I’m in my head. “Tuck a piece of hair. How far behind her ear? What if she knows there isn’t even one strand of hair loose from her bun? What do I do if she doesn’t react at all?”
“For fuck’s sake,” he mutters, coming to stand in front of me. He’s only an inch or two shorter than me, with dark brown hair and green eyes. Reaching up, he pretends to push a piece of hair behind my ear, his finger dragging across my skin.
Like some fucked up version of Pavlov’s dog, my gaze immediately drops to his mouth. “What the actual fuck? How did you do that?”
“Honestly, it’s a gift.”
“You ladies about done?” Coach shouts from the sideline, and I realize Maddox’s hand is still against the side of my face. He doesn’t look thrilled.
“Just teaching QB about the ‘hair behind the ear’ trick,” Maddox answers. “You know, to tell if a woman is interested. You wanna learn, Coach? I can give you some pointers.”
“I don’t need pointers from you, Lawson. Now get back to stretching,” Coach growls.
Maddox lowers his voice so only I can hear him. “Sure would be nice if he got laid sometime soon. Then maybe he wouldn’t be such a jackass.”
“I heard that,” Coach shouts. “Don’t worry, I got laid last night.”
“Oh yeah?” Maddox asks.
Coach nods. “And your mom made me breakfast this morning too.”
As the team howls with laughter, Maddox chuckles. “Guess I had that coming.”
It’s beena few weeks since I’ve seen Jamie, but we text often. At first, our conversations were solely about the event. Picking out the centerpieces, table linens, and other small details. Jamie is surprisingly involved in every aspect of the event. He never excuses himself, or tells me to just pick something. He’s present and alert for every decision. As if I needed another reason to find him attractive.
Over the past week, though, our texts have become less about the event, and more about ourselves.
QB
Where did you go to college?
Me
CSU.
QB
I would have thought you’d go somewhere far away.
Me
CSU has one of the best veterinary medicine programs in the country. I couldn’t turn it down. Plus I really like having a mountain view, and state tuition is an added bonus.
QB
Your family didn’t pay for it?
Me
There were addendums to paying for my tuition. I feared they’d suddenly stop paying, and I wanted to ensure it was as low as possible if I needed to take over the payments.
QB
I really kinda hate your parents.
Me
I hate them sometimes too. But I’ve had years to come to terms with the fact that I’ll never be the daughter they expected, and they’ll never love me the way I need. I have friends and animals that fill any void left by my family, and I refuse to spend even one more minute feeling bad for a shitty relationship with them.
