Page 51 of Freshmeet
I fought to keep my expression neutral. “Nope.”
“Everyone knows ‘Come On Eileen’. It’s a classic.”
I kept my eyes forward until the chorus started back up, then turned to Sarah and belted out the lyrics.
She slapped her thighs and barked out a laugh. “You’re a liar! Good to know.”
We sang along until I pulled into the Pancake Town parking lot.
Jumping out, I rushed to open her door. She ducked her head as she got out, but I caught the blush on her full cheeks and the big-ass smile that nearly split her face in half.
I hadn’t been this excited about someone since I was fifteen. Sarah made me feel young, which was ridiculous to say considering I was only twenty-three.
We got seated on the old-school diner side of the building and quickly ordered drinks and food. I tried to catch her eye, but she kept staring out the window. Frustrated by her lack of attention, I opened one side of my straw and blew the wrapper at her, hitting the corner of her lush mouth.
She whipped her head toward me. “You did not just do that.” Her eyes were pink, making the blue even more startling.
God, I liked looking at her.
“I did.”
She slowly nodded. “Okay. You’re going to pay for that.” Her lips curved up.
“Can’t wait. So . . .” I leaned in as far as the table would allow.
“So . . .” Sarah unrolled her silverware and smoothed the napkin on her lap. With her chin pointed down, she looked up at me through her long eyelashes. “You don’t hate me?”
I sat back. “I never hated you. You hated me.”
She shook her head violently. “No. I was awkward and embarrassed, and then acted like a total weirdo. I didn’t hate you. I just didn’t want to be rejected.” She paused and then tilted her head. “A second time.” She took a sip of water and frowned. “I don’t do random hookups, so I was completely out of my depth. One minute you’re asking me to go home with you,the next, poof, you’re gone. I could only imagine that I’d done something wrong to have you bail on me.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed an old man watching us, so I lowered my voice. “It wasn’t by choice.”
“Psh. Yeah, okay.” Sarah rolled her eyes, twisting the paper from my straw between her fingers.
“No, really. I chased drunk ass Jamie when he ran away from the party. By the time I got him to my place, it had been an hour, and I was sure you’d be gone.”
“Actually, I was still there, only completely shitfaced.” She laughed and took another big gulp of water. “You know what? The nights that I’ve gotten this drunk are always the nights when I see you. Coincidence?” She arched her perfect eyebrows.
“Well, I’m sorry for that.”
“Buy these pancakes, and I’ll call it even.”
An olive branch. Hallelujah.
“I was already going to.”
“Okay, then we can be friends.” She happily slumped down in her seat, giving me the sweetest smile.
Friends. I didn’t want to be her friend. I’d had no plans of getting into a relationship, but the night I met her changed everything. Now, what I wanted more than anything was to explore this thing between us.
Our food came, and we dug into our pancakes with gusto.
“So, you’re going to the lake on Saturday, right?” Sarah asked, taking a sip of water.
I bit into my eggs, not acknowledging the beautiful blond in front of me.
Sarah popped a bite of pancake into her mouth. I could feel her staring, but I kept my attention on the food in front of me. Normally, I would immediately shoot down partying with the Greeks, but . . .
