“I don’t get pizza from anywhere else but this place,” Romero said as they reached both cars in the parking lot. “How ’bout Chinese? Lucky Dragon?”

“Don’t you need reservations for that place?” Eric asked, walking toward his car.

“Nah,” Romero said, walking around Angel’s car to the back seat. “My uncles know the owner. He’ll get us in right quick.”

“I’m out,” Valerie, who’d been reading something on her phone, said as she and Monica passed Angel’s car. She glanced back. “Isabel got off of work earlier than she thought she would. We’re gonna go meet her somewhere.”

“Don’t go causing any more trouble, Val,” Romero said with a big grin.

Valerie rolled her eyes but to Sarah’s relief didn’t say anything else except to remind Sarah to call her. Curiously, just as they pulled out onto the street with Romero yapping away about the Padres game the night before, Sarah noticed a text come in from Valerie. She clicked on it and read it.

I was going to tell you over pizza tonight until Romero ruined that! >.< My friend commented on a post in FB where Dana posted a link to her stupid blog. Just to be nosy, I clicked on it, and the bitch actually has a widget counting down the days down until the SD-HI game. Not a big deal, right? Except the photo she posted on the widget is an old one from way back of her and Angel with their arms wrapped around each other. No arguing with him! But maybe you warn him before the game she might be up to something. Enjoy your Chinese food. I so had a craving for Andolini’s tonight. Grrr!!

Chapter 7

Angel

The moment the girls walked away to the ladies’ room Angel saw that annoyingly smug smirk spread across Romero’s face as he sat back in the booth. Clearly, he’d been waiting for them to leave so he could say something.

“What?” Angel said, sitting back feeling stuffed.

Thanks to Romero’s scene at Andolini’s delaying their dinner, by the time they’d gotten their food, they’d all been so starved everyone ate way too fast.

“I hear Syd’s back.”

Angel rolled his eyes, cracking his fortune cookie open and pulling the fortune out. “Yeah, so?”

Eric watched Angel curiously. The only one he’d told so far was Alex. Romero had been joining Alex during his workouts a lot lately. No doubt this was something they’d discussed.

“So he dumped the girl he’s been with since high school and switched schools to be closer to Sarah?”

Glancing back to make sure Sarah wasn’t on her way back yet, Angel turned back to Romero with a frown. “Who said all that? He’s going to ESU. That’s in Los Angeles, not here.”

“Close enough.” Romero shook his head with that same expression Alex wore the day he told him about it. “Shit. I don’t know, man. I’m thinking Alex has a point. Maybe you do need to have a one on one with this guy. You know let ’im know you’re on to him.”

“On to what?” Angel asked.

“Yeah,” Eric said with a chuckle. “So he transferred to So Cal. It’s still over two hours away. What’s Angel supposed to be on to?”

Thank you!

Angel didn’t say it, but he was glad someone didn’t instantly believe what he’d felt in his gut from the moment he found out about Sarah’s male best friend way back in high school. He knew he was biased, and that’s why it was so impossible to believe the guy couldn’t have any feelings for Sarah beyond friendship. But Alex and Romero seemed so damn sure about it, and they didn’t even know all the details: Sarah kept in touch with him regularly. She told the dude everything and vice versa. Most importantly, he’d dumped his girlfriend for Sarah. He’d left that part out when he mentioned to Alex that Syd and his girl had broken up. He and Romero already made Angel feel like a big enough chump when it came to this.

Romero grabbed a couple of the crunchy noodles from the bowl in the middle of the table and stuck them in his mouth, shaking his head. “I’m telling you. I know what I’m talkin’ about here—”

“What do you mean you know what you’re talking about?” Angel asked, beginning to lose his patience. This was not a conversation he wanted to be having with Romero of all people. “You don’t have a chick. You’ve never had one.”

Eric laughed, and Romero shot him a look. “I’ve had plenty of chicks.”

“Not girlfriends,” Eric pointed out. “All those different girls you screw around with don’t count.” Eric nudged Angel. “Personally, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. You and Sarah are solid. Have been for years. Don’t let this guy get in your head.”

“All right.” Romero pointed at Eric. “So if Sof had a guy friend she’d known all her life and was this close to”—he lifted a brow as Eric’s expression started to go hard—“you’d be okay with that?”

“If she assured me they were nothing more than friends, yes,” Eric said, but he’d lost some conviction, and Angel had a feeling he knew why.

There was someone Sofia had known all her life and recently they’d had some major issues with him, but that was completely different from Sarah and Syd. Sofia didn’t even talk to Brandon anymore. Fortunately, that conversation was cut short when the girls got back.

Everyone except Romero was surprised by how little the bill came to. “I told you the owner knows my uncles.” He smiled, laying his portion of the reduced bill on the table. “He always hooks us up.”