“Thanks.” I open the door and pause. “We should try to do coffee soon.”
She smiles. “Yeah. That would be good.”
“Have a good one.” I close the door just as Evie texts me that they’re out front.
I make my way down the hallway, not surprised at how quiet it is. Most girls are sleeping in because it’s Saturday. I jog down the stairs and head out front. It takes me a minute to find them because I’m looking for Zane’s truck. Evie waves at me from the window of a van. The side door opens, and Quint hops out, all smiles. “Morning, Tessa.”
“Hey, Quint.” I climb in and turn to Reid, who’s sitting in the back. “Do you want to sit up here so you have more leg room?”
“I’m good. Thanks.” And that’s that. I notice that he sits in the middle seat, so he can stretch out his long legs.
I settle and Quint climbs into the seat next to me. “A van, Zane?” I laugh. “That’s not what I was expecting.”
“My truck didn’t have enough room for all of us, so I borrowed this one,” he replies easily.
“Yeah, they’re getting started with the whole family van thing a little early,” Quint says with a grin.
Evie turns around and swats at him, missing him and hitting the air. “No, we’re not.” She shakes her head and turns to me.
“I feel bad. You could have taken your truck if I hadn’t come,” I tell them.
“Slate would have murdered us if we didn’t bring you, Tess,” Quint says.
I frown. “That’s a little extreme.” I expect him to laugh it off, but he just shrugs.
“It’s fine, Tessa. I’m glad you were able to come,” Evie says, patting my knee.
I settle in my seat and try not to get weirded out that all these amazing athletes are literally in the same car as me. “You okay over there, Tessa?” Quint asks.
“Yeah, it’s just a lot.”
“What is?” Evie asks, turning towards me.
“Just being in this car with,” I pause. “All of them.”
“We are pretty amazing, aren’t we?” Quint adds, looking smug.
“And humble,” Evie points out.
“You all good back there?” Zane asks. “Too hot or cold?”
“It’s perfect for me,” I tell him.
“Same,” Quint adds. Reid’s quiet, but I figure he’d speak up if he wanted to.
“Did you work last night, Tessa?” Zane asks from the front seat.
“I did.”
Evie turns to me in concern. “You’ve got to be exhausted. Did you get any sleep at all?”
I shrug. “Nope, but I’ll be fine. I brought my pillow and blanket, so I can sleep in the car.” What I don’t share is that my noisy suitemates kept me from getting good sleep yesterday afternoon as well. I’m really going to have to figure out something about that; it’s killing me. But that’s a problem for a different day.
“Do you need to stop for a coffee or anything?” Zane asks.
“No, thanks though. I really am going to try to sleep a little bit, so I can enjoy the game. How long is the trip?”
“Just under five hours,” Evie says after looking to Zane for confirmation. I look out the window, just content to be off campus for a change.
