6. Ben #2
She finally looks up, her dimples popping into place as she softly whispers, “A man of integrity. I like it.”
I clear my throat and look back down at the table. Tapping my phone screen to wake it up, I notice that we’re getting close to thirty minutes. But I can see she’s got a bunch more questions and this isn’t so bad, so I bite my lips together and wait for the next one.
“Okay, so…” She wiggles in her chair and looks kind of excited by this one. “Let’s imagine that the team goes all the way and you win the entire championship thingy.”
“March Madness,” I murmur.
“Oh yeah, I saw that.” She shuffles her pages around, then underlines something in her notes. “So, you’ve just won that… What’s the first thing you’d do after the final buzzer?”
I laugh because I can’t help it. The sound pops out of me, all free and unrehearsed. “Well, once I’d gotten out of the huge pileup my team would no doubt create, I’d probably call my sister Kelly.”
“Really?” Jolie’s eyes light with curiosity.
“Yeah, I have three older sisters, and Kelly is the eldest. She helped raise me. Mom went back to work pretty quickly after I was born, so Kelly was the one who looked after me. As soon as she got her driver’s license, she was the one who took me to practices.
She’d sit on the bleachers doing her homework, and she’d come to every game.
Even when she went to college, she’d still drive back to see me.
It wasn’t far, but now that I’m in college, it really hits me what a sacrifice that must have been for her. ”
“Wow, that’s amazing.” Jolie’s eyes light with a warmth that’s hard to look away from. “So, you’re close to your sisters?”
“Kind of.” I tip my head. “I’m the youngest by quite a gap. The surprise baby thing… I wasn’t part of the plan, so I ended up having four mothers.” I let out a scoffing laugh.
“Aw, I bet they adored you.”
“Yeah, a little too much.” I give her a side-eye that makes her laugh. “But Kelly and I still talk once a week. I’ll call her after games, give her an update. So yeah, she’d want to know if we won the championship.”
“She’d probably be at the game.” Jolie’s voice is all sweet and excited, like this is actually going to happen. I don’t have the heart to tell her she’s dreaming. “I always wanted a sibling.” Her voice is soft and wistful.
“They’re not all they’re cut out to be,” I say, trying to make her feel better, but she can tell that I’m joking.
“I do have a cousin who I’m close to. She’s kind of like an older sister to me. She goes to Nolan U as well, which has been super helpful. I’ve sent her way too many SOS and 911 texts already, and we’re only a month in.”
The self-deprecating look on her face right now is kind of cute.
“Freshman year can be hard.”
She bulges her eyes like I’m stating the obvious, and I’m just settling in for her next question when her alarm starts to go.
“No way.” She starts digging around in her bag.
Finally pulling out her device, she turns off the alarm and starts apologizing.
“We went over time. I didn’t mean to, sorry about that.
And now I have to go, because I have a date.
” Her cheeks flare with color, and it makes me wonder if this is her first date ever or something.
There’s a nervous energy about her that’s kind of entertaining.
I wonder who she’s going out with.
I hope he’s nice.
She’s way too sweet, and even though I don’t know her, it’s obvious she’s innocent. I don’t want her getting hurt. Of course, I wouldn’t want any girl in her position getting hurt. She kind of reminds me of a young deer in the forest, all twitchy and vulnerable.
Packing up her papers with frantic movements, she gathers them into a messy pile.
“I’m so bummed out. I have a few more questions to ask you, but time just flew.
You’re really great to talk to and…” Her words trail off as she pauses to give me a hopeful smile.
“Would you mind…? Or maybe I could just email them.” She flicks her hand in the air, but then her expression bunches. “Unless you’d be willing to…”
I put her out of her misery. “We can meet up again.”
“Really?” Her voice pitches in surprise. “Thank you. I’m free early next week if that works for you.”
“Yep.” I check my schedule on my phone. “Games for the season haven’t started yet, so my time’s a little more flexible. I could meet you on Tuesday, before my practice. Say… three o’clock?”
“Excellent. That would be amazing.” She laughs, like she still can’t believe I said yes.
To be honest, I kind of can’t either. Seriously, what am I doing?
I point at her. “Do you need to check your schedule? If you have a class or—”
“I will skip anything to meet with you. Three o’clock will be fine. This article means a lot to me and takes precedence over everything else.”
It’s impossible not to return her beaming smile.
Those dimples, man.
Dangerous.
I glance away from them, standing from my chair as she walks around the table.
I tower over her, which I’m used to, but with her, it feels different. She’s so slight a strong breeze could blow her over.
“Thanks so much, Ben.” She smiles up at me.
I return her grin. “I’ll catch you later, Jolie.”
“Yes, you will.” She does a little spin, then heads for the door.
I watch her go, surprised by how painless that interview ended up being.