***WALKER***
The game was just about to start when Walker finally made it to the gym. It had been a full day, but he wasn’t about to miss watching the team stomp all over their rivals like they did every year. He spotted Maddie before she saw him; his stomach began fluttering with anticipation as he watched her, hoping that she wasn’t still mad at him. Kissing her yesterday had never been part of the plan; things had just gotten out of control, not that he was sorry. That kiss had told him more than words ever could.
Watching her as he made his way over to the bleachers behind the bench, he rehearsed what he was going to say, hoping that she wasn’t going to explode on him. He got his answer when she finally spotted him. Her cheeks turned pink, desire blossomed in her eyes, and a little involuntary smile spread across her face. She quickly wiped it away when Carol noticed, but he’d seen it and knew that he was okay, she wasn’t going to rip his head off, even though he might deserve it.
“Hey, looks like I get to watch the game from here with you,” he said, plopping down next to her, ignoring the dirty look she gave him. “Coach put me on the injured reserve until I’m ready to play again.”
“Oh, Walker, I’m sorry,” she said, her face changing instantly. “I’m sure that’s the last thing you wanted, but hopefully it won’t be for long.”
“It was actually my idea, Coach did it as a favor to me,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “It was the only way I could fire you without you getting in trouble. Now I’ll be doing my rehab somewhere else, and he’ll put me back on the team as soon as I’m better. Besides, if I’m sitting on the bench, they’re a player short, and this gives one of the younger guys a shot at playing in a big game.”
“I’d feel guilty, but it’s your own fault that your little scheme backfired,” she said, shaking her head. “You should have known that was never going to work.”
“Backfired?” he asked, then grinned at her. “I think it worked perfectly. You’re talking to me again and you kissed me yesterday, that’s a win in my book.”
“I didn’t kiss you, you kissed me,” she hissed, looking around to make sure no one was listening to them. “And it can’t happen again.”
“Why not?” he asked. “You’re not my physical therapist anymore. There’s still something between us, Maddie, even you can’t deny that.”
“No, but there are things you don’t understand,” she said, clearly choosing her words carefully. “I’m not the same person you knew back then. I’ve grown up, I’ve changed a lot, my priorities are different.”
“All I’m asking for is a chance to get to know you again,” he said, his own secrets in the back of his mind. “I’m sure I’ve changed too, but that doesn’t mean we couldn’t be good together again. Just give us one more chance, that’s not too much to ask. I promise we’ll take it slow, I won’t put any pressure on you.”
She was silent for so long, he was sure that she was trying to find a way to blow him off again, but she finally sighed. “I don’thave very much free time anymore, I can’t just drop everything to spend time with you.”
“I’m not asking you to,” he said, unable to help the smile that spread across his face. “I’ll take what I can get for now.”
“I’m warning you right now, I’m not sleeping with you,” Maddie said, narrowing her eyes at him. “Just because we…well…you know before…”
“Relax, I’m not going to try to get you into bed,” he said, then grinned at her. “At least not yet.”
“Walker, I mean it,” she said, shaking her head. “I…”
Her words were interrupted by the band launching into the school song, so he just grinned at her and got to his feet with the rest of the crowd, counting it as a victory in the battle to win her back. When they sat back down a few minutes later, he took her hand and laced his fingers through hers, expecting her to pull away. She just looked over at him and shook her head with a sigh, but a little smile turned up the corners of her mouth.
They were soon swept away by the excitement of the game, cheering with the cheerleaders, singing when the band played, and joining in the excitement all around them. He was having a good time until he noticed that as the minutes were ticking down, they were getting farther and farther behind the other team, and it seemed like the coach wasn’t doing anything about it. After watching for a few more minutes, his frustration level was rising and he knew he had to do something or they would go into half-time way behind.
“Hey, I’m going to go talk to Coach Meyers; he’s got to do something, or we’ll never be able to catch up,” he said, getting to his feet. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Walker, I don’t think you should go down there, they’re doing the best they can,” Maddie said. “It’s pretty obvious that Thomas is in way over his head, just let the coach do his job.”
“If it wasn’t for Thomas I would be out there,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s all his fault, he tripped me, he admitted it to me. I kept going over it and over it in my head, trying to remember when I tripped, but that’s why I couldn’t figure it out. Thomas stuck his foot out as I was running by.”
Maddie’s eyes got big, then a guilty look spread across her face. “Oh, Walker, I saw him do it, I just forgot about it,” she said. “I’m so sorry, I was going to tell you, then they whisked you off to the hospital and it slipped my mind.”
“It’s okay, I’m not mad at you,” he said, pulling her into his arms, then giving her a quick kiss on the cheek. “It wasn’t your fault, Thomas is the only one to blame.”
***Maddie***
Maddie watched Walker carefully making his way down the few steps to get to the bench and the coach. A wave of warmth spread through her, but she still couldn’t help but worry that she was making a mistake. It wasn’t just her heart she was risking this time; she had her son to think about. The last thing she wanted was for him to get hurt. Although it seemed like Walker had changed, he still hadn’t proven himself trustworthy.
Only time would make her believe that if she gave her heart to him again, he wouldn’t throw it back in her face and walk away like he had before. Still, she knew that keeping Justin a secret would not only be impossible, but it could ruin any relationship they did build when she finally told him. She wished more than anything that she trusted him enough right then to tell him about his son; it would make everything so much easier. The only problem was that she had no idea how he would react.
She’d played the scene over and over in her head so many times over the years, imagining the look on his face when shetold him. In her mind, his reaction had spanned the gamut from anger to joy; she just wasn’t sure what the reality would be. It didn’t bother her to admit that she was a coward or to accept that faced with telling him the truth about his son or letting him remain ignorant, she’d rather just keep her mouth shut at the moment.
“Hey, aren’t you supposed to be happy?” Carol asked, bumping her with her shoulder. “Walker is all over you, but you’re sitting there looking like the world is about to end.”
She looked over at Carol, then back at Walker, who was still sitting by the coach talking his ear off. “It’s complicated, a lot has happened since freshman year,” she said, letting out a long sigh. “I’m afraid it’s more than our relationship can handle.”
