Page 119 of The Sweetest Return

“That makes sense.”

It did to me.

I liked that it did to her too.

The private lot near the stadium was filling when we reached campus. Staff checked the decal and waved us toward the reserved section.

Imani looked at the sign marking my space.

“Of course.”

“What?”

“You can get in anywhere.”

“It has perks. You dressed cute. Now you don't have to walk six blocks.”

She glanced down at her shoes. “I will concede that this particular privilege has value.”

“Knew you would.”

I went around to open her door. She took my hand when she stepped down, landing close enough that her perfume reached me.

For a moment, neither of us moved.

Then somebody called my name from near the gate.

Crown Weekend had apparently decided I'd had enough privacy.

We barely made it through the entrance before people started stopping me. Board members. Athletic staff. Former trainers. Alumni who wanted pictures. I gave everybody what I could, but Imani remained close enough that her arm brushed mine every few steps.

She wasn't somewhere in the crowd anymore.

She was with me.

Then I saw twenty-two.

The young running back stood near the gate with his helmet under his arm, dark-brown skin, low cut, thick through his shoulders and thighs in that unfinished way college players had before age and work finished building them.

He had been pretending to relax until he realized I was walking toward him.

“You wearing my number?”

“Yes, sir.”

“First thing, stop calling me sir.”

His teammate laughed, and the kid tried not to.

He told me he was a junior and starting back. His teammate bragged about his yards before he could, which embarrassed him enough to make me like both of them.

Then he looked down at the number on his jersey.

“I picked twenty-two because I had your Forge jersey when I was little. My mama finally made me stop wearing it when it looked crazy small.”

Something inside me went quiet.

Years ago, AWU had asked about retiring my number. I told them no. A number hanging where nobody could touch it had never interested me.