Page 22 of Wildflowers and Wide Receivers

A blush tints her cheeks, turning them the softest shade of pink. “Sure,” she tells me, and my heart soars.

Reaching into my pocket, I pull out my phone and open the messages screen. She gives me her number. I send her a text so she’ll have mine as well, but when the notification goes through, her watch lights up on her arm holding the bags, and on the screen, it says, “Jonah cell.”

She sees the confusion on my face, glances at her watch, and then her blush turns bright red all the way to the tips of her ears.

“You already have my number?”

Hope and dread are a strange combination. I love that she has my number, but how long has she had it? Has it been this whole time, and she just didn’t reach out? Not that I blame her. I stood her up in the worst kind of way.

“I might have been very unprofessional and taken it from Vivi’s chart when you were in the office. I was going to check in with you after the first appointment to see how she was doing and thank you for the roses, but I obviously didn’t.”

She looks away from me and out at the people walking by. I understand how this might have made her uncomfortable, but I freaking love that she did this. Maybe things aren’t so cut-and-dried. She’s seeing someone else, after all. My heart sprouts wings, and it feels like it soars as maybe things are better looking for me than I thought.

“I would have liked that,” I tell her, one side of my mouth lifting because I’m so happy. So freaking happy that I can’t even hide it because maybe somewhere deep down she wants to talk to me too. Her eyes connect with mine and hold before skipping away.

You know how people say that the best friendships are the ones where even though you don’t talk to them every day or even see them regularly, it’s like no time has passed when you do? That’s how I feel seeing her. I’ve seen her three times in the past three months, and today, it feels like there’s been no time gap. I feel like I saw her last week, and we’re just catching up. She feels like someone who is more, or at least someone who is meant to be more.

I don’t know much about her—well, really anything—but if fate keeps pushing us together, I’m confident that will change.

“So I’ll see you around?” she says.

“I hope so.”

Chapter 9

Team Chat

Sully: Who did it?

Bryan: Did what?

Sully: The locker room

Reid: What happened now?

Sully: Oh, you didn’t see? Let me show you.

Sully: (Sends pic of Reid posing with a football in high school. There are large megaphones set on either side of him )

Titan:

Darius: Damn, Jackson. What’s wrong with your face?

Reid: I had acne

Darius: Is that what you call that shit

Reid: Speechless

Sully: Titan, you’re looking especially fetching in your photo too

Titan: What?

Sully: (Sends pic of high school Titan—he’s posing holding a football, but one foot is propped up on a wooden box)

Titan: Bro

Jonah: