Page 84 of Delay of Game
He had texted back shockingly fast, eager to meet some people and play trivia. Apparently, Ethan loved trivia.
I arrived at the brewery early, nabbing a large table before the rest of the teams arrived. Lily grabbed a seat with good lighting and guarded the empty seat between us with her life as our co-workers arrived. She preened in her phone’s camera, checking her makeup again while I ordered us drinks.
“Gracie!” Ethan’s voice boomed in the cavernous building, drawing attention.
Definitely Lily’s attention. She straightened in her seat, squaring her shoulders.
“Hey, Ethan. I’m glad you could make it,” I said.
He clapped a hand on my back, pulling me in for a hug. His body grew stiff halfway through, and he pulled away, looking around. “Is Rob here?”
“I didn’t invite Rob. He hates trivia. He told me so himself.”
“Good.” He relaxed, shoulders drooping. “Not that I don’t want more face time with the guy, but the vibe gets…weird when you’re around.”
“Yeah, sorry about that,” I apologized. I hadn’t exactly helped with the weird vibe. In fact, I’d sort of encouraged it more to get under Rob’s skin. In hindsight, that hadn’t been fair to Ethan. “I actually wanted you to meet someone.”
Ethan perked up, eyes darting around the brewery. “Really?”
The bartender popped the top on the can of yerba mate, setting it beside the beer. I handed over a card to start a tab while Ethan ordered.
“Hey, man.” A lanky, familiar looking blond clapped Ethan on the back. “What are you doing here?”
“We’re here for trivia,” Ethan replied, hooking a thumb in my direction.
“Gracie? What are you doing here?” A slight woman with black hair slid in next to the blond. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. After a moment, I recognized her from the cookout.
“Hey, Kit. Nice to see you again. And you, Trent.” The wide receiver and the scientist. An unlikely pair that had been burned into my brain, even if I hadn’t recognized them right away. “Are you staying for trivia? You’re welcome to join our team.”
“Thanks,” Kit smiled shyly. “But I’ve got work tonight. We stopped by for dinner before my shift starts. This place has the best tempeh club sandwiches.”
Trent wrinkled his nose. “I don’t know about the tempeh, but the beer is good.”
“It was nice to see you again.” Kit waved goodbye.
I read the distress on Ethan’s face.
“You don’t think…” He grimaced, unable to say the words.
I shook my head. “Absolutely not. Why would they?”
He frowned, and I took his elbow, pulling him toward our table. To a distraction. “Ethan, let me introduce you to my co-teacher, Lily. Lily, this is Ethan.”
“Lily,” Ethan echoed. His eyes languidly dragged down her body and back again while she did the same.
“Ethan.” She held out her hand. “It’s really nice to meet you.”
Their eyes locked. He took her hand, holding it for way too long. Awkwardly long. Long enough for the rest of the conversation around the table to die away and focus on them.
I cleared my throat. “Do you want to sit down or take this someplace else?”
Lily shook her head out of a daze. She leaned forward. “Do you want this seat?” she asked, as if she hadn’t been saving the seat specifically for him.
Ethan nodded, eyes fixated on Lily as he sat.
I leaned close to Lily. “Still think he’s into me?”
She shook her head. “So, how do you know Gracie?”
