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“I’m getting the bacon double cheeseburger,” Evan says. “No way is this the kind of place to order a steak.”
“The steak here kicks ass. I’m telling you. Get the eighteen ounce. It’ll be worth it.”
I cock a brow. I have to agree with Evan. “This doesn’t seem like the kind of place to get a steak.”
“If you wanted a five-star restaurant then you should’ve gone to one,” Brett deadpans. The guy likes to eat. He’s six foot three and a wall of muscle.
“Okay, I’m going to trust you on this one,” I concede.
“I’m going for the steak too,” Kaleb agrees. “Brett is a human garburator and has pretty good taste in food,” he says like he’s rationalizing the decision he’s making.
“I need to piss,” I state and since I am sitting at the edge of the booth I stand.
“Thanks for the announcement,” Evan drawls with a chuckle.
“If the server comes order me the eighteen ounce and a Heineken, would yeah?” I say to the guys.
“If they have imported beer,” Brett laughs.
I shake my head and walk to the back of the diner where I see a sign for the restroom. After taking the world’s longest piss, I wash my hands with soap, dry them, and leave the bathroom. Brett is a real character. I can’t believe he brought Evan to this dive on his birthday, even though he was right. We haven’t been approached by fans once. When I get back to the table, a woman is dressed in one of those old server-style outfits. It’s a frilly white apron, which makes me laugh. No clue why. The server has long, auburn hair that’s pin-straight and falls down her back. A flash of Skylar’s face comes into my vision because she has the same hair.
“Are you all going to really eat steaks this late at night?” the server drawls, a sense of mistrust in her tone. But that isn’t what shakes me up.Her voice seems familiar.
Each of them assures her they will.
“I’d like you to pay up front then. No way I can have you bolt on me with four steaks on the order,” she explains. It doesn’t surprise me this is the kind of place where people would dine and run.
“No problem. We’re good for the money,” Brett assures with a cocky grin.
I get why Brett likes to come here. He’s treated like any regular Joe.
“For drinks, I got four Budweiser’s. Will that be all?”
The guys say yes and thank her, and then she turns around. My world tilts on its axis as I come face-to-face with the girl I left behind. I rub my eyes. It can’t be her. Did I maybe get a concussion on the ice and didn’t realize it?
“Skylar?” I say with confusion.
Her green eyes widen as she watches me. “Liam,” she mutters and then her palm comes up to her heart.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” I stutter. It’s like I’ve entered an alternate universe.
Her round eyes turn narrow and cold. “I don’t think we have anything to say to each other. Let me get your order in.” She sidesteps me and walks around me. I want to reach out and take hold of her arm gently to stop her, but I can’t do that because I don’t feel like I have the right.
Instead, I stand frozen, staring into space.
“Dude, you good?” Brett asks, watching me with furrowed brows.
I give my head a shake. “My ex from high school,” I say dryly, and I slide back into the booth.
“She better not spit in our food,” Evan says, laughing.
“I wouldn’t worry about that,” I say, although I can’t be sure.
The guys break into a conversation about our game tonight. I’m not sure what to do. I need to talk to Skylar. Why is she working here? Shouldn’t she be almost finished with law school by now? I don’t know why, but in all the scenarios when I pictured seeing her again, none of them included her being hostile toward me. I figured enough time had passed.
A server named Betty brings our drinks over and tells us the food will be right up.
“Wait, where did Skylar go?” I ask. I was hoping to pull her off to the side to talk for a minute. To tell her it was her face that flashed before my eyes when I thought I would die.
