Straddling the Line(66)

Then again, the last thing she wanted her mom to think was that she had some personal relationship going with Trevor, because it wasn’t a relationship.

It was just sex. She was doing a good job compartmentalizing it there.

Okay, maybe it was becoming more than just sex, at least to Haven. But she wasn’t going to allow herself to make it more than a fling, an interlude, something fun to do while she was on this assignment. She had enough to handle with getting her career on track and putting this whole grief nightmare to rest. Anything else would be too much.

Trevor was too much, and he’d made no indication he was even interested in a relationship. The last thing she wanted was to get hurt, and have more emotional turmoil to wrestle with.

No, she was better off putting Trevor firmly in the “fun to have sex with” box and leaving him there. So when he turned his sexy grin in her direction, his eyes capturing her with their intensity, she put a lock on her heart.

She could so easily get lost in him.

She could so easily love him.

ADMITTEDLY, TREVOR HAD FUN REVISITING HIS COLLEGE campus for the day with Haven and the camera crew. They met with both his football and baseball coaches and Haven conducted short interviews while they reminisced. It was great to catch up with the coaches. He also got to talk to a few of his teachers, who were kind enough to say nice things about him even though he knew he’d given them all headaches. He walked them around campus and showed them some of his favorite hangouts, and they went out on the football field. He even took a few passes from some of the current football team out on the field.

That was fun, and Haven said they got some good shots. Now they wanted to do some interviews in town at some of his favorite local haunts.

“Let’s stop there,” Haven said, pointing out a local luncheonette. “This is a familiar hangout for a lot of the sports teams. I called ahead, and Ralph said we could film inside.”

Trevor grinned. “I haven’t had a cheeseburger in here in a long time.”

“And it just so happens it’s around the lunch hour.”

He gave her a sidelong look. “It’s like you planned it this way.”

“It is, isn’t it,” she said with a waggle of her brows.

Ralph had been the owner and manager of the luncheonette forever—at least according to Ralph. He was in his late sixties now, and beamed a smile at them as they walked in. Ralph looked like he ate at least two cheeseburgers a day, but he still had plenty of energy as he hurried from behind the counter with his arms outstretched to pull Trevor into a big bear hug.

“Trevor Shay. It’s about time you showed your face here again.”

“It’s good to be here. I’m hungry.”

“Haven called and said you’d be coming in. I’ll put those burgers on right now. Still with grilled onions and pickles, no mustard?”

The one thing everyone liked about Ralph was that once you became a regular, he never forgot your likes and dislikes. “Still the same.”

Trevor and Haven made their way to the corner booth. It was just after the peak lunch crowd, so the place wasn’t as crowded as it normally would be, since most of the students would be back in class by now.

Even Andy, the camera guy, ordered a cheeseburger and put the camera down while they ate.

“Ralph makes the best fries you’ll ever eat,” Trevor told Andy.

“This is truth,” Haven said, shoving two in her mouth.

Andy agreed, and they enjoyed an interview-free lunch. Ralph even came over and sat with them, reliving old times, including Trevor’s junior year, when the team won the national championship. He pointed out a picture on the wall of the team. Trevor grinned, remembering when they’d all come in and signed that photo for Ralph.

“It’s one of my prized possessions,” Ralph said.

After lunch, Andy grabbed the camera, and Haven asked questions about the diner.

“What makes Ralph’s a special memory for you?”

“My roommates—Garrett Scott, Gray Preston, and Drew Hogan—we’d all hang out here when we didn’t have class or sports practice. The burgers are great, and all our friends would be here. It was a good spot.”

“To meet girls?”

Trevor grinned. “Well, that, too, but it’s off campus, and everyone from the college comes here. It’s a tradition. Me and the guys made it a point to meet here every Monday afternoon after practice. Unless one of us had a game, we were here.”

He looked around, the memories as thick as gnats invading the field on a hot summer night. He could still see them all sitting in this very booth—younger versions of all of them—laughing like crazy, girls surrounding them. God, life had been great back then. “We’d sit here and plan out our futures, talk about where we were gonna be in ten years.”