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“She's confusing the hell out of me, Grant. We're supposed to be friends.” He rubs his hand on the back of his neck, and I notice that he really does look torn about it.
“Throw caution to the wind then. Ask her out,” I suggest.
“Shouldn't I be telling you that?”
I shake my head again. “No, I'm pretty sure caution is needed.”
“Caution for what?” Lucy asks curiously as they rejoin us.
“A situation with Neil,” I lie.
We're saved from any further questions when we're finally called because our table is ready. Part of me is surprised as hell that Lucy is even here, but then again, we had fun this weekend. She sits next to me in the booth, close enough that she isn't on the outer edge, but far enough away that we won't bump elbows while eating. After the waitress takes our orders, I notice that unlike us, Maddie is sitting dangerously close to Winston. Hopefully, he'll take my advice because it sure seems like she wants him to.
“How's training going for the run?” Maddie asks Lucy with a big smile. “I'm so excited. Grant, you should do it with us! Winston's too much of a loser.” She gently pokes him in the ribs.
I shrug her off as Lucy answers, “It's going good. How many people are they expecting?”
“Over a thousand have already signed up. It's supposed to be huge.”
Lucy swallows hard and tries to cover it by taking a sip of water. Wanting to comfort her, I pat her thigh twice, but before I can remove it, she covers my hand with her own. Lucy hasn't been a touchy kind of person, so her action surprises me. She doesn't ask me about running with them, though.
“How long is a 5K anyway?” Winston questions.
“3.1 miles,” Lucy says.
“Is it your first run?” he adds.
Lucy nods as our food arrives. She finally releases my hand, so we can eat. Our conversation breaks in two as Maddie and Lucy continue talking and Winston and I focus on more important things. Like food.
“How did your date go, Lucy?” Maddie asks, catching everyone's attention. She gives me a quick pointed glance, like this is evidence that I should make my move soon before someone else does.
I turn my head to look at Lucy, whose cheeks are flaming red. “Date?” I
repeat. She never mentioned it to me, but then why would she?
“Yeah, I set her up with someone last week,” Maddie inputs. “I can't believe I forgot to ask you about it!”
Lucy looks around the table, realizes she has everyone's eyes on her, and stumbles over her words. “Um, I, uh, didn't go. Sorry, Maddie.”
“How come?”
“Seriously, Maddie? He...” Lucy slides her eyes over at me briefly before shaking her head. “He just freaked me out.”
Maddie looks confused, like that's not possible, but I know firsthand that it doesn't take much to freak Lucy out. And that guy must have done a number if she didn't bother going out with him. Honestly, that makes me feel pretty good about myself because I've said the not-so-right thing to Lucy before and she still hangs out with me. Conversation seems stilted after that and soon we're going back to the house.
“I can take you back to campus, Lucy,” I offer as I park. I need to go to the library anyway, so it won't be out of my way.
“Thanks.” She looks into the backseat. “I'll text you later, okay?” she tells Maddie. I see Maddie nod in my rearview and then she and Winston are getting out and heading inside. When we're on the road again, Lucy says, “Maddie's something else, isn't she?”
I laugh. “What makes you say that?”
“She's very outgoing, I guess. I mean, right after we went to the game, she wanted to set me up with that guy and...” Lucy shivers like she's cold.
“That bad?” I question curiously.
“I'm probably overreacting, but he was a little on the creepy side to me when we were texting. I feel bad though.”
“Why?”
