Chapter Thirteen
Preach
“Grace, over here!” Sam waved at Grace and me, then patted a spot next to her in a booth. “I’m so glad you came!”
The scent of garlic bread and marinara sauce floated through the air. My stomach grumbled in response.
“This is kind of our unofficial hang out,” Oliver said as he scooted over.
I sat down beside him as Grace filed into the booth next to Sam, which happened to be across from me.
She’d been pretty quiet on the ride over. I was actually surprised she’d decided to let me drive her, considering how she’d blown me off earlier when I’d offered her a ride to the school. But I was even more surprised by the fact that I’d offered to pay for her meal.
It was like the words had tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them. What was that all about?
I mean, she was obviously still pissed at me about the accident.
I was still angry about it, too.
Plus, coming here was way better than going home and dealing with my lying parents.
My shoulders stiffened, and I exhaled.
There were a lot of negatives in my life right now.
But there were some positives, too, like hanging out with the track team today. It reminded me how much I liked being around my non-hockey teammates. It also felt really good to get a run in. Then there was Grace… Watching her run. Talk about a thing of beauty.
“What up, what up?” Mateo shoved in next to me.
Aanya grinned. “Glad you could make it.”
Aanya was a sophomore, but she’d established her place as a starter on the 4x100 team last year with her older sister, Maira. They were ridiculously fast with Aanya as the third leg and her sister as the anchor.
A waitress wearing a black apron approached the table and grinned. “Hey, Preach. Good to see you.”
“Hey, Pepper.” I shifted in my seat.
She pulled out a small pad of paper. “What can I get for you all?”
“We’d like all the things, Miss Pepper,” Oliver sang out. “We’restarving.”
I sure had missed Oliver and his energy. We all took turns spouting out our orders, ending with Grace’s order.
“I’ll have a slice of cheese pizza with mushrooms and green peppers, please.”
“Anything to drink?”
She shook her head. “Nah, I’ll just have water.”
Pepper smiled and closed her writing pad.
“Actually,” Grace said, “could I please have a few lemon slices?”
“Sure thing.” She turned on her heel and hustled away from the table.
“Only one piece of pizza?” I asked. “Talk about a cheap date.”
Grace’s eyes widened. “What did you say?”