Page 57 of Suits and Spark Plugs

“Well, I’m glad someone is laughing right now.” Scott’s voice behind us made us jump and squeal as we spun around. His cheeks were flushed from exertion, which made his dark eyes look even darker.

“I’m so sorry, honey.” Kelly flung herself into his arms, unaware of the sweat that had soaked through his shirt. “How disappointing.”

He wrapped his arms around her and tucked his head against hers, his mouth softening into a smile. “Yes, I can see how sorry you are.”

“I’ve never seen anything like that game before,” I teased.

Scott’s eyes met mine and they weren’t upset. “Pete almost got pantsed.”

“It was epic.”

His eyes moved from my face to slightly behind me, but his expression remained open and happy as he greeted Connor. “Hey, man. Good game.”

Connor shook his hand and smiled back at him. He was flushed as well, which made his freckles seem to disappear. “I had no idea what I was signing up for when I agreed to sub in.”

“I may need to start coming here more often. That was really entertaining,” I said cheerily.

Connor’s eyes moved to me, and something shifted in them as his expression seemed to soften. “It’s nice to see you a little happier than you were last time we ran into each other.”

I blushed. “Oh, yeah. The day before the breakup. I was grumpy.”

Kelly, who had released her hold on Scott and was now holding his hand, pulled a face. “Don’t let her fool you, she’s still grumpy.”

“Seems normal after a breakup,” I stated matter-of-factly.

“I need ice cream,” Kelly inserted before anything else was said.

“It’s ten o’clock in the morning,” I replied.

“Yes, that’s true. I still want ice cream. Anyone else?”

Scott planted a kiss on her hair. “Count me in.”

Connor looked to me, and I started to shake my head. As much as I had enjoyed the morning out, I needed to get back home to do some things before my work shift that night. As I opened my mouth to graciously decline the invite, Kelly grabbed my hand.

“We aren’t taking no for an answer. Connor?”

“I’m more in the mood for pancakes,” he said. Pancakes sounded tempting enough to make me hesitate. “Know anywhere we can get both?”

Kelly nodded. “Jake’s.”

“Are you two okay to eat there?” Scott asked.

“Sure. It’s kind of fun to go in and play customer now and then,” Kelly responded. They looked to me.

I nodded. “Pancakes are something I can get my mind around.”

As Scott drove Kelly and me to Jake’s, with Connor following behind, my mind flashed back to my freshman year in high school. It was the year that Kelly and I had discovered boys didn’t actually have cooties, and that there was one in particular worth watching. His name was Connor Hunt and he’d been a senior.

He was the first boy I’d ever felt a hitch in my chest over. At first mine and Kelly’s interest had been the same as the other girls. Connor was attractive and different; his coloring and natural athleticism set him apart. He’d seemed to have reached adulthood while the others were just boys. However, the more we’d covertly watched him, the more we’d come to realize that he was cocky, rebellious, and careless with the feelings of others.

A shift had happened in our thinking as the blinders came off. While other girls were chasing him, we began watching from our self-righteous seat in the stands. Many times Kelly and I had talked about what a terrible person he was—untrustworthy, full of himself.

I still couldn’t quite figure how on earth he had found his way in with us. It felt surreal to be going for pancakes and ice cream together after a decade of judging him unworthy of my time.

Scott parked his car and cut the engine. “You ladies ready?” he said.

The three of us climbed out as Connor’s truck rumbled in to park beside us. His truck was a newer model, shiny and clean, and I thought about him having bought the mechanic shop from the original owner a little while ago. Somewhere along the line, playboy Connor had made something of himself and settled in to adult life. I hadn’t been paying enough attention to know when it had happened, but now that I was noticing, it seemed that a shift had occurred in my own world. How many more walls were going to crumble in my life?

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