Page 97 of Freshmeet
“Bye, sweetheart. Tell your mom I have some extra cilantro and thyme for her.”
“Awesome,” he grinned.
The tall, muscular guy with dark brown skin and a fashionable fade stood stiffly nearby until Colleen opened her arms wide and said, “Get over here, Grant.”
He stepped into her hold, dwarfing her with his impressive build.
“It’s good to have you back,” Colleen murmured. “You’d better be at dinner next Sunday.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Her small hand swatted his toned back.
“Mama McCormick,” he said with a smile.
“Good boy. Now you keep these hooligans in line.”
“Mom,” Connor said flatly.
She let go of his friend and playfully glared. “Get out of here before I decide to tell Sarah some stories about you in high school.”
“Time to go,” Connor said, guiding me to the automatic doors.
“Your mom’s hilarious,” the emo guy said, shoving his shaggy black hair from his eyes. Looking down at me, he grinned. “I’m Tom. We’ve heard a lot about you.”
I glanced up at Connor and smiled at his reddening cheeks. “All good things, I hope.”
“Of course,” Tom smirked.
When we got to my small compact car, I grimaced, “Uh, I guess I should’ve borrowed Kat’s van.”
“Not bitch!” Jamie screamed, jumping into the back seat.
Tom looked at Grant and sighed. “Fine.” In the middle, he leaned over so we could see him. “Can we hit a drive-thru?”
“Uh, sure?”
Tom winked and settled back in his seat.
“Thanks for the ride,” Grant said, giving me a small smile before he got in the car and closed the door.
Connor opened the driver’s side door for me.
“Thank you,” I said, slipping under his arm.
Once I was buckled in, he shut the door and rounded the hood of the car. After a quick trip through the drive-thru, I parked in front of Connor’s apartment. The guys spilled out, but Connor stayed in the passenger seat.
He watched them disappear inside, then turned and looked at me. “You staying with me tonight?”
I killed the engine and tucked a loose lock of hair behind my ear. “If you want.”
“I do,” he said with a tired smile.
“Well, okay then.” I sent a message to the Frattic chat and then followed Connor inside.
Laughter spilled from the apartment when we opened the door and immediately stopped when they caught sight of me.
“As you were, fellas.” I waved at them as I went to the kitchen for a glass of water.
