Page 61 of Unspoken Hearts
“Aw, did you get kicked out of the booth, Baby Lawson.” Paisley strolls over, carrying a tray of food.
He groans and tips his head back on the wooden chair. “Of course you’re here.”
“I work here. It’s kind of a requirement,” she grumbles, placing all of our plates down.
Cole stares daggers at her when she slides the tray under her arm and gives him a bittersweet grin. “Enjoy your food, like you enjoyed seeing my taillights the entire race today.”
He moves to get out of his seat when Grayson holds him down. “Settle.”
Paisley grins at his reaction and saunters away.
“I hate her,” Cole snaps, crossing his arms and glowering.
“Did she do something?” Delly asks, but she shouldn't have.
I should have stopped her.
Cole faces her, face scrunched and turning red as his hands curl tighter. “She’s better than me at the sport I’m an athlete in. I race in cars, not her. She beats me at my own sport online. How?”
Delly stares at him, blinking before looking at the rest of us who remain quiet. “Umm.”
“Just drop it, man,” Sawyer says, taking a sip of his beer. “You’ll find a different chick.”
Cole scoffs angrily. “I don’t want her.”
“Huh?” Sawyer adds, tilting his head. “Are you sure about that?”
Cole digs his hands through his hair, and I use that beat of silence to change the conversation. “Sawyer, I saw you on TV last week. You look like you’re training hard.”
“Of course I am…” He dives into a fifteen minute update on how his team, the Sydney Kings, is going over the summer break.
I can tell Delly and Laynie aren’t really interested, and at some point they leave to go to the bathroom together, but I stay and listen. I like seeing Sawyer so animated about rugby. He basically lives and breathes the sport.
Having the last sip of my drink, I stand to go get another when Reid pushes Grayson out, carrying his empty glass with him. Walking towards the bar, Reid stays beside me silently, making my hands sweat as my eyes skim the crowded pub.
Friday nights are always rowdy, with one of the local soccer teams in here celebrating, as well as a group of girls a year older than me in high school drinking and laughing in the middle of the room. The music beats louder, the timber floor vibrating as thick smells of drinks and leather sprinkle my nose.
My eyes land on Delly and Laynie dancing together, some guys watching them. Cole and Grayson push through, making the others divert their gazes. Cole goes for Delly, but Grayson pushes him away, not wanting to freak Delly out completely.
My lips quirk. A throat clearing pulls my attention back to the man beside me. Reid watches me with intense eyes that sends a shiver down my spine. He looks like he wants to say something, words sitting on the end of his tongue.
Paisley calls up forward. She stands at the till in her denim dress, hair tightly wound into a bun and a wide smile on her red painted lips. “What can I get you both?”
Reid grabs my glass, skimming the tips of my fingers before placing them on the bartop. “Beer for me.”
Paisley raises a brow my way.
“Water, thank you,” I answer gently.
She nods, taking our empty glasses.
Reid’s shoulders square. “Why don’t you get a drink?” his honeyed voice asks.
I shake my head at him. “I don’t like alcohol.”
“I know,” he breathes, leaning closer to me, the faint scent of beer on his lips. “But there is soft drink.”
Biting the inside of my cheek, I shake my head again, knowing that the four dollars that’ll cost needs to go towards Axel’s next university payment.
