Page 52 of Savannah Sweethearts

I steeled. “I like her, yes. But I’m not settling down and we’re not dating.”

“Yet.”

A chuckle came from my friend. “When you’re done getting your backside handed to you, come see me. Ashley has a story idea that’s actually pretty good.” He sauntered back to his table when I nodded in agreement.

When Piper beat me soundly, she whooped loud enough for everyone to hear. “You owe me, Alonso. Carry everything and two lunches this week. I am the pool master. Bow down to my pool prowess.”

“I’ve never seen you so cocky, Campbell. But I will bow to you, O Queen of the Pool Cue.” With that I bowed low, my hair flopping and almost touching the dingy bar floor. She curtsied and as I came back upright I noticed Maria look from me to Piper and back again.

At Tyrell’s table, I slid in across from the lovebirds. “Ashley, you look great as always.”

The bombshell beamed and blew me a kiss. I knew better than to read anything into it, the girl was a flirt. “You are the sweetest thing.” She ran a manicured finger over Tyrell’s cheek.

“What’s the story idea, T?” I wasn’t too interested in watching their table groping.

Ashley came to attention then. “Oh, that was my idea. I hired a professional bridesmaid to help me with the wedding. I thought it was a great story idea. Have you ever heard of a professional bridesmaid before?”

Professional bridesmaid? That was a thing? I scratched my chin. “I can’t say I’ve ever heard of one, but I’m not up on wedding stuff. Let’s see if Piper has heard of it.”

I caught her attention and she came over to us. Piper slid into the booth next to me, her bare thigh touching my hand. I quickly retracted it, but I didn’t move over more. I liked her close to me.

“Ever heard of a professional bridesmaid?” I raised an eyebrow in her direction.

“No. They have professionals now? Aren’t you supposed to have friends be bridesmaids?” Ashley wasn’t offended by the remark, thankfully, but that did raise a great question.

We talked for a few minutes and Piper got the contact info for Ashley’s professional. The whole time I could only concentrate on the fact that Piper’s long, toned leg was firmly pressed against mine and I had the desire to place my hand on it to see if I would feel that spark I had felt the last time we had touched. I refrained, keeping my hands on the tabletop and feeling like a fool the entire time.

Maria left early, which was a relief because she was reading far too much into the unspoken words between Piper and me. Tyrell and Ashley also left because Ashley needed her beauty rest. I couldn’t help but wonder how much of her beauty was applied with a sponge. A few others from the office lingered, but I wasn’t close with them. Piper moved her things over to my table and sat across from me sipping on a tea.

My thoughts turned to the night of her birthday when we had licked the sauce from each other’s fingers. I kept my eyes trained on the slender digits “Are you hungry?”

“Hungry? No. We ate an hour ago, Alonso. Didn’t you get something?” She tilted her head to the side.

Of course I had ordered something. A huge burger. And I had eaten every bite. I wasn’t hungry, I just wanted to have that experience again.

I snapped out of my trance. “Of course, yes. You know me, always hungry.” I rubbed my stomach.

Piper tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear with a slender finger. “You know, I could go for more of that chocolate cake if they have any. Where’s Pinky the waitress?”

With another slab of cake between us and two forks, we laughed as we fought over the large swirl of chocolate buttercream sitting in the middle of the cake. She may have won the pool game, but I wasn’t giving up on an extra dose of sugar. Much to her disappointment, I won that battle and scooped up the icing. As I licked it off my fork, I offered her the leftovers. She made a face, sticking out her tongue, and I did my best not to lean across the table and kiss her.

That night I tossed and turned as I tried to fall asleep. Piper’s radiant smile appeared every time I closed my eyes. Which made my heart beat faster. Which kept me awake longer. But when I finally fell asleep, she filled my dreams as well.

I dreamed that her long legs were intertwined with mine and she had one of her signature cardigans draped over her shoulders like a 1950s schoolgirl. We ate sauce-laden wings and after she went to lick the sauce from my fingers, she kissed it off my lips. I wanted to smear more sauce on my mouth so she would keep kissing me.

Suddenly, we were reporting on a story about playing pool and the dangers of it, how it made people fall in love. Piper looked into the camera and said many men had fallen for women who had beat them in a game of pool. Shaking my head, I said I wasn’t in love and Maria showed up and disagreed with me. She said I was in love with Piper and not her and that I should have played pool with her instead. Finally, I explained that I didn’t love Piper because she had beat me at pool, but because she was the most amazing human being I had ever met.

Then, in the dream, I got down on one knee and professed my undying love for the world to see and asked Piper Campbell to marry me. All while Tyrell held the camera and Karry and Sam reported the whole thing live.

The only thought in my head as I woke up drenched in sweat: I love Piper Campbell.

Piper

I hung up the phone with the professional bridesmaid and shook my head. It was unreal what some people managed to do for a living. But Ashley was right, this was a unique story. And I looked forward to Alonso treating me to a meal after we talked to this girl.

“Load up, Alonso. We’re heading over towards Tybee.” I grabbed my pad and paper as well as my recorder and stuffed them into my giant bag. Sure it could double as an overnight duffel, but it fit all my stuff in it.

The bottle of water stopped at his lips. “What’s on Tybee?”

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