Page 19 of Sidelined Love

Part of me wants to call him out on his bullshit, but I let it go. First, I'm surprised to see him out and about this early on a Saturday morning. If I had to guess, I would have thought he'd been up partying late last night with his teammates. The things Crestwood's hockey team is rumored to get up to were legendary at this point, and I have no problem believing it is worse than we all know.

But hey, they keep winning and bringing more attention and money to the school, so who cares, right? At least that is the approach the school's administration takes.

Jade shares a look with me, and when I give her a small nod, she grins. “That's a great idea. We'd love to have you join us.”

Finding Wilder at the community gardens, though unexpected, doesn't delay us much. He falls into step alongside us, occasionally glancing over at Jade as we walk. At least I hope it’s occasionally because I will not be held responsible if he trips over his own feet due his attention being centered on the woman standing between us.

“So, where to next?” he asks casually, his hands tucked into the pockets of his well-worn jeans.

Jade stares down at the piece of paper and reads off the next clue. “Where java flows and laptops glow, in the heart of campus life's ebb and flow. Seek the spot where the wired and weary find their brew, your next location lies in plain view.”

“Brewed Beginnings!” I exclaim. It is probably the most enthusiasm I've shown all day, but that doesn't mean I'm actually excited to be going there. I'm happy I was able to figure out another clue. We hadn't gotten to that one earlier, so I didn't expect it to be on our list.

“Yep,” Jade confirms with a smile. “It makes sense for it to be on the list. How fitting is it that we're going to go to your job and you're wearing a chess club shirt?”

I have a few clothes that allow me to rep the club I'm president of and I don't mind wearing them. They are comfortable and it helps me get the word out about chess club without having to talk to people.

Wilder gives me a curious look and then his eyes widen slightly. He snatches his phone out of his pocket and his fingers begin flying across his screen. I look at Jade who shrugs, but something in the pit of my stomach tells me that I might know what this is all about.

The scene that is unfolding before me isn't a coincidence, and I can't stop the words that fall out of my mouth. “Wilder, is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” he says without looking up from his phone. Maybe I am going to be responsible for him falling on his face after all.

“Are you sure?” Jade chimes in this time. I'm happy she's also reading this situation as odd even though she doesn't know everything I do.

Wilder glances up from his phone with a smirk on his face. “Everything's good,” he says casually. “Had to send a quick text.”

He tucks his phone back into his pocket as we continue walking. I want to press him further, to call out the convenient timing of all of this and ask who he was texting. But I hold my tongue for now.

We reach Brewed Beginnings a few minutes later. The coffee shop is busy, with people sitting at tables with their laptops open as the clue described. Jade snaps photos with her phone of the sign as Wilder clears his throat.

“So, you must really like chess to be a part of the club and to wear their gear.”

This is the most awkward shit, but Jade saves me from saying something that would make me sound like an asshole. “She's not just a part of the club. She's the president of it.”

“It's not a big deal,” I mumble, feeling suddenly self-conscious about Jade's praise. I'm not embarrassed about my position, or anything related to chess club, but I don't like too much attention being put on me.

“Are you kidding? That's cool,” Wilder says, sounding genuinely impressed. “Maybe Jade and I will stop by sometime.”

Jade snorts. “How are you dragging me into this?” She then turns to look at me. “No offense, Hailey.”

“None taken,” I answer automatically. I get what she's saying. If Jade was interested in chess, she could come with meat any point. It isn't her thing, and I respect that, but it almost feels comical how Wilder is trying to invite both her and himself along to a club meeting.

“I don't do much outside of hockey so going to a chess club meeting will be something else to do, that's all,” he says.

But it doesn't feel like that's all. However, in the interest of time, I say, “We can table this discussion for another time because we have a scavenger hunt to finish.”

“Hailey's right,” Jade says. “We've already lost some time standing here instead of moving onto the next clue.”

Excellent. I need to get this scavenger hunt done quickly so I can get away from Wilder. I can't stop thinking about who he was texting and how it is most likely Levi. It could also be a group chat, which is more concerning.

“Okay. Well, what's the next clue?” Wilder asks.

While I can pull the list of clues out, I wait for Jade to do so, and the three of us read over the next set of clues as we decide which location might be the next one we need to visit.

The rest of our time together goes by quickly. The conversation between the three of us is easy even with the thoughts in my mind swirling at a million miles an hour. After completing our photo scavenger hunt, we finally make it back to the quad where we began. While we didn't come in first place, I can admit going around campus was fun for the most part.

Wilder is the first to break the silence. “Well, that was fun, but I should probably get going though. I have to do a couple of things, and I told some of the guys on the team I'd meet up with them.”

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