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“Sure.”
Relaxing into the comfortable leather seat, the muscles in my low back loosen as we drive toward town. Sloane hums along with the music, content to sit back and take in the scenery.
It’s nice being with someone I don’t have to be ‘on’ for. For the first time in a long time, I’m not worried about saying something stupid or trying to impress. With Sloane, I can relax. She knows me, we don’t have any secrets.
Well, I have the one secret. The dumb mistake I made that got me and two of my buddies cut from the team. That and my shitty scoring record this year.
But there’s already been too much drama tonight, what with the crowd at the bonfire and the little dust-up between Gracelyn and Jamie.
No need to dredge up the video right now. Besides, if all goes well here and I’m picked up by another team, no one has to know about it anyway.
“Cam? You passed The Burger Basket.”
“Oh shit, I did.” I spin the wheel and make a hard left turn, popping a quick one-eighty.
“You okay? You really zoned out there.”
I check the side mirror, pulling into an empty spot. “Yeah, all good.”
Locking the car—although that’s more out of habit than necessity in Thunder Creek—we head into the restaurant, the one and only late-night spot in town.
“Good to see nothing’s changed,” I say, holding the glass door open for her. “Same linoleum, same pink stools and metal counter.”
“Same great service too,” Sloane whispers, leaning in close to my ear. She smells nice, like soft florals mixed with bonfire smoke, and I wonder what she’d taste like. I follow behind her through the almost-empty dining room—we’rekind of between popular times, dinner having passed and the late-night crowd still out partying.
“This work?” She waves her hand at an empty turquoise booth in the back and I nod.
“Sure.”
We sink into the pleather seats and Sloane plucks a menu from behind the silver napkin dispenser, handing it to me.
“You still get the usual?” I ask, perusing the choices. Doesn’t seem like they’ve updated the menu since I left, either.
“You know it. Chocolate milkshake, double cherries, with a side of fries. Hits the spot every time.”
“That does sound tempting—” I glance over the plastic menu and the pink tip of her tongue darts out, licking her lip.
“Don’t go ordering something healthy, like the cottage cheese on lettuce,” she teases, flicking the back of my menu, and I chuckle.
“Wouldn’t dream of it. Your dad worked me hard today—I’m entitled to a cheeseburger every now and then.”
“Hiya, kids.” Angela, a waitress who’s worked here as long as I can remember, slides over to take our order. She pulls a pencil from behind her ear, hovers it over the order pad. “Great to see you two, just like old times. What’ll ya have?”
I motion at Sloane and she places her order, then I make mine and Angela shuffles away to grab us waters.
“I think she changed her hair color since last week. Last time I saw her, it was definitely pink.” Sloane rips the wrapper from her straw, wadding the paper into a tiny white ball.
“The lilac suits her. Matches the décor here nicely.”
Sloane grins as Angela deposits two glasses of water and the chocolate shake on the table.
“Food’ll be out in a sec, kids.” Then she hustles away again, a table at the opposite side of the dining room signaling for their check.
“So—you have any big plans for the summer?” I ask.
Sloane pops a cherry off the blob of whipped cream in her shake.
“I think I might apply for a job at the library. Could be fun for a while.” She sucks the cherry into her mouth, pulling the fruit from the stem, and I try not to stare at the perfect pink circle of her lips.
