“Absolutely,” he responded, content to continue walking with her for the rest of the night.
“Even with no sleep?”
“A hundred percent.” And he meant it. And not just because he’d checked off an ultimate desire of seeing Messi in action. “I had childish dreams of playing at this level, but since I couldn’t have that—”
“Because of your injury?”
Her voice was gentle. Understanding.
“Yes. That and the chances would have been slim to make it this far.”
She leaned against his shoulder, infusing his side with warmth. “Not for you.”
Her confidence in him was astounding. Core-shaking.
Change the subject,man.“Now I just need to triple up my study efforts this week.”
“When is your test?”
“In a month.”
“Oh no, and you still have the wedding coming up. Is this going to mess you up?”
“No, I needed this. I promise. I—I don’t know. Sometimes I just want to forget about it and quit.” That’s what his brother wanted, wasn’t it? For him to leave his DPT career behind and step back into the roles their parents said they were born into. He pinched the bridge of his nose. Already feeling like he’d shared too much.
Kenya tugged on his arm. Her face held a fierce expression that made her seem so much larger than she was. “So don’t quit.” Her expression turned wistful. “You have everything you need. Don’t give up now when you are so close to everything you’ve dreamed of.”
“To what my parents dreamed of.”
“Don’t do that.”
“What?”
“Deflect any of this as if it wasn’t you that sat through what must have been hundreds of classes. As if it wasn’t you who turned in reports and research. Don’t act like it wasn’t your drive that got you here.”
“Maybe. But...” She didn’t understand. Because he hadn’t told her everything. He hadn’t needed to before, but now...
“But what’s in here?” She placed a warm hand on the center of his chest. The heat spread outward until he could feel it in his toes. She didn’t relinquish but pressed further, branding him. “What makes you come alive here? How does all of this”—she removed her hand to wave it around the food stand–laden concourse—“compare to all that is in you to do?”
She hugged herself and shivered. “Believe me, you have everything you need. Don’t waste it.”
“I’m too focused for that.” He squeezed her shoulder, and she turned for them to resume their walk to their car.
“I’m not focused enough for anything.”
He laughed. He couldn’t help it. He didn’t believe that for one second and said as much. She screwed her lips to the side, scrunching up her button nose, the effort of her thinking seeming to take all her physical focus.
Kenya tapped her lip, adding another level to her endearment, but even that didn’t distract him from the fleeting shift in her eyes when he said, “I’m sure you had something special you wanted to do, something that stirred your determination.”
“Maybe I had too much that I wanted, too many thoughts, too much floating around to hold on to.” She shrugged, a slight skip in her step as she walked through the VIP doors and maneuvered down the sidewalk from the stadium.
“But honestly, I really just wanted to—”
“Hey, watch out!” Solomon put his arm out, catching Kenya before she stumbled over an A-frame sign advertising a game-night pizza deal. He pulled her to him, her small body tucked into his arms.
After a moment, she slowly turned toward him, her eyes widening. “They sure do know how to get your attention, don’t they?” She leaned back. “Makes me want a slice of pizza now, actually. What about you?”
He didn’t care about pizza. “Makes me want to kiss you...”
