All I had to do was sit on the sidelines and watch very large, very tough men who made a living by being relentlessly aggressive cheer on a bunch of elementary kids. They made accommodations for the kids who needed it and made sure everyone had a chance to succeed. Wilcox followed one anxious kid through an agility course, his hand outstretched and ready the whole time in case the student needed support. Hersberler carried another kid to the top of the blow-up slide after he had a hard time getting the hang of the steps. Bigelow spent half an hour teaching a child with a limb difference how to fall safely—and then taught her a modification of his signature end zone move. McKerry was the loudest, most magnificent cheerleader in the whole world. These kids all walked away from his station with the brightest beaming smiles.
I still didn’t know if Ryan chose the climbing wall as his station or if he’d simply ended up there but he spent the entire day going up and down that wall with kids, talking them through every step and toehold. He hung back with the scared kids who screamed when they were no more than six inches off the ground, and he raced the ambitious ones up the wall, always slowing down just enough at the end to let them win.
I hadn’t anticipated that he’d take it to this level. I knew what he’d said but I still didn’t think it would be this big, this fun, this perfect forallkids. I didn’t think he’d let me down but this was so far from a letdown that I couldn’t even grab hold of my expectations.
And maybe expectations were the problem. Mine didn’t make sense. I’d expected a marriage proposal from Teddy despite him critiquing my body and scolding my food choices. I couldn’t believe Ryan—my oldest friend and newest husband—would want to help with field day despite his constant willingness to help me with anything in the world. Including getting revenge on my ex.
Every teacher stopped me to say how much they loved this year’s event and ask how I pulled it off. All I could do was blame my husband. I sent them to the climbing wall to tell him he’d ruined us all. They thought I was joking but I knew the truth of it.
As I saw it, there were only two options for me. Either I unloaded this event onto an unsuspecting first-year teacher in the fall or I stayed married to Ryan indefinitely.
He was the one who’d insisted we drop the deadlines. I was just doing my part.
Obviously, it was all in good fun. I wasn’t using him for his willingness to hire people to entertain the students so my colleagues and I didn’t suffer any mid-June emotional breakdowns. If I’d ever mentioned needing help for this in thepast, he would’ve done the same thing. It wasn’t about the fake marriage.
Or keeping it going until we forgot about the fake part and it turned into a regular old marriage.
Was that what he’d meant by no deadlines? Probably not.
I joined Jamie, Audrey, and Grace in the shade of the building. I followed their gazes to the climbing wall and the divine way the harness bracketed Ryan’s backside.
“You’re being rather obvious,” I announced.
“No one is paying any attention to us,” Grace murmured, a hand shielding the sun from her eyes.
“If you don’t marry him,” Jamie said, “I will.”
“You don’t believe in marriage,” I reminded her. “Or monogamy.”
She tipped her chin toward Ryan as he raced a group of older kids up the wall. “I’d let him change my mind about that.”
It was Audrey—Audrey—who said, “I’d let him crack me like a glow stick.”
We all turned to face the ever demure blonde. It took her a minute to notice since she was eye-fucking my husband.
“Yeah, girl.” Jamie held up her hand for a high-five. Audrey reluctantly met her palm. “I didn’t think you had it in you.”
“It’s not like it would ever happen. Obviously,” she added. “He’s your fiancé.”
“Have you seen his friends?” Grace asked. “I’m sure one of them would be up for the challenge.”
“They would,” I said, leaning my forearms against the fence. “Let’s see. We have Jaden Wilcox over there. The one with the huge smile. He’s a running back which means he’s carrying the ball and getting it downfield with the intent of gaining yards—and he’s very good at it. His production was unreal last season. Carries, rush yards, scrimmage yards, all of it. He was on fire.”
“You really know football,” Jamie said. “Not just the basics because it’s your boy’s job but you understand the game.”
“Yeah.” I shrugged and went back to looking for the guys. I didn’t want to get into my ancient history. “Colton Squire is the one in the leg brace. He’s a wide receiver so he’s breaking away from the play to get in position to catch a pass. Last I heard, he has a girlfriend.”
“Bummer,” Jamie murmured. “I could’ve nursed him back to health.”
“Damon McKerry is the goofball with the locs. He’s a left guard. He creates lanes in the play and protects the quarterback from the other team’s defense, and he’s an absolute force of nature on the field. There’s no one else like him in the League. He’s also a puppy dog and I’ve heard he’s a big fan of all variety of jerky.”
“I don’t think I have the fortitude for a puppy. Or jerky,” Audrey added. “But he’s precious.”
“Then we have Crawson Bigelow,” I said. “He’s an offensive tackle which means he’s out there clearing blocks for the running backs and looking after the QB’s blind side. Very talented. Also very much in love with his high school sweetheart.”
“I don’t know what’s wrong with me but I like the preppy one,” Jamie said, tipping her chin toward Hersberler. He kept looking in this direction and shooting smiles at the group. “His shorts were ironed so hard I’d slice my hand on the crease.”
“You are a ride he wouldn’t survive.” I glanced at her. “You’d grind his bones into dust and turn him into your most famous stalker.”
