Page 45 of Buzzer Beater

“What can I do?”

“If I invited her, I know she would turn me down, but if you or some of the other girls did, she might say yes.”

She nodded a few times before looking back up at me. “I’ll try.”

“Thank you.”

She held up her hand. “Don’t thank me yet. I’ll try to get them to come but I can’t make any promises.”

I nodded. “Got it.” I was about to turn and leave but something about her expression made me pause. It was like she wanted to tell me something else. “Emma?”

She blinked and tried to smile, but it didn’t last. “There’s something. I’m just not sure if I should tell you.”

“What?” I tried to keep the panic from creeping up, but no good news could come from her right now, not if her eyes told me anything. She was worried.

“It was something Lucy said last night.”

I was ready to pull the words out of her. “Yeah?”

“She said she forgave you a long time ago, but that there’s no future for you guys.”

What was that supposed to mean? “She did?”

Emma nodded. “I just thought it was strange. How upset she was after having dinner with you, but then she said she’d forgiven you. I just didn’t get it.”

“Why wouldn’t we have a future? If we could put the past behind us, there’s no reason we couldn't.” I suddenly felt confident about winning her back. “There’s nothing stopping us if she forgave me.”

“That’s what I was thinking, but there’s obviously something she isn’t telling us.”

I nodded. “Do you think she’ll tell me?”

“I don’t know. I hope so, and maybe now that you know you can talk to her. Not about the past anymore, but about who she is now. You need to get to know her again.”

That hadn’t crossed my mind. I’d been so focused on the us of five years ago I hadn’t even considered how we’re different. I expected her to be the same girl from college and she wasn’t. I definitely wasn’t the same person.

“You’re right. I’m going to try today.”

“Good. I just have to convince them to come.” She rolled her eyes.

I gave her a hug. “Thank you.”

She squeezed me back. “You’re welcome, but you owe me.”

I stepped back. “Count me in for the first babysitting shift.”

“I’m holding you to that.” She laughed. “I’ll let you know when I talk to her.”

“Thanks.” I hurried back to my room and relaxed once I was inside.

“Hey, you get it figured out?” Grant was lying on the bed watching tv.

“Yeah, we’re going on a tour to the Mayan temples and then swimming in a cenote.”

He nodded. “Cool. The girls are coming?”

“Emma’s going to invite them now.”

He looked up from the TV and laughed. “You too scared?”