Chapter Twenty-Four

Chance

You’re a candle in the window on a cold, dark winter’s night
And I’m getting closer than I ever thought I might ~ REO Speedwagon

I’d kissed Sarah.

I’d kissed Sarah. Finally. And the reality of kissing Sarah shot any fantasies I may have had about it out of the park. I stared across the table. She looked as stunned as I felt, her eyes widening as she blinked rapidly several times. Neither of us said a word for a minute.

I wanted to talk to her, really talk to her, without knowing at least one other person was listening in. “Do you want to get out of here?”

Her eyebrows furrowed, and I realized too late how that must have sounded. Crap. I shook my head. I picked up my fork and traced the shape of an arrow pointing in the direction of our camera crew in the leftover chocolate sauce on the dessert plate. I pointed down and tilted the plate a little so she’d see it.

Her face lit up, and she grinned. “Sure, that sounds great.”

She stood up, and all thought left my mind. Sarah in flannel and braids was adorable. Sarah in a little black dress with legs that went on forever was a knockout.

I whistled low. “Girl, you’re gonna kill me.”

She laughed, but I could tell she was pleased.

I stood as well and placed my hand on the small of her back. I mostly wanted an excuse to touch her. “You wore a coat over that, didn’t you? It’s got to be freezing out by now.”

She nodded. “It’s in the coatroom.”

“We have to wait for the check, let me go get it for you. Did they give you a ticket or something?”

She nodded again and handed me a small slip of paper.

“Okay, I’ll be right back.” I grinned and took one more look at her before turning away reluctantly.

I hurried to the coatroom. Just as I was handed Sarah’s long black coat from the guy behind the counter, Hannah poked me in the shoulder, hard.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” she asked.

“What do you mean? I’m getting Sarah’s coat.”

“No. I mean, what do you think you’re doing ending the date early. Do you really think we’re that stupid?” She looked pissed. “We’re finally starting to get something we can use, and the two of you decide to just take off?”

I faced her head-on. “Look, we went out to dinner on the date. Dinner’s over, so we’re leaving. There’s nothing in your little set of rules that says you get to follow us home.”

Her eyes narrowed. I was technically right, and she knew it.

Her eyes brightened. “No, but you did agree that if you drove to or from a date together, Josh goes with you.” She smirked. “So if you were planning to give Sarah a ride home, looks like you’ll have one more person in the car with you.”

Dammit. Since Sarah and I had driven here separately, I’d been planning to ask her if she wanted to go for a ride and talk. And I guess technically if we weren’t going home yet, that meant we were still on our date, so they did have every right to go along with us.

I wanted to scream.

Hannah had me, and she knew it. I wanted to spend some real time with Sarah, but not like this, not with an audience.

“Fine,” I bit out. “Looks like we’re each going home.” Hannah raised an eyebrow. “On our own,” I clarified. “The date’s over.”

“Well, you better go tell your girlfriend that. She’s waiting for you.”

I spun away from her before I said something I’d regret. When I walked back into the dining area, Sarah jumped up, eyes bright. She looked confused when she saw Hannah following close behind me.

I had to figure out how to say this so that Josh and Hannah wouldn’t know there was more going on.

I took Sarah by the arm and pulled her a few steps away, out of earshot of Hannah. Like it mattered with live mics stuck on both of us.

“Hey, I was thinking…since we both drove our own cars here, maybe it’s better if we just call it a night now.” I glared at Hannah before looking back at Sarah. I felt sick seeing the hurt in her eyes.

“Oh, okay,” she said.

“It’s just…” Dammit. How to tell her I just didn’t want the two of them going with us without giving that away to them?

“No, no. You don’t have to explain. I get it.” She shook her head, her face now an unreadable mask.

“You sure? It’s okay?”

“Yep, it’s totally fine. It’s getting late anyway.” She glanced over at Hannah, then back at me. “Well, thank you for a lovely evening.” She turned and walked away.

I looked at the table. The rose still sat next to her plate.