“Lockdown. Okay.” Lauren takes a slow sip of her wine. “Lauren, by the way. Syd’s best friend from Minnesota.”
“Minnesota,” Ollie says. “Great lakes.”
“That’s literally all we have.”
“And you.” He drops into the chair on her other side without being invited. “Minnesota also has you.”
Lauren looks at me. I press my lips together and shrug because watching Ollie try to charm Lauren is going to be the entertainment of the evening.
“Does this work for you?” Lauren asks, turning back to him. “The Minnesota line?”
“I don’t know. Is it working?”
“Not even a little.”
“I respect that. Can I try again?”
“You can try.” She tilts her head at him. “And what do they callyou?” she asks, sweet as anything. “Saint? Brownie?”
Ollie’s grin slips slightly. “…Sometimes Saint.”
“Sometimes.”
He sighs. “Also Big Bird. There’s a photo from rookie year that—okay, I had a yellow jacket on, the lighting was bad, and the group chat ran with it for about a year.”
“Big Bird.”
“It’s not even accurate. I’m not that tall.”
“You’re six-three,” I say.
“I’m six-two, Syd.”
“Big Bird is taller than that,” Lauren says thoughtfully. “I think Big Bird is like eight feet.”
“Thank you,” Ollie says. “Finally. Someone who has done the research.”
Lauren laughs. “Anything else?”
He hesitates, takes a long drink of his beer. “Eggplant,” he says.
There’s a beat.
“…Like the vegetable?” Lauren asks.
“It’s not—it’s not about the vegetable.”
“Okay.”
“More like the emoji.”
“The emoji.” Her eyes widen.
“Yeah.”
Lauren is quiet for a moment, and I can see her piecing it together in real time. Then her eyebrows lift slightly. “Oh.”
“Yeah.” He clears his throat. “There was an incident in the locker room involving a towel and bad timing, and the guys are visual learners, so—”
