“Hey.” I stopped him as he went to the door. “I can tell you like her. I’m not saying not to like her or pursue anything. I’m just saying—”
“I know. Be cautious. Be smart.”
“Yeah.”
He opened the door. “I’ll call you in a bit.”
“Okay.” I waved at Valerie, who turned toward us as we opened the door. “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too!” She waved back, then asked Nate, “What’s her name?”
“Just a roommat—” The door shut, and I couldn’t hear any more.
“Yo!” Logan came down the stairs.
I turned and grinned. “That was quick.”
He braked on the last step. “Ah. Not funny, Sam. Not funny.”
“I thought I was funny.”
He glanced around. “What’s going on? You don’t usually knock on my door.”
I filled him in on everything, and he agreed it was a good idea to head out as soon as we could. He went to get dressed for the game, saying he’d let Taylor know the plan too, and I went back to my bedroom to change. I’d pulled some things on in a rush, thinking I was way behind schedule. Now that I had a moment, I grabbed different pants that were still comfortable but a little more fashionable.
I knew my biological father and his wife. They ran in elite circles, and that meant they were always dressed so they looked wealthy without trying to look wealthy. It was a skill. Sharon was nice, but she was one of those socialite types. She looked beautiful and put together every time I saw her. And now that I thought about it, Malinda was too. I always forgot about that. Malinda was just Malinda to me. Loving, warm, and sassy, but she could play in those top circles too. She had more bite than Sharon, but this was Garrett and Sharon’s alma mater. I had no doubt they’d be seeing old friends.
All in all, I wasn’t sure what to expect from the day.
Forty minutes later, Logan, Taylor, and I were heading to the game with instructions to pick up Nate at the hotel where he’d dropped Valerie off. We figured it was easier to go in one car because we were already going to be meeting both sets of my parents there.
I talked to Malinda. She and David would meet us at the stadium. And since we were going to Garrett’s box, I assumed we’d meet him and Sharon there too.
After picking up Nate, it took another half hour to get to the stadium.
Swarms of people were already descending on the stadium, and by game time, it’d be filled to the max.
“Hey.” Taylor pointed to a group going in through the same entrance as we were. “Look.”
Faith and Nettie were there, along with a bunch of other girls from the team.
“I don’t see Courtney and Grace,” she added.
I frowned. “Were we supposed to invite them with us?”
She shrugged. “I’ll text them and mention that we saw Nettie and the other girls at the game, see if they’re coming too.”
We hadn’t talked much about it last night. Everything had mostly been about the meet, but as we followed the group inside, and then proceeded to continue following them, I realized they were in the box next to us.
I stopped Taylor. “Did you already text them?”
“Yeah.”
A cold feeling spread in my stomach, and I peeked into the next box. Faith was there, along with the rest of the team. The only ones not there were Taylor, me, Courtney, and Grace.
“Do you need something?” Faith came to the door, a drink in one hand and a haughty expression on her face.
“What happened to ‘Thank you for helping me go faster’?”
She shrugged, sipping her drink. “That was on the course. This is off the course.”
“You’re cold.”
She laughed. “I’ve never pretended to be otherwise.” She angled her head to look at the door to our box. “Unlike you. I’m betting whoever you’re sharing that with, you didn’t invite your two other buds from the team.”
“Are you sharing with Coach Langdon?”
“No. This is my dad’s private box. Coach usually sits with the other coaches. They all share one box.”
I didn’t tell her I’d been invited to that one. “Well, have fun watching the game.”
“I will.”
“I’ll have fun watching your boyfriend,” she added.
I wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but I turned to Taylor as we entered the box. “Text Courtney. Invite her and Grace up here.”
They couldn’t be the only ones left out. I wouldn’t do that to them.
I looked over and saw Garrett and David waiting for me.
I took a breath, then approached both of my dads.