Page 14 of How He Got the Girl
He shoots me a crooked smile. “Oh, it’s definitely a compliment.”
I sip my Dr. Pepper, hoping it will cool the blush tinting my cheeks. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.
Once we’ve finished most of the wings and fries, I lean back in my seat. “I think if I eat another bite, I’m going to need to be carried out of here.”
“I can help with that.” He winks.
I roll my eyes. “Nice try.”
“It was worth a shot.” Griffin waves our server over and gets the check, never even giving me a chance to offer to pay.
“Thanks for dinner and the hot chocolate.”
“It’s my pleasure.” He signs the receipt, and I move to stand, but his next words keep me rooted in place. “Before I forget, I have a question for you.”
He sounds serious, and my heartbeat picks up speed. Is he about to ask me to be his girlfriend or—gasp—his wife? Okay, I’m kidding about the last part, but everything else about my time spent with this man has felt fast, so I have no clue what to expect here.
“Yeah?” I squeak out, sounding just as anxious as I feel.
“Can I have your number?”
I sigh in relief. “I think I can manage that.” He pulls out his phone, glaring at the black screen. “I’ll have to put my number in your phone, since mine is dead.”
I grimace. “My phone died right after we got here.”
Griffin looks around the table before reaching down and grabbing the small paper napkin that his drink was set on, along with the pen he used to sign the receipt. He extends them both toward me. “Problem solved.”
I write down my number and hand it back. “This is so old school.”
“I know. It feels like I’m back in middle school, having you check yes or no to being my girlfriend.”
“Whoa, slow your horses, Griff. Let’s start with my number,” I tease, pushing to my feet.
Griffin crosses the table to my side. He leans in so his breath is a whisper against my ear. “Trust me, this is only the start, beautiful.”
Oneweeklater,I’vefinally made it back home to Louisville, but I feel numb. And I don’t mean from the cold.
I’m numb from the waiting.
The yearning.
The undelivered promises.
I should’ve known better. I should’ve said no from the very beginning when Griffin asked me out. Maybe if I had, I wouldn’t be here staring out the bay window in my parents’ house with a scowl.
The blue sky mocks me. Doesn’t it know that it’s rude to remind me of a certain pair of eyes I’d like to forget? I want to sulk in the clouds, but no. Instead, I get this unwelcome reminder of everything I thought I could have but lost because I decided to be vulnerable and trust a man who turned out to be a stupid, lyingboy.
“Mal, your friends are here,” my mom yells from the front of the house.
I’m not in the mood to hang out, but time spent with my besties is always the best cure for sadness. Alyssa, Shayna, and Kelsey have all been here for me at the hardest times in my life. They’re the girls who pick me up when I can’t carry on anymore.
I wrap my bubblegum-pink knit blanket around my shoulders and trudge to the living room. The second I round the corner, all three of my besties hurry over and pull me into a group hug. From that simple action, I’m nearly reduced to tears. I sniffle, squeezing them back.
“I’ll be upstairs,” my mom says. “There’s stuff for hot chocolate and decorating sugar cookies in the kitchen. I know it’s a little belated this year, but I couldn’t let y’all miss your cookie-decorating tradition.”
“You’re the best, Momma Porter,” Shayna calls after her.
We each grab a few cookies from the cooling rack by the stove and sit at the table in the dining room, which is decked out in a plethora of icing colors and sprinkles.
