Page 71 of Rival Season
I pick up my wine glass and take a sip as Ally raises her hand to get the waitress’s attention. “Could I get a straw, please?”
“Sure thing, Angel!” The waitress passes her a straw and leaves us again.
I watch as Ally unwraps the paper and sticks the straw in her pop then takes a drink. She suddenly seems so young and innocent, I feel ancient with my glass of wine.
Do old ladies drink wine? Am I an old lady?
I’m surrounded by friends who are even younger than my baby brother.
A warm hand lands on my thigh. I look over at Penn, and he gives my leg a squeeze. “You okay, Bubbles?”
I take a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. I’m being ridiculous. All this stress over being a few years older than my friends. So what? I’ve connected more with the people sitting around this table than I have with anyone else in this state so far.Penn and his roommates make me feel more seen and welcome than I’ve felt in a very long time.
“Yeah.” I huff a laugh, reminding myself it’s okay to have fun and let people in. “I’m good.” I sip my rosé and decide I don’t care if it makes me an old lady. I’m only twenty-six, for goodness’ sake.
The guys finish their appetizers with alarming speed and soon the waitress is back with our dinner order. Ally and I take hesitant bites of our burgers as the hockey players inhale their dinner like vacuum cleaners.How do they do that?
By the time the waitress clears our plates and refills our drinks, the emcee is making his way onto the stage for trivia time. Everyone claps when he introduces himself then the room goes quiet as we wait for the first category to be announced.
“Okay, kids. Tonight we’re starting off with early 2000s romcoms.”
A group of thirty-something moms to our right clap their hands with glee. I know they’re moms because their trivia group is calledMom’s Night Out.
Meanwhile, the boys all look at Ally and I with blank expressions.
“Don’t think you can rely on me here.” Ally groans. “I’m going to suck at this category; I wasn’t even born yet.”
Rolling my lips together, I remind myself I’m only six years older than her. I was just a little kid in the 2000’s, but I remember my mom watching romcoms and sometimes watching with her—hopefully I can be somewhat helpful.
“In13 Going on 30,” the emcee begins. “There was a popular group of girls in Jenna Rink’s school. What was the group called?”
Ally sighs. “My mom has talked about that movie, but I don’t know the answer.”
I grab the board from the center of the table and writesix chickson it, then hold it up. The answer is correct and Penn wraps me in a side hug. “Good work.”
The emcee doles out points to the tables who answered correctly then moves on. “InHow to Lose a Guy in Ten Days, what’s the name of the diamond Andie Anderson wears?”
I gasp, remembering the answer. “The Isadora diamond,” I whisper to Penn, and he writes it on the board and holds it up.
“Man, it really pays off to have someone older in our group,” Fisher says, holding out his fist for me to pound it.
Reluctantly, I meet his fist with mine. I know his comment was made in good humor, but the reminder that I’m the oldest doesn’t feel great.
Intuitive as ever, Penn leans into me, pulling my body against his. “Don’t listen to Fisher,” he keeps his voice low so only I can hear. “He’s a dumbass. You’re not old.”
With a sigh, I sink into him, enjoying how his arms feel around me. It’s grounding and immediately helps me relax. “I am feeling ancient at the moment.”
He breathes out a laugh, and I can feel his warm breath against my neck. Having him so close makes me want to kiss him, makes me wish we were back in his room alone. Just the two of us enjoying the chemistry we share without all the reminders of my life being completely different from his.
Could we ever work if this was real?
A pointless question, because thisisn’treal…no matter how real it feels sometimes.
I lean my head back to look at Penn. His blue eyes are bright, his jaw peppered with a five o’clock shadow, and his sculpted chest partially displayed beneath his unbuttoned shirt. Penn Matthews doesn’tfeelyounger than me. He holds my gaze, his eyes dropping to my lips.
“Um, Hazel, I hate to interrupt…but none of us know these answers,” Ally whispers.
I slowly pull away from Penn and look at her. “Right, sorry.”
