“Hey, Goober.” She smiles at him, and I have to hold in my laughter.Goober?
“I told you not to call me that.” I can hear his footsteps as they approach my table.
“Whatever you say,Goober.” She teases before winking at me. “I was just chatting with my new best friend, Ember.”
“Hey.” He gives me an almost non-existent nod. And just like that, the tension between us builds. It’s just my luck that I can avoid him all day and then befriend his sister in the library, and bam, there he is.
“Oh, you guys know each other?”
Unfortunately.
“Yeah,” he mumbles.
“Because of Cam?” she asks, and he grumbles. “Alright, Mr. Grouch, I guess I have to depend on my new friend for all the answers.”
“We have a class together,” I pause, “we’re partners.”
“Well, it’s the closest thing my brother has had to a relationship since he was fifteen, so.”
You don’t have to be in a relationship to get laid, so I know precisely where Declan’s priorities lie.
“Brin.” Declan shakes his head. “We gotta go.”
“Where?”
“We just have to get going,” he begins. “I have practice in a couple hours, and we were gonna grab food.”
“I think my new friend might want to come with us.” She glances over at me. “What do you say?”
I can feel Declan’s eyes burning through me. I try not to look up at him, but as we covered earlier, my eyes have a way of deceiving me.
I look up and meet his gaze. I can’t read it. You would think of all people; Declan would be easy to read, but not even close. I look back at Brinley, who looks hopeful, but I shake my head.
“I can’t.” I pause and see Declan’s shoulders fall in relief out of the corner of my eye. “I always go to this little diner my best friend works at after we’re done with our classes.”
A weight lifts off my shoulders, but I should’ve known that Brinley wouldn’t let it go that easily. I’ve only known her for a short time, but I can already tell she doesn’t take no for an answer.
“We’ll come with you.” She perks up. “We hadn’t decided where we were going anyway.”
I take a deep breath and force a smile.
“Perfect.”
six
Ember
And that’s how I end up at Greystone Diner with Declan Sanderson.
He seems as excited about it as I am since he hasn’t spoken a single word to me since we got here, but I guess I haven’t gone out of my way to create conversation either. I glance around the empty diner, and my eyes land on Maia. I’ve been waiting for her to get to her shift since we arrived, and her jaw drops when it lands on my table.
Oh my god,she mouths, looking at Declan and then back to me.
My eyes widen, and my lips purse, but the smile stays on Maia’s face.
“Is it always this slow?” Brinley wonders, and my gaze snaps back to her. “I mean, it’s like dead-dead.”
“It picks up around hockey season.” I don’t look at Declan but rather down at my hands. “It’s a whole different place when people come to watch the games.”
