Page 18 of Game Plan
"He clearly doesn't know better." She picked up her menu and hid her face behind it.
I hooked my fingertips around the top of the menu and pulled it down just enough to see her eyes.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked.
"Just what I said." She jerked the menu away and put it back up.
I stared at the Gianna's logo in frustration, but decided to let it lie, for now.
I didn't need to look at my menu to know what I wanted.
"Fettuccine Alfredo, please," I said when the server returned. "And garlic bread." Both were made on the premises, from scratch.
"I'll have the same," Becca said. "Please keep the order separate. I'll be paying for mine."
"Certainly, lovely lady," the server said in a flirty voice. "Can I recommend the tiramisu for dessert?"
Her eyes lit up and, for the first time, she looked excited to be here.
"That sounds wonderful, thank you." She handed him her menu. He took it with a flourish, then reached for mine.
"I'll have that too," I said. "It sounds delicious." I didn't usually indulge in dessert, but I could make an exception this once.
"It's absolutely tasty," the server agreed, looking me up and down. I didn’t think pressed, dark grey slacks and a casual button-down white sweater was exactly hot, but he did.
I didn't think he was talking about the food.
Too bad Becca didn’t look at me like that.
"See, he likes you," Becca said as the server sashayed away.
"But you don't," I said. Why not cut straight to the chase?
"Does it matter?" she asked. "We're here to work, nothing more."
I hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "It matters. We were friends once. At least, I thought we were."
Her eyebrows rose above her glasses. "You were the guy I was stuck tutoring. That's all."
Ouch. That would have stung if I believed it. Even with the ice in her voice, the tense way she held herself told me otherwise.
"That's not all," I said. "I promised you an exclusive. The least you can do is give me honesty in return."
Her face turned an adorable shade of pink, but it wasn’t in embarrassment. It was anger, aimed at me. "You want honesty? How about you tell me why you laughed in my face when I asked you to the graduation formal?"
A new emotion flashed in her eyes; hurt. I'd seen that there before, so long ago. I'd forgotten, or pushed it aside.
The memory came rushing back now, with such clarity I could hardly breathe.
"Hey, Conrad," she said, an awkward smile on her lips. "So, I was thinking…" She blushed bright red. "If you don't have a date for the formal…maybe we could go together?"
The bark of laughter was out of my mouth before I could stop and think. Why was it my first reaction? I don't know. I guessbecause being tutored in the first place wasn't doing wonders for my reputation. If I was seen in public with my tutor, I'd be the laughingstock of the team. I liked her, I really did, but what my friends and teammates thought of me waseverything. My ego lived and died on their approval.
So I laughed.
Like the teenage asshole I was.
"Um, yeah." She forced a laugh. "I guess it was a pretty funny joke. That's all it was. As if we would ever… Hey, look at the time. I have to go."
