And my palms are so sweaty I have to wipe them on my jeans. My heart pounds, and I want him so badly I can hardly sit still.
I wave back tentatively, but Sophia stands up off Slammer’s lap and waves both her hands in the air.
“Hey, Brayden!”
“Soph.” I tug at her elbow. “Please sit down.”
Slammer claps me on the shoulder. “He’s a good guy, and he really likes you.”
“Brayden’s great. It’s just complicated,” I say quickly.
“What’s complicated?” Slammer says. “You like him, he likes you. You have sex.”
“Beyond other issues that I won’t bore you with, this wouldn’t be just sex for me.”
Sophia’s eyes widen, and she smiles.
Slammer nods. “I get it. Emotional attachment, huh? That’s different.”
Sophia turns to Slammer. “Do you feel an emotional attachment for me?”
I take a deep breath and try to turn away from them, but the space is very small and cramped.
“Well, you know,” Slammer stammers. “We’re just starting out. I mean, so far it’s all been sex. No attachment for us. Right?”
Sophia takes his half-empty beer and dumps it on his head. “Yeah,” she says. “Sure.”
She storms off to the bathroom, and I follow her.
“What?!” Slammer calls after us. “What’s the matter?”
* * *
Brayden
As good as the first half went, in the second half, our offense is on absolute fire. Wes only has three incompletions with no interceptions, and he fucking rifles the last touchdown pass through the tightest of windows.
I know what he doesn’t know—that there’s another scout here from a Division I school. I didn’t know until the game had already started, and with the way he was already playing, we made the decision not to tell him for fear of screwing with his rhythm. He’s putting on a damn clinic for the entire stadium.
And Dylan came through. I found out this morning that he was able to set up a scholarship through one of his charities, so Wes’s dad can move into the assisted living facility in town. He’ll be safe and cared for while Wes is in school.
I look up into the stands as the game ends, and we start walking toward the lockers. Leleila is watching me. I give her the thumbs up, and she smiles shyly and waves.
I’d promised myself I would back off, create some distance between us. Tonight, if she does go to the party, I have to keep my promise. No flirting, no touching, and no fantasizing about how much I want to kiss her.
Leleila Wills is getting married soon. And the sooner I get that fact hard-coded into my brain, the better.
* * *
Leleila
Slammer leaves the game after Sophia tells him to or else.
“I’m sorry, Soph,” I say as we wind through the dark road heading for Big River Ranch. “You know you deserve love and somebody who loves you.”
“I guess I don’t think that,” she sniffs. “Or else why wouldn’t I have it?”
“I don’t think that’s always true,” I say. “Sometimes it’s timing.”
