“I think he likes you,” I stated the obvious.
Anna’s back straightened in alarm and she tried to adopt a blank expression like she was uninterested in his attention. She composed herself quickly by tightening the sash of her light pink coat, crossing her thigh-high boot-clad legs, and resting her hands in a steeple around her knee. She was dressed like a supermodel about to sashay on a catwalk, not a football game attendee. “No. He can’t like me.” She cleared her throat. “He doesn’t even know me.”
But he wants to, I silently thought. Saying it out loud would only cause Anna to withdraw into her shell before she could make sense of whatever it was she felt for Sam.
“Fine. How about he thinks you’re pretty?” Layla amended with a knowing smile. “Josh told me yesterday that Sam asked him if you’re single.”
Confounded, Anna’s lips parted like she wanted to say something, but she choked down whatever it was and turnedback to the game. It was clear she was mulling over Layla’s revelation.
The latter leaned into my right side and asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to hitch a ride back with Josh and me?”
The game would be over in a handful of minutes and though I could carpool with them, I knew Layla needed privacy to talk to Josh.
Plus, I needed to talk to Hunter too. If everything went according to plan, I’d be going back home with him.
“Positive,” I hollered back over the noise of the boisterous crowd.
There were a few seconds left on the clock and the cheering was growing in decibels as the Panthers took possession of the ball again. My gaze was perpetually fixed on number nine, watching Hunter run across the field with the football while simultaneously dodging tackle attempts from the rival team. For a man of his robust stature, he was surprisingly fast and agile, like a sleek predator as he crossed the remaining yards that would bring him into the endzone.
With three seconds left, Hunter scored another touchdown that caused the entire stadium to erupt in a deafening roar as the Panthers secured another victory.
His teammates jumped all over him with gleeful shouts and the cheerleaders danced with their pompoms, fuelling the crowd’s screams.
Pride slammed into my chest.
When Hunter removed his helmet, he huffed from the exertion of the final push, his hair sticking to his face and neck with sweat. A glorious smile was carved over his face as he soaked in his surroundings.
He’d never looked more beautiful to me.
As he walked towards the bench, he paused briefly, his eyes travelling over the crowd until they found what they were looking for.
Me.
My heart twisted in its cage.
Right this instant, I wished I could tell him how proud I was of him, how apologetic I was for last night, how hard I was going to work to fix my mistake and give us the chance we both deserved.
The hallway in the athletic complex was buzzing with the excitement of tonight’s win. Anna had to skedaddle right after the game since she’d received a text from her mom, asking her to pick up her little brother. Now Layla and I leaned against a wall before the men’s locker room. The game had been over for almost an hour. I alternated between observing the coaches and players congratulating each other on their way out and resisting the urge to nervously bite my nails. The footsteps resounding against the linoleum floor mirrored my thumping heartbeat as I waited, to no avail, for Josh and Hunter to finally emerge.
“What’s taking them so long?” Layla tapped her foot in impatience. “Even the athletic staff has left.”
“Maybe Josh got distracted singing a ballad in the shower?” I supplied.
One time I went over to their home and while Layla was preparing dinner for us, Josh was in the shower after a long day of work, belting out a semblance of a romantic song at the top of his lungs for ten minutes. It was loud enough to deafen everyone in the neighbourhood. And wake the dead.
But if Josh ever acted silly, it was only to make Layla laugh. When they’d met, she’d been a sad version of herself and all he wanted was to bring her happiness.
Layla scoffed, but the small smile on her face was proof of how much she loved him and his off-key singing. “If he were singing, we’d all have heard it by now.”
I chuckled. “True.”
Layla’s phone lit up with a call from her dad. Her entire face leached of colour. “I have to get this.”
“Go ahead.”
She picked up the call and walked down the hallway to a quiet area.
At that exact moment, Josh strolled out of the locker room, wearing a comfortable hoodie and sweatpants combo, his dark brown hair wet from his shower, a duffel bag with his gear slung over one shoulder, and his brown eyes gleaming with smugness from his win. “Hey, Gabby.”
