Page 56 of End Game

He leans down and bestows a gentle kiss on her lips. “You’re my Princess. I’d like to see some other guy try to break us apart again.”

She smiles and fists her hand in his jacket, pulling him closer.

I turn to Dvora. “They could do this all night.”

She laughs. “Shall we hit the bar, then? You can flirt with your dude and I can get a much needed drink.”

“I think I like you,” I announce, and she grins.

She leads the way to the bar, landing conveniently close to where Trey and his buddies are hanging out. She angles her body closer and makes eyes at his friend. I follow behind her, accidentally on purpose crowding Trey’s stool as we wait for the bartender to have a free moment.

“Hey,” Trey says. “Dana, right?”

“Diana.”

“How’s it going?”

“Oh, you know,” I say with an ambiguous shrug.

His eyes scrape over me again. I’m wearing jeans, a plain black v-neck, and a light jacket—nothing fancy, certainly not as dressed up as Dvora, but comfortably stylish all the same.

Trey hums. “So you’re interested in grad school?”

“Interested in keeping my options open. Not trying to limit myself yet.”

We make eye contact. My stomach swoops. A familiar buzzing pulses through my veins.

“I can get with that,” he says with a confident grin. “Can I get you a drink? Vodka soda, right?”

He remembers!

“That would be great.” I try to hand over one of my drink tickets and he waves it away.

“I’ve got it,” he says.

“Like you’ve got my number?”

“Oh, ho,” says one of the guys behind him.

“Yeah, I’ve got your number,” Trey says, puffed up with bravado. “Maybe this time I’ll use it.”

“See that you do.”

The bartender comes over and Dvora places her drink order. Trey leans over the bar and asks for a vodka soda and a Bud Light.

“You here with anyone?” Trey asks.

“Some friends.” I glance over my shoulder. Tucker and Mason are blatantly watching me. When we make eye contact, Tucker lifts his chin and looks away. Mason laughs and waggles her fingers at me.

“Your friends?” He nods towards Tucker.

“That’s Tuck. He’s on the football team.”

“Oh.”

He sizes him up. Tucker is a big dude. To look at him, you wouldn’t expect the big guy is one of the softest, most cuddly guys in the world. He has a heart of gold. He’s big, physically imposing, and Black, which leads to some stereotypes that couldn’t be further from the truth. Tuck wouldn’t hurt a fly, and especially not me.

“I think we’ve had a class together,” Trey says noncommittally.