Somehow that feels better than the trophy we accepted earlier. And thank you, little man, for providing a great excuse to see her.

“What about you? You draw me a picture?”

Her soft laugh makes my smile grow bigger. “No, but I’ve got coffee and muffins anytime you want.”

“That sounds good.” Except it doesn’t. Relegating our time together back to the café where the counter serves as a literal and metaphorical boundary between us isn’t enough. It’s what I deserve, what I told her I wanted, but it just isn’t good enough anymore. Winners want the ball. I want the ball.

I want Katrina.

Katrina

I yawn as I fill another cup of coffee. I wasn’t the only one that stayed up late to watch the game judging by the long line that’s been constant since the café opened.

Tabitha is next in line and she steps forward with what looks like yesterday’s makeup smudged under her eyes.

“You too, huh?” She gets my first real smile of the day because smiling takes too much energy for those that don’t require it today. “Seems like the whole university is running on three hours of sleep.”

“Less than,” she says and slumps on the counter. “Brody and I were up most the night rehearsing. Speaking of, I was just thinking of you on the way over.”

I grab a large coffee cup and she nods. “Two.”

I grab a second coffee and fill as I ask, “What were you thinking about me for?”

“Brody and I wanted to make sure you were going to make it tomorrow night for the costume fittings. They should have the backdrops ready then too. God, I can’t believe the show is so soon.”

“Cream or sugar?”

She shakes her head and I place the cups on the counter and secure lids on them. “Of course. I am beyond excited. It’s already so much more than I could have dreamed.”

I’m ringing up her coffees when University Hall breaks out in applause and cheers. Looking toward the door, I see him. He’s wearing a Valley basketball t-shirt and athletic pants that show off sexy ankles – yes, sexy ankles. It’s a thing. A Joel Moreno thing.

People crowd around him, pat his back and say things I can’t make out. He takes it all in stride, smiling and thanking people but not stopping as he walks from the door to the counter. I hear Tabitha chuckle as I hand her card back without looking.

“Speaking of dreams coming true,” she says to me and then looks to Joel. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you.” His gaze falls back to me and he smiles. “Hi, Kitty.”

“What are you doing here?”

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you and Christian last night. Wondering what you were doing and wishing I could celebrate by eating pizza and seeing that picture little man drew me.”

Tabitha grabs one of the coffees and takes a sip, which draws Joel’s attention to the fact we have an audience.