Page 81 of Heart of Gold
I look down at Quinn’s unopened menu, “Yeah, just a few.”
“Okay, I’ll be back.”
Quinn opens her menu, and then looks up at me. “What’s good?”
I smirk, “All of it.”
“All of the portions are massive.”
I imagine myself feeding her the waffles she’s looking at, “Wanna split something?”
“Sure,” she chirps, closing the menu without another thought. “You pick. I’ll eat anything.”
When Bridget comes back, I order my usual, and watch as Quinn’s face lights up. “I love that you have a usual.”
I smirk, “I’m a creature of habit.”
She takes a sip of her drink, “I love how weird you are.”
“Weird, huh?”
She leans across the table and I meet her halfway. Her soft lips graze mine. “It’s a good kind of weird.”
Her voice is so soft and almost sleepy sounding that it’s soothing. She is just soothing to me. I guess that’s why I like talking to her so much. It’s why I’d rather call her than text. It’s why when I’m not stuck at football, I want to be with her.
The sound of my phone buzzing against the sugar canister draws both of our attention and when I see Remi’s name flood the screen, I know instantly something is wrong. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be calling me at 1am.
“Hello?” I answer, and it’s instant that Remi’s voice comes through.
“Gavin. Where are you?”
I can sense the urgency in his voice, so I start to freak out. “I’m at a diner across town. What’s wrong?”
“It’s Levi.”
Those two words make my heart sink into the pit of my stomach. My mind reels. Is it his heart? Is he drunk? Did he wreck his car?
“What happened, Remi?”
“He said his chest hurt, and then he just passed out. I called an ambulance, they just left with him.”
I feel my heart race, and I look at Quinn. Who is hanging on my words.
What happened?
She mouths, and I tell Remi I’m on my way. “It’s Levi. They called an ambulance.”
She jumps up, nearly sprinting to the cash register to pay our bill. We haven’t even gotten our food, but she doesn’t seem to mind. She just takes control.
“Thanks Bridget, we will keep you updated.” I hear her say from the door as she pushes me out, then demands, “Give me your keys.”
I can’t even think straight as I hand them over, “Why? I can drive, it’s fine.”
She grabs them from my hand, “You aren’t driving. You are panicking. Let’s make it to Levi in one piece, okay?”
I feel like my heart might stop beating as I sit in the passenger seat, feeling all those same feelings I felt junior year flood my mind.
Quinn drives my truck with ease, and has one hand planted on my shoulder rubbing soft circles over and over. It’s comforting, just like her voice.
