Autumn covered her eyes with her hand. “Oh my God, I’m over-sharing like a madwoman, and I’m sure you don’t want to hear any of this. I was supposed to keep it to two drinks…”
She slipped off the stool and stumbled. I was too far away, but oh thank the fucking heavens above, Connor was there to catch her.
“Whoa, there,” he said with a grin. “You okay?”
Autumn clung to his arm for a second. Then her cheeks reddened and she pulled away to preserve her pride.
“I’m fine,” she said, smoothing her skirt. “I should go. It’s late.” She looked around. “Where’s Ruby?”
“Present.” Ruby slipped in between Connor and Autumn, linking arms. “Time to call it a night.”
“I’ll walk you out and get you an Uber,” Connor said, reaching for his phone.
“No, thanks,” Autumn said. “We got this.”
“I got this,” Ruby said.
“Well, hold up,” Connor said. He dimmed his smile to make it private, as if he and Autumn were alone in the crowded bar. “Am I going to see you again?”
Autumn’s ja
w moved up and down. “I don’t know. I have a lot of work this semester.”
“Oh, hey, I’ve got it,” Connor said, louder. “Come to Wes’s track meet next Saturday.”
I blinked. “Do what now?”
Autumn’s glance danced between us. “Next Saturday?”
“It’ll be fun,” Connor said. “We can cheer our boy on and hang out. Just chill.”
“It’s just a prelim,” I said. “Not a big deal.”
Please come.
Please don’t.
I gritted my teeth; it didn’t matter either way. I was screwed equally in both scenarios.
“Maybe,” Autumn said. “We’ll see if I’ve regained my sobriety by then.” She smiled at Connor. “Thanks for the cider. And the pool.” She looked to me. “Bye, Weston.”
“Yep,” I said, and watched her walk out, her arm still linked in Ruby’s.
As soon as she was out of earshot, Connor whipped around to me. “Holy shit, she’s perfect.”
“Perfect for what?”
“To date, you moron. She’s a humanitarian. Did you know that?”
“Yes.” I took up the handful of darts and took aim. “I knew that.”
Connor sat on the stool Autumn had just occupied. “She’s beautiful, smart. Probably comes from a good family.”
“She’s from a farm in Nebraska,” I said and tossed a dart. Four.
“Yeah, but some of those farms are like empires,” Connor said. “If her family has a business—”
“She doesn’t have any money,” I said. “She’s here on scholarship.”