She was also standing close to Conner, looking up at him and smiling in an appealing way that was genuine if a little timid.
She must be Ellie and just seeing her made me agree further with Ethan that I hoped Conner chose her in the end.
Jake’s eldest must have sensed my eyes for his came to me; he grinned and jerked up his chin. Ellie looked my way and as she did so, slid slightly closer to Conner who took that opportunity to curve his arm around her shoulders.
Yes, they looked lovely together.
I gave them a wave and a smile and decided not to approach. This was a high school football game and he was with his girl (or one of them). He didn’t need an adult intruding.
But as I moved away, I took in the lines standing in front of the concession stand. I also noted that the game had not started although the players had taken the field and were warming up. And finally, it occurred to me that hot drinks might warm Jake and me from the inside.
Therefore, I moved to the back of the somewhat long line, pulled my phone out of my purse and called him.
He answered with, “You get lost?”
I laughed softly and replied, “No, Jake. But I’m in line at the concession stand. I thought we could use a hot beverage. Would you like a coffee or cocoa?”
“I’ll meet you there.”
So.
Very.
Amazing.
“Jake, I can handle a few drinks. What do you want?”
“I’ll be there in a minute and I’ll get it.”
“Jake,” I said softly. “You bought dinner at The Eaves, and our omelets, and dinner tonight. In return, the least I can do is purchase two beverages and carry them back to the bleachers. Further, if you leave our seats, we might lose them.”
“The blanket’s here,” was his reply and at hearing it, I burst out laughing.
Yes.
So.
Very.
Amazing.
When I stopped laughing, I asked, “You’re quite determined to take care of me, aren’t you?”
His voice was low in a way my stomach dipped when he returned, “Glad you noticed.”
I couldn’t not notice, and with the way he behaved, I was finding it hard not to pretend.
My voice was just above a whisper when I requested, “Please let me buy you a drink.”
“Hot chocolate,” he finally ordered and I smiled into the phone.
“For Ethan?” I asked.
“Ethan’s got ten bucks. He wants something, he’ll get it. But it won’t be hot chocolate. It’ll be a load of crap.”
I was still smiling when I replied, “All right,” then moved the two centimeters forward that the line had moved. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Later, Slick.”
“Later, Jake.”
I rang off at the same time I became aware that the young man in front of me was staring at me openly, his lips parted.
As I became aware of this, I noted that he was somewhat short, very slim, obviously effeminate and he was wearing a daring pair of houndstooth trousers. He’d accompanied these with a rather stylish pair of black suede loafers and a black turtleneck sweater.
The ensemble could use a fedora as a finishing touch but regardless of that assessment, I was taken with his flair for fashion.
“Hello,” I said when he continued to stare at me in apparent astonishment.
“You’re Josie,” he informed me of a truth that was nevertheless surprising that he knew.
“Indeed I am,” I confirmed. “And you are?”
He stuck his hand out. “Taylor. I’m Amber’s bestest bestie. Or one of them.”
Ah.
The Jean-Michel devotee.
This explained the trousers and the loafers.
I took his hand and gave it a squeeze. “Delighted to meet you, Taylor. Amber’s spoken of you.”
He squeezed my hand back and let it go, saying, “She’s spoken of you too, like lots. She thinks you’re the bomb.”
I had learned this was good and I knew it felt good so I smiled.
Then I shared, “Your ensemble is very fashion forward and you carry it off with aplomb. However, it needs a fedora.”
His face lit up, he leaned in and exclaimed, “I know! Right?” He leaned back and smiled, finishing, “But not sure I could pull off a fedora at a Magdalene High game. I’ll be lucky I don’t get tripped, pushed or run down before the night is through just wearing these trousers.”
He waved a hand to his lower body but I felt my brows draw together.
“And why would you get tripped, pushed or run down?” I asked.
“Uh…I’m a seventeen year old gay guy wearing houndstooth at a high school football game?” he asked back as an answer.
Ah.
That certainly answered that.
“I see,” I murmured. “Well, I wish I had some sage advice for you, young Taylor, but alas, I don’t. Small-minded fools are everywhere and those with the courage to be who they are often have to suffer them. It’s your lot, I’m afraid. But at least you can rest in the knowledge that you are true to yourself knowing they live in a narrow world, a narrow world is a barren world while yours is vibrant, and that’s their lot.”
When I finished speaking, he was staring up at me again with his lips parted, astonishment awash in his features and I was just about to say something (such as that he should move forward the seven centimeters the line had moved) when I felt others joining the line at my back.
They were talking. They were also boys.
And what they were discussing gained the entirety of my attention.
“You totally looked through Amber like she wasn’t even there,” a boy said.
I blinked as I watched Taylor’s eyes get very wide.
“She looks good tonight. Real good. Somethin’ different about her face,” another boy mumbled.
“You done with her?” a further one asked.
“Bitch has got to toe the line,” a fourth one with a very deep voice declared. “Don’t dig teases. Amber Spear is a total tease. All that hair. Short skirts. But I got my hands on her and she won’t let me get one up that skirt? Fuck that.”
My back went straight and I watched Taylor’s face pale.
“And her dad’s a pain in my ass,” the fourth one with the deep voice concluded.
“You’re just shit scared of him ‘cause Spear could kick your ass, even if he’s an old guy,” one of the other voices said.
Excuse me?
Jake was not old.
Actually, I had no idea of his age but I knew he wasn’t old. I knew this because I’d seen him work out.
“Whatever,” the deepest voice went on. “He won’t let her go to Boston to see Bounce with us. I mean seriously? What’s up with that? That’s fucked up. Chelsea and Brooke are goin’ and their parents don’t give a fuck.”
The concert Amber wanted to see was Bounce.
At that point, I wished she’d informed me of that.
And two second later, after the one with the deep voice said what he said next, I made a split-second decision and, rather foolishly, sallied forth acting on it.
“Thought I’d get in there, pop that. She’s hot but if Amber likes her cherry that much, she can keep it.”
I saw Taylor snap his mouth closed and his jaw get tight but that was all I saw before I whirled.
Behind me, there were four boys. All tall. All relatively good-looking. The tallest and far best looking one was an African-American young man.
I knew instinctively he was Noah.
I could see Amber wanting him.
But she wasn’t going to get him.
Or, more aptly, he was not going to get her.
“Are you Noah?” I asked.