Page 13 of Vince
She juts out her chin and cocks a brow in my direction as if to raise the ante, “Pomeroy.”
I pretend to think it over. But this causes Sydney to stop in her tracks and face me as she waits for my response. After a few moments of being captured by her beautiful green eyes, I cave and finally admit, “Nope—Not a clue. Where the hell is that?”
Her eyes bug out at my unexpected response. Then she immediately bursts out laughing at my pathetic attempt at being competitive geographically. Boy. I’m a real charmer, I’m sure.
When she captures her breath, she draws out, “Well… it’s about twenty-five miles from Pullman and about fifteen from Clarkston.”
“I know where Pullman is. But I can’t even say I’ve heard of Clarkston,” I admit. “I’ve lived on the west side my entire life and if we went to Eastern Washington, it was usually to Spokane on my way to my relative’s house in Montana.”
Sydney swats her hand in the air dismissively. “It’s okay. I don’t know the difference between any city between Olympia and Seattle, as they all seem the same to me. But being from the middle of nowhere in most people’s eyes, I’ve just gotten used to saying I live in the southeast corner about thirty miles from Idaho… and even then, their eyes gloss over. So yeah… I didn’t expect you to know where Pomeroy is.” Her teasing tone keeps a smile on my face.
“Well, we’re even…” I start slowly. Then smirk as I add, “Because I’m from one of those cities you’d know nothing about along the I-5 corridor.” As expected, I earn another eye roll. If I thought she was beautiful before, she’s fucking gorgeous, filled with sass and attitude.
Well—let’s be real. In the short time I’ve known her, I’ve clearly learned she’s gorgeous anytime—laughing, serious, and I’ve quickly found that when she throws that sass around… well, that’s the real her. I’m fairly certain. Her quick wit rolls off her tongue as natural as she breathes.
I’ve gotta stay on my toes around this one.
“Okay, then…” she trails off for a few heartbeats as she starts walking again. “Hey, Vince.” Her tone changes to hesitant, and instantly I’m on alert—But she says nothing.
“Yes, Sydney,” I prompt in the same tone, hoping she’ll just spill whatever’s on her mind.
“Are you a fan of the band Riser?”
“Who isn’t?” Why would liking a band make her look—wait—is that nervous?
“I have an extra ticket for their concert in Portland Sunday night. Would you want to join me?”
Even knowing it will make for a rough Monday, I don’t hesitate at the chance of spending more time with her. “I’d love to. Let me know how much the ticket is, and I’ll cover my cost. What time’s the concert?”
“The opening band is at seven, so it should start by eight or so. I’m so glad you can go. My roommate was supposed to go, but since her boyfriend is in town for a rare weekend before March Madness starts, she’s ditched me for him—not that I blame her.”
This piques my interest as I’m a huge fan of basketball. “I take it he plays on the team?”
“Yeah. Drew’s fantastic, and I’m so happy for him and Abby. But she claims—if she goes to his basketball game later this week, she can’t go to the concert.” Before I can say anything, Sydney quickly explains, “She’s extremely focused on med school—well, both of them are. She’s already applied but doesn’t want to ruin her chances by not getting her top grades. Besides, she’s not that big of a Riser fan. My other roommate Chloe is out of town for her great-grandmother’s ninety-fifth birthday.”
“Wow. That’s amazing. I can’t imagine being ninety-five. I can see why she can’t go to the concert with you.”
“Yeah, it really is,” Sydney agrees. “I hope I’m still living on my own at that age and able to care for myself the way her grandma does.”
By now, we’ve arrived at her apartment complex. Knowing we likely won’t see each other before the concert, and I need to pick up Julia soon, I quickly reach my hand out as I offer, “Give me your phone. I’ll put my number in it, and you can call me when you get a chance. I know you’re working tonight, so anytime between now and Sunday is fine.”
She digs her phone from her pocket and enters her passcode. Then hands it over.
I quickly enter my digits, then type a quick message to myself, and press send.
Sydney: Next time you can pick the place.
I wait for the text to go through, then hand it back.
I grin, knowing I’ll have her number as well.
She quickly thanks me.
Then she looks at the message.
Her perfectly sculpted eyebrows reach to her hairline as her eyes widen. “You’re that confident you’re getting a second date?”
I shrug with way more confidence than I should. “Well, it’s only fair. You picked the first one.”
She opens her mouth to say what I’m sure would be a great one liner but quickly snaps it shut. Then she levels me with a stare, making me hope I didn’t blow our first date before it’s even begun.
She slowly pulls in a long breath and releases it. Then she calmly states, “Okay—Vincent Daniel Larson. You’d better be worth it.”
Inside, I’m fist pumping the air because I’m sure she just agreed to a second date before completing the first. But even if she didn’t, I’ll take what I can get. I may not take the time to date much, but something tells me I’ll want more than one with her.
On the outside, I manage to keep my cool. “Ohhh—pulling out the big guns I see.” My phone buzzes in my pocket, reminding me I have less than thirty minutes to pick up Jules. Shit. I’ve got to run, or I won’t get there on time. Thankfully, she notices when I glance at my phone, so I attempt to play it off the best I can. “Unfortunately, I can’t stay and chat about your three-name usage. But don’t worry, Syd, I won’t give you any cause to pull it out Sunday. I’m looking forward to planning our next date. Call me when you can.”
With that, I turn and walk toward home a little less casual than I’d like, as I can’t be late for Jules. I have to admit, I might have a bounce in my step—simply because she said yes.
Maybe I’ll figure out her last name at some point on this date of ours, too.
