Cassidy glanced up and met my stare then. She nodded slightly in acknowledgement of me.
“How do you know her?” Jenny wanted to know. A few other girls were at the table with us, all Jenny’s friends, but they were chatting about the upcoming Friday night football game and totally ignoring us.
“I was in her shop yesterday.” How to be polite? “It was an…interesting place.”
Her eyes widened. “You bought a love spell?”
Now all the girls were looking at me because Jenny had just done her whisper shriek—with emphasis on the shriek.
“No, no, I—”
“Who are you going to use it on?” Her gaze darted to team VIP. Well, that’s how I was thinking of Brent and Troy’s table, anyway. “Wait,” she said, “let me guess…”
I grabbed her hand. “I didn’t buy a spell!” By this point, I should know better than to mess with that crap.
I should have known.
Her eyes bulged, and I realized I might be holding too tightly to her wrist. I eased my grip. “I was curious about the place. I just went inside so I could see what the shop was like.”
“Did Granny Helen tell you about your future?” One of the girls at the table wanted to know. Suzy. Suzy with the long French braid that she seemed to play with all the time.
I frowned at her words. My future?
The darkness is closing in.
“She told me I’d be getting the music scholarship I need.” Suzy’s shoulders straightened. “And I am so getting it.”
“She told me to be careful when I drove my dad’s car,” another girl murmured with a wince. Heather? Yeah, that was her name. Heather with the blonde highlights in her hair. “I wasn’t careful, though. I crashed it right into the tree on Deadman’s Bend.”
Jenny stared at me with one raised brow. How did she even do that? How could a person lift only one brow?
“What’d she tell you?” Jenny wanted to know.
I smiled. “Nothing.” I pulled my hand back. So Granny Helen had fun messing with the locals. Fine. She could do her bit and—
“Hi…it’s…Anna, right?”
Jenny squeaked.
I looked over to the left, following her startled stare, and there, looking all quarter-back special and too cute with his dimpled grin, was Brent.
I nodded. “Yeah, that’s me.”
His head cocked as he studied me. His gaze seemed too assessing, and I worried that he was seeing…too much of me. “I’m having a party at my house after the game on Friday…I thought I’d see if you wanted to stop by.”
Wait. Hold up. Had one of the VIPs just asked me to—
I risked a fast glance at Jenny. Sure enough, she mouthed OhmyGod.
Then I looked back at the VIP table. Valerie wasn’t there. Interesting. What was the deal? Was the guy asking me on a date, or was this some kind of friendly help-out-the-new-girl bit?
“You are coming to the football game on Friday, aren’t you?” He asked as his blond brows wrinkled a bit.
Honestly, I hadn’t been planning on it.
Someone kicked me under the table. Had to be Jenny. Her sandals had been a little spiky today, and I sure felt that spike bite into my skin. I nodded and acted like I cared about football. “Wouldn’t miss it.”
“Great.” His smile kicked up in voltage. This guy was just a total All-American package. And he was very much taken. Right?
It always sucked when the hot guys were taken.
He leaned toward me, and I caught the scent of crisp, really nice smelling cologne. “If you want, I can drive you out to my place. Just stick around a bit after the game, and I’ll give you a ride. That way, you won’t get lost.”
Not a problem. I peeked again for Valerie. Didn’t see her. So I just asked, “Um, will Valerie be riding along with us?”
His eyes chilled at that. “No. She definitely won’t be.”
Well, well…Not taken.
“So is it a date?” He wanted to know.
Ah, there was that big four-letter word. Date. But why not? “Sure.” Even I knew that if the big catch in school asked for a date, a girl should at least give him a try.
He tapped his knuckles on the table. “Wow, usually I get more of a response that than.”
His grin asked me to smile back with him.
My heart did a fast little jump. I could sure see what the fuss was about with him. “You should know, I’m not gonna be your usual type of girl.” Fair warning for him.
“Good. I’m tired of that kind of girl. I’m ready for surprises.”
I was good at surprises.
The bell rang then, and Brent stepped back. “See you soon.”
I nodded.
Jenny kicked me again, but I think it was just an excited kick that time. More of a reflex move. Especially since she followed up the kick with, “You totally don’t need a love spell.”