What You Caused

45.

Chapter 45 | Celebration dinner

Lucas:

"Did you guys hear the good news? Trent, Kaiden and Brian might get excluded," Dylan gushes as he we walk inside the restaurant later that Friday evening. The warmth of Palatino is like a warm hug from the freezing temperature outside and the soft hum of the classical music playing in the background of the restaurant and the gorgeous aroma of pasta is the best welcome as we tell the registry guy by the door our reservation name.

I rub my hands together to rejuvenate warmth as my eyes scour the inside of the restaurant once Derek, the registry guy allows us to pass, in search for the large table where our team and Coach would be situated.

"As he fucking should," I grumble under my breath, finally seeing the blonde tufts of hair of our nearly 7ft Coach and Grace's dad at the back end of the large room and begin walking, Dylan and Aidan following behind me suit.

"I mean the school is still deciding, but they're suspended until the new years which is good news at least," Aidan adds as we manoeuvre our way down the empty middle section of the restaurant.

We were at Palatino, a fancy Italian restaurant, just on the outskirts of our town. It's the epitome of fancy; dark mahogany walls with golden accents, high ceilings with intricate designs, golden pillars, chandeliers - the whole lot and was notorious for their number of delicious pasta dishes.

It's also the place Coach takes his team after every final game, whether it be a loss or a win for a celebratory meal. It has become a tradition for the football team over the last couple of years.

Halting in front of a large mirror situated on one of the side walls, I pause to check my appearance quickly.

With my unruly hair gelled down, wearing a simple black blazer, black dress pants and a white shirt with the top buttons open, I had cleaned up quite nicely. Yes, my bottom lip was still swollen from the fight earlier today and I had a nasty cut just above my eyebrow and a smaller one on my cheek but I still looked good.

As for my two friends; Dylan was wearing a white button down and navy blue slacks and Aidan was in pretty much the same outfit as I, just with a black shirt replacing the white one.

The stares from the several women and men, as the three of us walk towards our table don't go unnoticed and Dylan smiles cheekily at our on lookers.

"Ladies you finally made it!" Coach beams the moment he spots us approaching the long table where the rest of the team are situated. Most of the guys have seemingly already arrived and the three of us promptly take our seats.

"Hi Coach," I greet, mirroring his smile.

"You three took your time," he mock scolds, pointing a finger at us. "My stomach is making whale noises and I keep getting dirty stares from people around us because it is so loud!"

Aidan chuckles. "Sorry Coach, it's not our fault, this one," he pauses to point a finger at Dylan. "Took 10 years getting ready."

Dylan opens his mouth to protest but then promptly closes it shut, slumping down in his seat with his arms crossed across his chest when he realises what Aidan had said is the truth. "It's not my fault my hair wasn't cooperating," he instead mumbles in reply just as the waiter approaches us with a stack load of menus, diverting Coach's attention.

"Paolo!" Coach booms, his loud voice causing the waiter to snap his head in his direction.

Paolo's face lights up with recollection. "John! Another championship won, yes?"