“They are. Well, Harvard is in Cambridge, but Emery is right in the heart of Boston.”
“What a coincidence. Taevin happens to plan on attending—” Ryan is cut off when Taevin slaps a gloved hand over her friend’s mouth.
Taking a mental note to ask her about that later, I shake my head at their ribbing. They remind me a hell of a lot of how my friend Carson and I act around each other.
Speaking of my best friend, he spots me from across the lobby and saddles up beside me.
“What the heck, J? You flew out of the locker room like a bat outta hell before we even got to celebrate. It’s not everyday a guy scores three goals in one game—let alone a playoff game that earns us a ticket to state,” he says, playfully shoulder checking me.
It’s only then that he notices the two girls standing in front of us. “Well, hello ladies. I’m Carson, or Carsey as he likes to call me. And you are?” he asks them.
Tae holds out her gloved hand for him. “Taevin. And this is my best friend, Ryan. Pleasure to meet you, Carson.”
“Pleasure’s all mine. Wait, did you say your name is Taevin?”
“I did.”
Carson’s eyes widen to a comical size before he slowly turns to look at me. He’s the least subtle person I’ve ever met, and it shows when he mouths, “LiketheTaevin?”
I roll my eyes before nodding once.
“Oh, shit. You’re the girl that has my Jaxy Bear completely smitten.”
See? About as subtle as a gun.
Taevin’s melodic laughter fills my ears again and I’m already obsessed with the sound. “Jaxy Bear? Oh, I think I like that. Might need to borrow that one,” Taevin tells him.
Carson sends her a playful wink. “Stick with me, kid. I’ve got all the best gossip and embarrassing stories about our boy.”
“Noted,” she says, tapping on her temple. “But I wouldn’t say he’sourboy. We haven’t even had our first date quite yet—it could go horribly.”
“It won’t,” I state with more confidence than I feel. It’s very possible that I blow it with her—she already has a way of knocking me off kilter. I’m just hoping I got a good enough feel for what she might like when we got ice cream the other night that she enjoys herself tonight.
Holding out her hat, I step toward her. “I believe this is yours. And speaking of our first date—we’d better get going.”
She grabs her hat from me and a slight blush creeps up her cheeks. “Thanks.” Turning to Ryan, Taevin asks, “I’ll see you tomorrow morning at church, right?”
Ryan wraps her in a hug and murmurs something in Taevin’s ear I can’t quite make out, but I think she said something about checking things off. Again, I find myself wondering what that’s all about.
Once they say their goodbyes, I place my hand on the small of her back to lead her out to my truck. And while there’s a massively puffy coat between us, being this close to her is still a heady feeling.
Only after I’ve made sure she’s buckled into my passenger seat and I’ve turned the key to start my truck does Taevin turn to me and ask, “So, where are we going? You could’ve given a girl a head’s up. All your text said when I asked what I should wear was something that made me feel comfortable, yet here you are in a suit.”
“We have to wear suits for playoff games. I brought a change of clothes but then I left them in my truck so I figured I’d just change once we get there.”
“And where isthere?”
A sly grin spreads across my face. “You’ll just have to wait and see.”
I grab my phone to put some music on before pulling out of the parking lot as the playlist I selected quietly plays in the background. After Bennett and I got Frannie running like a dream, my next big investment was installing an updated sound system.
Taevin and I talk about school and what classes we’re in, but as I take the exit for our first destination, “Just To See You Smile” by Tim McGraw comes on and I can’t resist turning up the volume.
I’m drumming my thumb against my steering wheel as I sing along when suddenly Taevin turns off the music, leaving silence to linger between the two of us.
“Don’t tell me you don’t like country music,” I say after a few moments have passed.
I chance a quick glance at her and find her shaking her head. “No, I do. It’s actually my favorite genre.”
