to hang up, despite knowing that she has a lot to do tonight, and the conversation is pretty much over.
“Are you at the garage alone? Did you lock the shutters?” I ask.
“I didn’t lock up. Jimmy’s here.”
“Mm.” I slip a hand into my pocket.
“How late are you staying up?”
I stop in the middle of the parking lot and tilt my head to the sky. Is it just me or is Riley dragging her foot on ending the call too?
“How late do youwantme to stay up?” I wonder.
“It’s my choice?”
“I’m at your service.”
“Foranything?”
“Within reason.”
“Are you saying I can call you at midnight for a late night taco run and you’d bring it over?”
“Call me anytime, Riles. I’ll be there,” I promise.
“Be very careful, Nat. You don’t know what kind of damage I could do with so much power.”
Damage me all you want.
The thought sticks and while I try to bat it away with my usual ‘I just care about Riley as a brother’ excuse, it doesn’t go away.
The truth is that I donotsee Riley as a sister.
I tried.
