Hendrix - Kelsey Clayton Page 0,18
and goes to run away, but I scoop her into my arms and tickle her. She thrashes around and begs me to stop in her tiny voice, so I lift her up onto my shoulders instead. The small grin on Saige's face doesn't go unnoticed as she watches us.
Yeah, this is happiness.
WATCHING LENNON TRY TO teach Asher and Tessa how to do a proper pirouette is probably the funniest thing I've ever seen in my life. For one, Tessa is about as coordinated as a baby deer, and two, Asher is way too tall to do any kind of dance moves. In all the time I've known him, he's always been my manly best friend. He's a quarterback, for crying out loud. Right now, however, I just want to throw a tutu at him.
“Come on, Colby,” Tessa wheedles. “Don't be such a wuss.”
I chuckle. “Not going to happen, Spyro. The only spinning I do is with a chick in my bed.”
Lennon tries to correct Asher's form but she can barely see through her tears of laughter. Finally, they all give up and sit back down. We have a game on Sunday, and while I didn't expect Lennon to want to come home, she seemed like she was pretty lonely.
Savannah and Grayson, her closest friends in New York, are spending the weekend in Rhode Island with Delaney and Knox, another couple they’re all friends with. Since Cade is in Hawaii at the moment for a surfing competition, she didn't want to be the fifth wheel. I don't blame her. I've been third-wheeling it since Tess tied her ball and chain to Asher’s ankle. She stole my wingman.
“What's Poppin” comes through the speakers, and I instantly chuckle. With Lennon next to me, it's perfect.
“I could put a ball in the end zone,” I sing and then point over at Lennon with my thumb. “Put a bad bitch in the friend zone.”
Asher and Tessa laugh while Lennon rolls her eyes and punches me in the arm, but she knows I’m just kidding. In all actuality, we put each other in the friend zone. For starters, I made the mistake of hitting on her while she was still seventeen, and going to jail isn't exactly on my bucket list. From there, we just became really close friends. The idea may have run through my mind once or twice, especially when she got cheated on by her douchebag ex, but she ended up with Cade, and I really am happy for her.
I look down to check my phone and realize the time. “Shit, we have to go. Saige and Brenna will be at my place soon.”
We're having a movie night in the theater room. Saige and Brenna came with me to watch my practice one day. When we stopped back at my house so I could change before we went to the zoo, they both got a tour of my humble abode. The second Brenna saw the theater room, with tons of large pillows instead of chairs, her eyes lit up. Needless to say, she's been dying for this night.
“About that,” Lennon says as I stand up. “Are you sure you want me there? I don't want to intrude.”
I roll my eyes and pull her off the couch. “Don't be dumb. She'll love you.”
Her face shows she's unsure. “Yeah, it's not Brenna I'm worried about.”
Ah, Saige. “Don't worry about her. You're my best friend, and I want you there.”
She doesn't fight me further on it, and the two of us head down the elevator and into my car.
IF THERE WAS A queen of hot and cold, Saige would hold the crown, no doubts about it. After the other day at lunch, I thought we were making some progress in getting her to warm up to me, but while at my house, she won't even look in my direction. Her fingers move a mile a minute across her phone and the pinched look stays firmly on her face.
“I'm hungry,” Brenna whines.
I glance over at Saige and back to Brenna. “Well, if your mom is okay with it, I have stuff to make our own ice cream sundaes.”
Her whole face lights up. “You're the best grown-up, ever!”
“Oh, thanks,” Saige remarks.
Brenna waves her off dismissively. “You're my mom. You don't count.”
I don't know whether that makes it better or worse, but it's comical all the same. We pause the movie and all head for the kitchen. It only takes a couple minutes for me to get everything out.