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Better, maybe, but he didn’t think she was completely back to normal. She still seemed… lower key than usual. “Oh, that’s good.”
“Yeah. I’ll be ready for tomorrow, so you won’t have to deal with the servers on your own.”
“Have any of them bailed?” he asked.
“Surprisingly not. I’m not going to get my hopes up that they’ll all be there until I actually see the whites of their eyes at the church.”
“So you’re going to be okay to serve if we end up short-handed?”
Janessa gave him a quick smile. “Yep.”
“That’s good.”
“Maybe your mom should bottle and sell her soup.”
Will relaxed back against the wall with a laugh. “Not sure she’d ever consider that. She says that love is the secret ingredient, and that would be absent if they made it in bulk and sold it to strangers.”
“That’s a shame. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has benefited from it.”
As they chatted a bit more, Will came to a realization. Maybe he didn’t need to a complex plan. Maybe he didn’t need advice on what to do.
Janessa knew who he was. There was nothing he could say or do to entice her to date him beyond just asking if she wanted to go out with him.
He didn’t want to continue to spend time with her as just friends when his heart was already engaged at a deeper level. If she didn’t feel the same and thought that she’d never feel the way he did, that was fine. He wouldn’t keep bugging her if that was the case.
But if there was any chance that she did, he didn’t want to waste time.
When the others returned, Will slid back to his spot. He expected Janessa to allow them to edge past her, but instead, she moved closer to Will.
“Here you go,” Gareth said as he held out two cans of soda. Janessa took them both, then handed Will the one he usually drank.
Aria sat down next to Janessa. “I got you a bag of those chips you like. You didn’t ask for them, but I figured you’d want some.”
“Thanks,” Janessa said as she took the bag. She opened it, took one out, then angled the bag toward Will. “Want some?”
Though the flavor wasn’t his favorite, Will still reached into the bag to grab a chip. “Thank you.”
“You’re lucky she’s sharing with you, Will,” Aria said. “I usually have to fight her for one.”
“He brought me soup.”
“He brought you a tub of delicious soup, and you thank him with a chip?” Aria asked with a laugh.
“He can have more than one,” Janessa said.
Will grinned and waved away the bag when she held it out to him again. “I’m fine, but thank you.”
The ref blew his whistle, drawing their attention back to the court. They cheered as the teams prepared for the jump ball to start off the second half of the game.
Though the opposing team put up a good fight, the home team prevailed and came up with the win. Once the game was over, Will followed the others down the steps of the bleachers and out into the cool night air.
On impulse, he reached out to gently grasp Janessa’s arm. When she turned to face him, he said, “Can I give you a ride home?”
“I came with Charli,” she said.
“I figured.” He shrugged. “I just want to talk to you about something.”
She glanced over to where Charli was walking with Layla. “Uh. Sure. Just let me tell Charli.”
