Page 32 of Freshmeet
He took it and called his, letting it ring three times. Hanging up, he handed it back to me and tapped away on his. “This way, you don’t have to wait for them.”
My phone buzzed, and I opened the message.
UNKNOWN
Connor McCormick—text me if you need me
“Thanks.” I glanced at the party, and suddenly it was the last place in the world I wanted to be. “I guess you need to get to work.”
Connor nodded but didn’t move.
The front door of the Gamma house opened, and I could finally make out the words to the song. “I like this song.”
Connor took a step closer, still not leaving for work. “It’s a good one.”
Standing in the middle of the sidewalk, totally uninterested in what sounded like an awesome party, I decided I needed to clear the air. “Connor, I?—”
“Oh, hey!” Meg’s voice cut through the tension, popping the little bubble surrounding us.
Connor shut his eyes, dropping his chin to his chest. “Hey,” he said with little enthusiasm.
Meg rushed to Connor’s side, reaching for his arm as soon as she was close enough. “We’d better hurry if we’re going to clock in on time.”
Connor gave her a tight-lipped smile before turning to me. “Text me later if you need a ride.”
“Sure. Have a good shift.” I smiled at the two of them and then watched as they walked away, Meg chatting up a storm while Connor only nodded. When they reached the end of the block, he looked over his shoulder and shouted, “Go inside.”
Maybe I was wrong about that night. What if he is interested?
Biting back a smile, I waved and ran up the steps past the Gammas shotgunning beers.
“Sarah!” Mona hollered, gesturing for me to join her inside. As I crossed the threshold, I texted Jamie.
Made it.
Jamie-tutoring
K
Have a good night
You too
Kat stomped over to us, her face as pink as her hair. “You guys want to help me with something?”
A couple of hours later, the house was packed, and Kat was ushering us out the back door and down the alley to where her Grand Caravan was parked.
“You got the masks?” Kat asked Rae, looking into the back of the van.
Rae climbed back from the driver’s seat and shoved a plastic bin toward her. “Halloween, Mardi Gras, and sports. Gotta love senior wills.”
Mona jerked her chin at Rae. “You playing getaway driver?”
Rae twirled the keys on her finger and leaned against the bumper. “You know it.” She was the only sober one among us because she had an early flight the next morning to make it to her older brothers’ playoff games. St. Louis’s professional hockey team, The Storm, had somehow made it to the finals, and Rae was expected to make the rest of the series.
Kat grinned as she snatched a gruesome rubber mask. “Oh, yeah.”
“I’m sorry. What’s happening?” I took the hockey mask handed to me.
