“I wasn’t too creative,” I say to her, shrugging.
“So he throws open the back of the trailer, and this freaking deer, scared out of its mind and flipping out, runs into the cafeteria. Kids start to freak, run away, it’s total chaos as this deer runs around, kicking and breaking shit. It was total madness.”
“I got suspended for a week,” Gavin says.
“What happened to the deer?” Sadie asks, laughing.
“Janitors caught it eventually and had animal control take it away.”
Sadie laughs, shaking her head. I grin at her, a little embarrassed, but it is a good story. Chuck mercifully left out the part about the deer kicking some poor kid in the arm and nearly breaking it. That was one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done. That poor deer was probably scarred for life, although I don’t think it was ever actually hurt.
Sadie seems to like it, at least, and the conversation quickly moves on to other memories. Chuck keeps it light and stays away from the more embarrassing tidbits. I finish my drink and Sadie finishes hers, which finally prompts me to drag Chuck away, back to the bar under the pretext of getting more drinks.
“Well?” I ask him.
He shrugs a little. “I like her.”
“So you get it then?”
His smile slowly fades. “Listen Gavin. That girl is trouble.”
I pause, a little surprised. Sadie is lovely, smart, and entertaining. She’s clearly getting along great with Chuck. As far as I can tell, the night is going perfectly.
“Why do you say that?” I ask him.
“Same reason as before. She’s charming, smart, pretty, all that,” he says quickly, “but she’s still a Tillman.”
“And that’s trouble,” I finish for him.
“That’s right. It’s trouble.” Chuck gives me a serious look, a rarity for him. “Don’t get too involved.”
“Don’t worry,” I say. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Says the guy that once released a freaking deer into a crowded cafeteria.” He sighs, shaking his head. “Do what you got to do, I guess.”
“Don’t I always?”
He grins and shrugs a little. “You sure do.”
I clap him on the back, gather my drinks from Lucy, and head back over to the booth. Chuck stays behind to close out his tab, since his part of the evening is finished.
I slide back into the booth across from Sadie. “Chuck coming back?” she asks.
“No,” I say. “I think he had enough stories.”
She pouts. “I wasn’t finished. He was just getting to the good stuff.”
“There is no good stuff, I promise you that.”
“I don’t think so,” she says, smiling a little. “You have a bad reputation.”
“That’s because you rich folk think us poor people are all bad apples.”
She smirks a little. “You’re rich folk too now, remember?”
“Hm. Guess so.” I look at her for a second and an idea hits me. “Let’s get out of here.”
She nods. “Okay. Where to?”
“Come on. I’ll show you.”
I stand up and she hesitates before following me. I take her hand, as natural as can be, and she doesn’t seem to mind.
We head out into the night. My driver is parked not too far away, but we walk right past him. She looks at me a little hesitantly.
“Where are we going?” she asks.
“Nowhere,” I say. “We’re just walking.”
“Isn’t this…” She trails off, looking down at the ground.
“A bad neighborhood?” I finish for her. “A little bit yes and a little bit no. You’re not more or less likely to get mugged here than you are anywhere else.”
She nods a little bit. “My parents raised me to think that this place is the worst place in the world.”
I laugh a little bit. “I’m not surprised. But really, most muggers are in your neighborhood. That’s where the rich people are.”
She smiles a little bit. “I’m sorry if I seem so out of touch.”
“It’s okay,” I say. “It’s pretty adorable, if I’m honest.”
“I’d rather not be adorable.”
“What do you prefer then?” I ask her. I pull her hand, tugging her into an empty storefront doorway. She stumbles up against me, hands on my chest as I lean up against the glass door.
She bites her lip, looking up into my face. We’re totally alone here on the street.
“I don’t know,” she says.
“I’ll tell you,” I whisper in her ear. “You want me to think you’re sexy, don’t you?”