Heart-Shaped Hack(45)

“Of course.”

“Good.” Reluctantly she lifted herself off his lap. “I’ll be home as soon as I can. Keep your fingers crossed that the game doesn’t go into overtime.”

The Target Center was packed when Kate arrived. She and her friends spent a lively fifteen minutes talking and having a drink in the concession area. There were seven of them in the group, four women and three men. A man named Derek smiled when he spotted Kate. She’d known him since her senior year of college and had once been very interested in dating him. It had never worked out between them because they never seemed to be single at the same time. Derek was attractive, smart and confident, but over the past few years Kate had noticed a bitterness creeping in as the glory days of college gave way to the not-so-glory days of a lackluster career in middle management.

When it was time to take their seats, Derek followed closely behind Kate, sloshing beer down the back of her sweater when she stopped to let someone pass by.

“Sorry,” Derek said, pawing at her with a napkin once they sat down. The area where Ian’s warm hands had been was now cold and wet.

“That’s okay,” she said, brushing his hands away. “It was an accident.”

“You’re looking good, Kate.”

“Thanks.” She glanced down the row, wishing she was sitting closer to the other women. Lisa was sitting on the other side of Derek, but Brooke and Julie were clear at the other end.

“Heard you and Stuart broke up.”

“Yes.”

“You were together a long time.”

“Five years,” Kate said.

“That’s rough.”

Kate didn’t appreciate Derek’s pitying expression. “Well, I broke up with him.”

“How are you holding up?”

“I’m doing fine. Really.”

Further conversation was cut short when the announcers began the pregame show and the players took to the court. Derek rested his arm across the back of Kate’s seat, but since he wasn’t actually touching her, she thought it would seem petty if she asked him to move it. During a break in the action, she tried to lean around Derek to talk to Lisa. Unfortunately, this caused Kate’s body to press up against Derek’s spread legs, and he did nothing to move them out of the way. She settled back into her seat, having forgotten about Derek’s arm, which now rested lower on the back of her seat. She scooted forward slightly to avoid his touch.

“I’m going to get another beer. Want one?” Derek asked.

Kate held up her nearly full beer. “No thanks.” She was finally able to talk to Lisa while Derek was gone.

When he returned, he settled into his seat and put his arm around her again. “Remember how we were never single at the same time? Now that we are, we should go out sometime.”

“Actually, I’m seeing someone.”

He whistled. “Didn’t waste much time, did you?” His voice carried an edge she hadn’t noticed before, and Kate wondered how many beers he’d had at home before he joined them. “Guess the early bird gets the Kate. I’ll remember that next time.”

“It’s been over six months since Stuart and I broke up,” she pointed out.

“So where is this guy?”

Derek knew as well as she did that significant others had never been a part of these outings, which was something that had always bothered Stuart. “He’s waiting for me at home.”

“How long have you been seeing him?”

Kate didn’t really want to give Derek any ammunition by admitting she’d been dating Ian for such a short time, but she didn’t need to prove anything to him either. She knew what she had with Ian was more than a fling. “November.”

He stopped short of rolling his eyes, but the look on his face told Kate he’d already dismissed Ian. “Sounds like early days to me.”

She smiled sweetly. “And sometimes you just know.”

“Let’s go to dinner next week. We can catch up.”

“I can’t. I’ll be having dinner with my boyfriend.”

“I’m sure he’ll understand if you save one night for me.”

“Thanks, but I’ll pass,” Kate said firmly.

“Come on, you can have dinner with an old friend. Bring him along.” He grinned at Kate. “Tell him I’m willing to share if he is.”

Kate laughed dryly. “I’m not yours to share, buddy. Seriously, how many beers have you had?” Had Derek always been an * and she hadn’t noticed, or was this the alcohol talking?

He should have paid more attention to her incredulous—and irritated—expression, but instead he smiled and held up his empty glass. “Not nearly enough.”

Kate wished she hadn’t come and was glad when Derek left to go to the bathroom at the start of halftime. Her phone buzzed.

Ian: Having fun?

Kate: No. I’m irritated, wet, uncomfortable, and cold.

Ian: I’m confused by your words considering you’re at an indoor basketball game with friends.

Kate: I’m trapped at the end of the row so I can’t talk to anyone, and Derek spilled beer down my back.

Ian: Derek?

Kate: The token drunk guy in our group, or at least he will be by the end of the evening if he doesn’t slow down. He’s being an ass.