"I have to go talk to Elizabeth" I said. “This can't be how it ends.”
“Are you kidding me, Nathan. The goddamn NFL is about to be here." He reminded me of a Southern drill sergeant in some war movie my dad used to watch. “You leave now and you blow your shot at the big time."
"Wait. What?" Kyler demanded. His eyes were still full of fury, "You seriously want to choose a girl over football?”
"No, not justanygirl. Elizabeth," I said. "Not that it's any of your fucking business." I was already riled up but didn’t want to waste any more time on him.
"You can't go. You're the quarterback," the coach said, his voice desperate. "If you leave, we're all fucked."
"You got Tanner," I said and gestured to my friend. "He is a second QB, isn't he?”
Coach grumbled, but agreed. We all knew Tanner could handle it and would relish being the hero. This was a golden opportunity for him and would secure his chances to go pro.
I didn't wait around. I jogged out of the exit and sprinted up the stairs, my shoes slapping against the concrete. As the cool fall air chilled my skin, I looked up at the gray skies. It was probably going to rain tonight.
I looked at the clock on the bell tower as I raced to the campus square. The game was going to start in less than ten minutes. If I wasn't there for the coin toss, I wouldn't be allowed to play. There was no way I could get to Elizabeth and still get back in time. But I chose what mattered most to me in this life. And that was Elizabeth. I didn’t care about the NFL scouts anymore. I had to find Elizabeth and get her back.Shewas the opportunity of my lifetime.
Dodging students who were making their way toward the football field, my heart pounded in my chest. I peered inside of the medical studies building and I saw her there, through the window, her fingers pinching the bridge of her nose. Her pencil was balanced in her hands the way it always did when she was studying.
I knew she was taking the MCATs today and she had worked so hard for this. There's no way I could run in there and interrupt her. I'd just have to wait. So, I did. I sat outside the building in my football gear waiting for the woman I loved and missing the big game to do so.
I paced back and forth as the rain began to fall and soaked through my jersey. Goose bumps popped up along my forearm. I shivered. But I didn't leave.
"What are you doing out here?" I whirled around at the sound of a familiar male voice. “You're supposed to be on the field."
"Dad?" I asked.
My father was strolling forward in a tailored black suit and holding an umbrella, one hand in his pocket "I was just walking over to the stadium. Sorry, your mother couldn't make it. But she promised to throw you the mostdivinegraduation party," he said, laughing at my mother's frequent use of the worddivine.
I laughed and shook my head. "I didn't know you were coming."
"Of course I was. Did you really think I'd miss your last game?"
"I don't know," I said with a laugh and then felt a little guilty. “I mean,I'mmissing my last game."
“I see that. But... why?" he asked as he stepped forward and let the umbrella shelter the both of us.
"A girl," I said and nodded toward the window where Elizabeth sat and flipped through the pages of her test book.
"She looks familiar," he said.
"That's because she is familiar," I said. "We went to high school together. I think her mom went to a couple of your banquets. We’ve reconnected after all this time and... I don't know. I can't help but think she's the one. But, she broke up with me.”
"And is that why you're here instead of at the game?" he asked with a raised brow.
"It is. I love her, Dad. I can't let her get away. She means more to me than anything."
I braced myself for my father's reaction, completely expecting him to tell me I'm being reckless with my future. That's I'm an idiot for foregoing my chances with the NFL. That he's ashamed of me or something. But, to my surprise, he says none of that. He just smiles and nods, supportively.
“Go get her, Son," he says.
19
Elizabeth
My heart was heavy.
I clutched my books to my chest and walked out of the testing center with my head hanging low.
