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“Hey, thought that was you coming in,” I say, hugging her back.
Chase juts his chin at me, flashing a wink before signaling to the group that they’re all going for a beer and will be back in a few.
Wow. Not awkward at all.
“Congrats on graduation.” I take a step back, still smiling. “What was it, accounting?”
Her eyes light up as she squeezes me again. “Holy buckets, I can’t believe you remembered that! Or that I ever thought accounting was for me. I switched to early childhood education.”
“A teacher? That’s awesome, Laura. You got a gig lined up or still feeling things out?”
She laughs and rests a hand on my chest as she peers up at me like I just climbed a tree to rescue a kitten. “Same Trevor. Such a sweetie. I’ve actually got an offer for a full-time position in the fall over in Carver.”
“Nice. Must feel good knowing you’ve got a spot.” Not that I’m jealous. The fact that I don’t know where I’ll be is good. It means I’ve still got a shot at moving up. Playing between the Orators and Slayers is a good thing… even if it feels like there’s no place I actually fit.
“Yes. I’m lucky.” She wags her head. “I am.”
There’s obviously something else. “But?”
“But Carver’s three towns over.” She scrunches up her nose in that cute way she’s always had. “I went to college thirty minutes from home. I don’t know, I guess there’s a part of me that feels like it might be fun to broaden my horizons some. Have a bit more adventure. Excitement. You know?”
“Sure. I get that.” I also get that her hand is still on my chest and there’s something in this prolonged eye contact that’s conveying she wouldn’t mind if that adventure happened with me.
Again I find myself searching out Cam. His dark hair still has that perpetually tousled look to it. His nose is still straight. And I’m guessing he isn’t a guy looking for some adventure and excitement, because he hasn’t even glanced over here since he walked in.
There’s no ring on his finger— that I can see, anyway.
He came alone. Not that it matters.
Laura gives me a nudge and asks, “Right?”
Shit. She was talking.
“Sorry, Laura. Been a long day of driving. What were you asking?”
She laughs like it’s funny instead of putting me on blast like I deserve. The least I can do is pay attention to what this woman— this friend —I haven’t seen in forever is saying.
“No, nothing… I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you got here today! Uff-da. Are you even up for all these people tonight?”
She’s sorry?
“I—”
“If you’re wiped, I could drive you home.” She bites the corner of her lip, peering up at me through her lashes. “We could have a beer. Talk and catch up somewhere… private?”
Ehh, shit.
CAM
For four years I’ve been wondering whether I made a mistake. If I should have trusted in something that felt like it was too good to be true instead of running away like the scared kid that I was.
A handful of times I’ve broken down over the years and scoured the Internet for any hint that Trevor Gulbrandsen’s arrow might not be shooting quite as straight as everyone assumed… but I’ve never seen even a hint of him following through on that promise he made me out on the lake.
He said he wasn’t scared.
That he didn’t need to hide.
I know there have been women. I’m not proud of the sites I had to log into to find out, but even playing primarily on the farm team, Trevor draws enough attention to have some of his more casual encounters show up on the boards.
