They fell into a long silence.“I should get going.Bye, Carson.”She opened the door and hopped out.
“Hey, Allie,” he called.
“Yes?”She spun around, eager for this day not to end quite yet.
“Do you want to get together next weekend?Maybe go for that hike?”
“Yeah, sounds good,” she replied as cool as a cucumber.Inside, Allie was giddy as a schoolgirl who just got asked out by the hot jock and she the nerd.
“Okay,” he nodded, “It’s a date.I’ll talk to you before then.”
“Bye, Carson.”
“Bye, Allie.”He waited until she opened her door before driving off, waving at her as he went.Allie leaned against the door, watching him as he drove away.
Chapter 9
“So, how did it go?”These were the first words out of Sandy’s mouth when Allie opened her front door that night.Sandy held up a carton of ice cream in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other.Sandy looked hopeful.
Allie took the bottle of wine.“Fine,” she called casually over her shoulder as she headed into the kitchen to get glasses and a bottle opener.
“Oh no, you don’t,” came Sandy’s hurried voice as she raced to keep up with her.“I want details.Unless?What happened?Do I need to give him another talking to?”
“Another?”Implying she had spoken to him before.Allie groaned.She should have known better when she’d told Sandy about her date.Carson was her friend too, and she had sung his praises, but because he had behaved the way he had, Sandy surely would have spoken to him.
“Yeah.After your bad date, I went to his office and gave him a sit down.His coworkers fully supported me,” Sandy said matter of fact.Not ashamedat all that she’d gone to his work and scolded him like a parent.
Oh God.This was embarrassing.“Sandy, please tell me you’re lying.”Though she already knew it to be the truth.
“Of course, I’m not lying,” Sandy defended.“He was out of line.Why do you look so upset?”
“That’s as bad as when you came to my defense with Billy Cromley.When you confronted him for spreading lies about me, you started your own about his jock itch.”
Sandy took the proffered glass of wine from Allie’s hand.“To be fair, I wouldn’t be surprised if that wasn’t true.He did adjust himself a lot.Or maybe he had an STD.”She looked toward the wall thoughtfully.
“The pointis, you are always coming to my defense.You don’t let me fight my own battles.”
Sandy’s head whipped back toward her.“And my point is, you never stand up for yourself.Someone treats you bad, you just turn the other cheek.”
“Because I know they aren’t worth the aggravation.I chalk it up as a learning experience.”Allie fell into her seat as the seeds of doubt crept in.“Is that why Carson asked me out again at the grocery store?You pressured him into it?”
Sandy’s eyes widened in horror, the glass halfway to her lips.“God, no.I would never.If I thought you two wouldn’t suit, I never would have pushed to begin with.All I said to him was that he owed you an apology.Carson asking you out was all him.”
Allie sank deeper into the couch with a small smile creeping up on her face.So the grocery store had been a coincidence, and his asking her out had nothing to do with Sandy’s verbal attack.
Sandy sat down next to her on the couch, her feet tucked up in front of her.“So how was it, your date?You took the wine, so it had to be better than fine.Tell me,” Sandy practically shouted, her whole body thrumming with anticipation.
“It wasfun actually.He was fun.You should have seen him explaining gun safety and how paintballing works.”A smile pulled at her lips in remembrance.
“You didn’t tell him that you grew up with three older brothers?”
“No, that’s not how I usually start a conversation.He seemed to be so serious about it, I didn’t have the heart.”He was so excited andthorough explaining everything.Allie hadn’t paid attention to his words as much as just watching him.He’d been unguarded in those precious moments, allowing her to observe him and stare at his handsomeness.
“He learnedpretty fast after that, didn’t he?Oh, I would have paid to watch you trounce him.”Sandy’s hands shook in excitement, almost sloshing wine onto the couch.
“To be fair, I bribed some teenagers to do it for me.”
“Ah,” Sandy laughed and clapped her hand against her wine glass, “Even better.Now I really wish I had been there to see that.”
