Page 49 of The Obvious Check
DID YOU SAVE ME A SEAT?
I press my lips together, willing myself not to smile too hard, trying to keep the blush from creeping up my neck.
Slowly, I nod, turning back to my notebook before he can gauge my reaction.
He types something else, tapping my foot again to get my attention.
Thanks.
It’s such a simple word, but something about it gives me butterflies. I refocus on my notes, ignoring the warmth in my chest and the way his presence shifts the air around me.
It’s just Cade. Friendly, charming Cade.
He’s just being nice. That’s all.
He doesn’t think about me the way I think of him… at least that’s what I tell myself to save the disappointment.
“H-How’d your game go?” I ask as we pack up our things at the end of the lecture.
Cade zips his bag up, and a grin spreads across his face. “We nailed it out there. The game was close but Erik and Scotty managed to pull some magic out of their asses in the third period.” He slings the bag over his shoulder, shaking his head. “And Dash? The guy’s got skills that would make any seasoned NHL player weep, which is saying something since he spends half his time making googly eyes at my sister instead of focusing on the puck.”
“Sister? Do you mean Madison?”
“Yup. They’re dating.”
“Oh, that’s good.”
“Yeah, for them. They aren’t important right now.” His expression shifts and he looks at me intently. “There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you.”
My pulse spikes as his green eyes take me in. I pull my sweatshirt sleeves over my hands, trying to distract from my nervousness as I think of answers to questions he hasn’t even asked me yet. “Yeah?”
“Are you doing anything tonight?”
I blink, caught off guard by the question. “Uh…”
He takes my hesitancy as a response. “You working at Luke’s again?”
I shake my head quickly. “No. It’s my night off.”
“Great.” He throws me a lazy grin, the same confident one that makes the dimple on his left cheek pop. “Come to dinner with me then.”
My brain short-circuits. “D-dinner?” I repeat, my voice a little too high. I clear my throat. “As in dinner,dinner?”
Cade chuckles, his amusement very much at my expense. “Yeah. You know… We sit down at a restaurant. Eat food. Talk. It’s something a lot of people do.”
I scowl, mostly to cover up the fact that my stomach just flipped. “I know what dinner is. I just wasn’t expecting you to ask me to go with you.”
“Well, I’m asking,” he says, his tone softening. “No pressure, though. I just thought it might be nice to hang out.
I hesitate. Part of me wants to say no to avoid whatever weird, undeniable thing is happening here. But another part of me knows I can’t.
“Dinner sounds good.”
He pauses for a moment, watches me and when I smile, his grin widens too.
“Perfect. I know a great place just off campus. Do you want me to pick you up from your apartment, or shall I meet you there?”
“I’ll meet you there,” I say without hesitation since I don’t want him to know there is no apartment to pick me up from. “I’ve got some things I need to do in the library before I head back home.”
