Page 31 of Break My Heart
‘Buttermilk pancakes and coffee.’
‘Would you like apple butter with your pancakes or just syrup?’
‘Just syrup. I’ve never had apple butter.’
‘It’s really good. It’s made locally at Kanfield Orchard. I could give you a sample.’
‘Thanks, but the syrup is fine.’
‘Oh, um, okay.’ She hurries off.
‘She seems disappointed I didn’t try the apple butter,’ I say to Sawyer.
‘It’s kind of a local favorite. My mom’s been making it forever. She jars it and sells it at the orchard and to local businesses. Next time you’re at the orchard, try a sample. My mom puts out samples of everything next to the baked goods.’
I rest my forearms on the table and lean forward slightly. ‘So I was thinking, the canoe race wasn’t really fair.’
‘Why wasn’t it fair?’
‘Because you’re twice my size. You have an advantage.’
‘As far as I could tell, you were paddling just fine.’ He leans toward me across the table, his eyes on mine. ‘I think you’re just making excuses for why you didn’t win.’
I huff. ‘That is not what I’m doing.’ I sit back. ‘It wasn’t a fair race. Your arms are bigger than mine. Of course you’re going to win. Paddling is all about upper body strength.’
‘Then why did you suggest it?’ He leans back, folding his arms over his chest.
‘Because it’s the first thing that came to mind. It’s not like I was planning to compete against you. I was just trying to get out of having dinner with you.’
‘You already got out of dinner. I was leaving when you suggested the canoe race. And for the record, you’re the one who suggested we have breakfast.’
‘Only if you won the race.’
‘Which you knew I would because I’m stronger than you, which tells me you secretly wanted to have breakfast with me.’ He gives me that smug grin that I find infuriating. ‘So what’s next? I’m assuming you’ve come up with something else you want us to do in your obsession to beat me.’
‘It’s not an obsession. I’m just competitive, and you’re just as bad, so don’t even try to pretend you’re not.’
‘Never said I wasn’t. So what are we doing?’
I smile. ‘Pool.’
‘We’re swimming? Isn’t it a little cold for that?’
‘Not swimming. Pool, the game. You know how to play, right?’
‘Sure. I played all the time with my brothers. My parents got us a pool table for Christmas one year. It’s still in the basement. We could play there if you want.’
‘I was thinking of going to a bar. The one near the hardware store has a pool table.’
‘Ted’s? Yeah, I don’t think you want to go there. That place is full of old timers that like to gossip. If they see us together at a bar, they’ll assume it’s a date and tell everyone.’
‘How is that different than us being here?’
‘Going to breakfast isn’t a date, but going to a bar is a different story.’
‘Why can’t people just mind their own business? Nobody even noticed who I was out with back in Green Bay.’
‘This is a small town. People talk. When my brother Nick came home last summer and was hanging out with Lyndsay, it wasthe talk of the town. Everywhere I went I heard people talking about them.’
