Lauren and Mason shared a look before she shook her head. “Thanks, but we’ve been inside for what feels like forever. We’ll hang here for a while, but we should get something to eat tomorrow.”
“Definitely. I’ll text Reagan and Ava and let you know where and when.” I smiled.
“Perfect! Ooh, yay!” She actually bounced when she clapped her hands. “Okay. Come on, Mase, I want one of those huge teddy bears that’s the size of a grown man.”
“It won’t fit in your—never mind,” he muttered, shaking his head. It was the kind of fond exasperation that could only come from someone who was totally in love with her. “It was great meeting you guys.”
“You, too,” Preston replied. “And if they do dinner, I know a great sports bar where we can avoid them.”
“Sports bar? They have wings?”
“You and freakin’ chicken wings,” Lauren said, almost to herself.
“The best fucking wings you’ll ever eat,” Preston said, and he wasn’t lying.
They were damn good wings at Lucky’s. I just didn’t eat them often because I had a tendency to get the sticky sauce absolutely everywhere.
I’d even gotten it on my dad once, and we still weren’t sure how.
“Sold,” Mason said, fist-bumping Preston right before Lauren grabbed his arm and dragged him away.
“See you tomorrow!” she called, waving. Mason threw up a wave, too, but it wasn’t long before they both disappeared into the crowd.
Preston watched them go for a second before turning to me. “She’s… bubbly.”
I laughed and started walking in the direction of the parking lot. “She’s pretty full-on,” I agreed. “But she’s the sweetest person I know, and just about the only person I’ve kept in touch with since college.”
“You met her in college? Where does she live?”
“Florida. Her cosmetology school—she’s a hairstylist—was close to my campus. Dad paid my fees so I have no student debt, but I had to work my way through in general like every other kid.” I tucked my hair behind my ear. “Part of that was getting cheap haircuts. The school had an on-site salon where their students could practice on real people once they reached a certain skill level. It cost, like, ten? Fifteen bucks? I met Lauren there in sophomore year.”
“Huh. And she came to see you?”
“I guess so. I know we’ll close the booth early tomorrow because the winner is announced during the talent contest, so I’ll probably take her for dinner so that you and Mason can visit the sports bar. But we have to be back by eight for the announcement.”
Preston had parked two cars down from me. “Don’t worry. I won’t lead him astray.” His sparkling eyes said otherwise. “Meet you at your place?”
I nodded and dug my keys out of my purse. “Whoever gets there last buys pizza.”
He smirked, then ran to his car.
Shit.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
* * *
HALLEY
Fuck The Feels
I lounged against the doorframe, grinning, as Preston got out of his car. He’d pulled up right behind mine, boxing me into my driveway.
He had a face like thunder as he got out and slammed the door. “You ran the red light!”
My jaw dropped so my mouth formed a huge ‘O.’ “I did not run a red! It was amber when I went!”
“That’s basically red!”
“No, it means get ready to stop, but I wouldn’t be able to brake in time. I was committed.”
“Committed to putting your foot down!”
Okay. Technically, he wasn’t wrong. I had pressed the gas pedal a little harder to scoot through before it changed.
“I didn’t break any laws. I wasn’t even speeding. And, if I’d done something wrong, the cop who was parked outside the bar would have stopped me.” I raised my eyebrows. “Don’t be a salty bitch, Preston.”
“You’re always right, you always have to win, and you aren’t willing to accept when you run a red light,” he said, following me into the house. “I should have thought this through.”
“I didn’t run a red!”
“It was red when you went!”
“I was committed!” I said loudly, turning around and putting my hands on my hips. “I couldn’t stop. The cop didn’t stop me. Stop being a baby because I beat you here and now you have to buy dinner. Which you should have been doing anyway.”
“How do you figure that?”
“The first date was even. I won you a goldfish.”
“Yeah. Uranus is dead. Found him floating in the mixing bowl this morning.”
I wasn’t surprised at all, but I clutched my hand to my chest and pretended to be shocked. “One day, Preston, and you’ve already killed the first gift I ever gave you. Did you even try to keep him alive?”
He leveled me with a look. “Now I know you’re bullshitting me.”
“Oh, all right.” I dropped the act. “Everyone knows those fish last for a week at best. Did you at least give him a proper burial?”
“Flushed him down the toilet this morning.”
I nodded solemnly. “May Uranus rest in peace.”
Preston rubbed his hand over his mouth and looked away.
“Wait,” I said quickly. “That came out wrong!”
He blew out his cheeks and held it for a second. That was it. He laughed hard, grabbing my kitchen table to steady himself.
“So immature,” I muttered, turning away so he didn’t see my own laughter that was bubbling beneath the surface.
That was exactly why I’d refused to use the stupid name.
Nothing good came from calling anything Uranus. Ask science teachers who have to teach teenagers about the planetary system.
Yeah.
I pulled an unopen bottle of wine from the fridge and set it on the table. “Would you like some wine?”
He was still laughing.
He was just… standing there. Bent over my table. Shaking. Laughing. Like I’d just done an entire stand-up comedy act or something.
So I did the only thing I could do at that moment.
I stepped closer to him and smacked his ass.
What? It was a great ass, and it was sticking right out. It was prime for smacking, so that’s what I did.
“Shit!” He was still chuckling even as he straightened up. “What was that for?”
“You’re ridiculous,” I said, getting the corkscrew and shoving the point into the cork in the wine bottle. “Also, you’ve been here ten minutes and not once have you either complimented my kitchen, ordered pizza, or fed the raccoons.”
“Your kitchen is lovely, it’s too early for the raccoons, and I can order pizza right now.” His lips still twitched with the after-effects of his laughing fit. “And no, I don’t want wine. Do you have beer?”
I yanked the cork out with a satisfying pop. “Do I look like I keep beer?”
“Don’t worry. There’s some in the trunk of my car.”
“Why is there beer in your car?”