“You ready?”
He was crouched in the pantry stuffing one of my pop tarts in his mouth. I couldn’t care right now, I just needed out of there.
He nodded, concentrating on chewing his food before swallowing and saying goodbye to Maybelle and Sam. I didn’t bother. I was already too far down the hall to hear her say goodbye.
36 Hearsay And Breakups
Maybelle
The banquet was beautiful.
It was held in an event center. Large tables and chairs scattered about the place. At the front was a stage where the head coach and other important members of the team gave speeches. They expressed their appreciations, reminders about the fundraiser and goals to make this the best season yet.
Larson, as the captain of the team, got up to speak. He’d been so nervous about his speech. To my surprise, He showed up, out of the blue, earlier that day at my apartment asking for help.
After running through the speech with me a few times, and some words of encouragement from me, Larson felt ready. Who would’ve thought the smooth, sweet-talking Larson would be nervous about anything?
Now, we ate the dinner provided of grilled chicken, filet salmon, roasted vegetables, salads and yummy cream puffs. Sam and I hadn’t spoken much. Not because he wasn’t talking. No, Sam wouldn’t shut up about some current political dispute happening on the opposite side of the world.
The problem was, I didn’t have the motivation to return his same energy tonight. I was still bitter about the whole girlfriend fiasco. I planned to confront him about it. Not until after the banquet, though, so he could focus on enjoying his time with his team.
Another thing that had me biting my tongue in silence was sitting across the table from me. She clutched Trey’s arm like one would a pool noodle in the middle of a turbulent sea.
My Trey.
Juliette was a whole new kind of irritating tonight and my head pounded because of it. Especially since Trey wasn’t doing anything to deter her. It was almost like he welcomed her incessant touches and never-ending interruptions. Which had my blood broiling.
One small saving grace was that I was at a table seating people I mostly knew. While Sam was to my right, Bear was sitting to my left, a quiet, comforting presence. To Bear’s left sat a girl who rivaled Penny in fun, outspoken, excited behavior. She was short, had bobbed chestnut brown hair, deep brown eyes and a darling round face.
Her name was Gracie, and I adored her.
Bear’s date had the attention of everyone at the table. She told hilarious jokes and stories that almost had me shooting my water out of my nose.
Williams was also at the table, across from me, next to Trey. His date was a beautiful girl with dirty-blonde hair, round glasses perched on her nose that she adjusted each time she was addressed. I hadn’t yet caught her name, but with the way she and Noah shared stolen looks and shy smiles, I already loved her.
“No way!” Williams shouted across the table, bringing me back to the conversation at hand. “You’re telling me you actually lived in Egypt?” I followed his line of sight to see his question was directed at Gracie, who beamed.
“I swear it’s true,” she insisted. She opened her mouth to explain more but Sam interrupted by clearing his throat.
“You know Egypt was ruled by a monarchy until 1953, but was officially recognized as the Republic of Egypt until 1958, when—”
“Nobody cares, Sam,” Juliette snipped in over Sam’s already uncomfortable interruption.
Sam shrank. More like melted away in his spot while everyone else looked ready to scurry under the table. I honestly wouldn’t be too far behind them.
Against instinct, I twisted in my seat to face Sam as I put a hand on his shoulder. “I care, Sam. You can tell me all about Egypt, but first I’m very curious to hear what brought Gracie and her family there.”
I let my hand sweep reassurance across his back, and he sat up straighter with my support.
The tension at the table loosened as Gracie smiled. “My dad’s a skilled cardiologist and took up a position there for a few years,” she explained.
I nodded, making vile eye contact with Juliette.
Williams helped pick up the conversation where they left off. He turned to Bear, adoration on his face. “How did a quiet guy like you find such a cool girl?”
I leaned over, detaching myself from the silent war happening between me and Juliette. I wanted a good view of Bear’s upturned features, framed by his now combed and well-trimmed facial hair.
He slanted Gracie a sidelong glance that had her giggling. “She asked if she could try braiding my beard at a party.”
