Page 37 of Game Plan

Cassidy eyed me, chewing on her bottom lip.

“What?”

“You would tell me if the eating disorder was back or if you were struggling, right?” She studied my face. I could see the future criminologist in her when she stared at me like that.

I nodded, looking into her eyes, my gaze never faltering so she would know I was speaking the truth. “Yes. And I’m good, I swear. In fact, I’m better than I’ve been in a very long time. Don is always watching out for me too. Don’t worry, okay?”

She sipped her own coffee. “I trust you.”

“Thanks. For having my back.” It felt good to have friends who cared about me once again. I’d missed that.

She smiled at me. “Always.”

After I pushed the sleeves of my khaki knitted sweater up to my elbows, I grabbed two menus and handed her one. “What are you having?” I asked, browsing the selections even though I always ended up choosing between the blueberry pancake stack and the veggies omelet with a side of bacon. Since my discussion with Donovan, I hadn’t been inclined to count my calories.

“I was thinking of trying the buckwheat and eggs bowl with mushrooms and kale.”

“Oh, it’s new. I’ve never seen it before. It looks delicious. I’ll have the same, but the one with cherry tomatoes and feta.” I put the menu away just as the server neared our table to take our order.

“There’s a party at one of the fraternity houses for Halloween. I was thinking we could go.”

My smile dipped. “I’m working on Halloween night. My shift ends at eleven thirty. I’m not sure if I’ll have any energy left to go out afterward. George told me it’s usually one of the busiest nights of the year.”

“C’mon, roomie. What is college for if we don’t get out and have some fun once in a while? It’s Halloween night. You must come to the party.” She joined her hands in prayer. “Pleaaase.” The movement revealed the strap of her burgundy bra and the small tattoo by her collarbone as the neckline of her off-shoulder black shirt slipped to the side.

“Fine. I’ll try to make an appearance.”

“Yay. We need to talk costumes. I can put something together for you, but you gotta give me ideas. I’m pretty good at sewing clothes.”

“For real? Will you teach me?”

“Absolutely. Let’s brainstorm and come up with a clear vision of what we want by the end of next week. Deal?”

I extended my arm over the table to shake her hand. “Deal. Please, nothing too slutty, okay? I don’t wanna draw too much attention to myself at work. Booze and boob cracks don’t mix too well when your job is to serve tables at a pub filled with hormone-driven college students.”

She winced. “Yeah. Lots of perverts. I agree.”

For the next hour, we chatted about our classes, a math major named Carl, who seemed to be under Cassidy’s charm because he had been visiting her up to four times a day at Hot Shot for the last month, whenever she was working, and my next meet.

“Any run-in with your former friend, the football player?”

I almost spat out my mouthful of coffee at her question. I swallowed and dabbed my lips with a napkin. “Whoa, you almost lasted an hour before mentioning him.”

“I’m curious, that’s all.”

“Nothing since the other night. Knowing Mase, I’m sure he’ll find a million ways for us to bump into each other soon enough. Unless he’s fancying some other girl…” The thought that he might ask someone else out twisted my stomach into knots. I hated the idea. And yet, I was the one who’d set him free. I had no rights over him. And no say in his dating life.

“You okay?” Cassidy asked. “You look like you’ve eaten something sour.”

I shook off the chills running through me. “All good. I was thinking about my Halloween costume.” She watched me with a knowing gaze, and I could tell she had seen right through the lie.

“It’s fine if you like him, you know. Jayden is your ex for a reason, and he has no right to decide who you’re allowed to date or not from now on.”

“I know. It’s just… There’s a lot of history between Mase and me. I’m not sure it’s a good idea to revisit it anytime soon. Anyway, Jett asked me on a second date, so that’s what I should focus on. The future. Not the past.”

“Perhaps, and I’m not saying it to upset you, revisiting the past is exactly what you need to move forward.”

I sipped my lukewarm coffee, mulling over what she’d just said. Suddenly, my date with Jett didn’t seem right. My roommate’s words mirrored Luciana’s.