AllFreeNovel
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I smirk. “I wrote the paper while you did your math homework. You call that tutoring?”
Cassia rolls her eyes. “I made suggestions.”
“You didn’t tell her either.”
“I know.” She plays with her spoon, dragging it through the small pool of chocolate that’s all that remains of her dessert. I take the final bite of mine. “I was worried she’d think it meant something.”
“Me almost failing history?”
“Yep.” She smiles.
“I never thanked you properly.”
“For what?”
“Helping me with that paper.”
Her eyebrows rise. “You said you wrote it yourself.”
“I did. But you…I wasn’t going to waste your time.”
Cassia studies me for a minute, then nods.
“There are some scouts coming to tomorrow’s game.” I share the information unprompted, which is unheard of for me. For some reason, there’s an urge to share with her. To explain what I’m thinking and feeling.
“For schools you’d consider?”
“Yeah. One of them is my top choice.”
“Top choice, huh?”
“I mean, they have a good program. I have a shot of getting in, Coach thinks.”
“Which school?”
“Richmond.”
She looks away. “In Vermont?”
“Right.”
“That’s on my list.”
I stare at her. The possibility of us ending up at the same university has never occurred to me. “They have a good pre-vet program?”
“It’s decent. I can take the classes I need pretty much anywhere.”
The bell above the door rings. A large family walks into the store. Cassia consolidates her trash but leaves the napkins untouched. “You ready to go?”
“Yeah,” I reply, doing the same with my bowl and spoon.
We stand and head for the door. I make sure Cassia sees me throw away all the napkins along with the rest of my trash.
My truck is parked another block down the street. I think of the trip to Graham’s study party as we climb in the cab, the first and only other time Cassia has ridden next to me. It felt like we were alone then.
Weactuallyare now. Rather than awkward, the silence sounds like possibilities. She hasn’t brought up me kissing her on the sidewalk since it happened.
I war with myself as I pull out of the spot and start driving in the direction of our shared street. Should I mention it? Pretend it never happened? I had no plan for this encounter. I wasn’t expecting to see her at Fellini’s, and I definitely wasn’t expecting to drive her home, just the two of us.
