His eyes light up. “Yeah? I have a cousin that goes there. I’ve never been there. What’s it like?”
“Well, the sports program is the best in the country,” I tell him without skipping a beat.
He grins. “Is that so?”
“It is.”
“Any particular sport?” he asks, still smiling.
“All of them.” He laughs, and I grin. I suddenly feel a presence behind me. I turn around and see Slater right behindme. He doesn’t look down at me; he stares at the kid that was just talking to me. His face isn’t nearly as nice as it was when he was talking to me just a few minutes ago. I tap him lightly on the arm. “Hey.” He glances down at me. “You good?”
He nods, but his expression is closed off. “I’ll get the food,” he says.
I raise my eyebrows at him. I glance back at the guy I was talking to, but he’s over getting our food now. “What’s the deal with you?” I ask. He’s still not looking at me; he’s staring at the guy getting our food. “Slater.” He finally looks down at me. “Are you okay?” I ask in concern. “Did something happen?”
He rolls his neck, cracking it. “I’m good.”
I study him a moment. “You’re hangry,” I finally decide. “You can sit; I’ll bring the food over as soon as it’s ready.”
He glances down at me, and his face seems to relax. “I’ll wait with you.”
“I was just telling him that our college has the best sports teams.”
He smirks, looking more at ease now. “Were you?”
“I was. He said he’s got a cousin that goes there or something. I was going to tell him that we have an up and coming player who’s already well-known and is going to be famous one day.”
He frowns as he watches the guy prep our food. “Who?”
I shake my head. “False humility does not become you, Slater Thorne. I was talking about you.”
He looks down at me then and smiles a gentle smile. “Maybe.”
“Oh, there’s no maybe about it, Slater. You are headed for great things.”
He’s suddenly really intense. “Will you be there?”
“To watch? Oh yeah! I plan on attending as many college games as I can this year and next before you graduate.”
Chapter 11
Tessa
Slater grabs our food, and we head back to the table. When we sit, I realize Slater isn’t the only one that ordered a ton of food. I’m starting to get used to it because I’ve eaten with Zane and Evie a time or two now. “How was the friendly guy at the counter?” Zane asks Slater with a smirk.
“Too friendly,” Slater returns.
“There’s nothing wrong with being friendly,” I add. “He was telling me that he has a cousin that goes to FMU. I wonder if any of us know who it is. Wouldn’t that be crazy?”
“Yep, crazy,” Quint says, grinning. “I bet you make friends everywhere you go, Tessa. Don’t you?”
I shrug. “You never know what somebody’s going through. I try to at least smile. Of course, some people you can’t cheer up, no matter what. They just walk through life frowning at anything and everything.”
“Like Slate?” Quint asks, still grinning.
Slate throws a nugget at him, which Quint impressively catches and pops into his mouth. “Slater doesn’t frown all the time.” I glance at him right beside me and notice the frown.
“You sure about that?” Quint asks with a laugh.
