Page 76 of The Golden Receiver

We knew that there was a chance that only one of us would get drafted, even with two national championships in three years. Even with the records I’d broken at Creelin or his status as the first human on the Creelin University team. We’d watched the first two rounds of the draft the night before, each time hoping our phones would ring. When they didn’t, we’d gone back upstairs to my childhood room and fell asleep together.

Kali had nicely given us the room to ourselves.

She’d also made up guest rooms for my biological parents and Kieran’s dad. They’d all come to Creelin for this. They’d all come to cross their fingers and hope that our names were called.

“You nervous?” Kieran asked.

I gave him what I could only hope was a scathing glare. Judging by his lack of reaction, it wasn’t. But seriously, what kind of a question was that? I’d been pacing the length of the room, walking between the two sets of bunk beds, for the last fifteen minutes. I’d barely slept at all the night before, and not because my very sexy boyfriend had kept me awake. I was just too anxious and too nervous.

Kieran stood up and caught my arm as I passed him for what had to be the five hundredth time. “Evie, it’s going to be okay,” he told me as he pulled me close to him.

“What if we don’t get drafted?”

“Then we revert to our backup plans,” he reminded me.

Right, backup plans. He was going to take a job at the same company where he’d interned this semester. He’d already been given an official job offer. I would start teaching gym class somewhere in Creelin. Hopefully Creelin Middle School, because they had an opening and their gym teacher was always the football coach. We were going to get an apartment near the warehouse after graduation, and we were going to live happily ever after.

We’d come up with this plan the same day we officially entered the draft, mostly because I’d been freaking out.

“What if we do get drafted but we’re across the country from each other? What if we’re not even in the same division? Or the same conference? We’ll never get to see eac⁠—”

Kieran silenced me with a kiss. “Then we will get a place halfway between our two teams. We will see each other during the off-season. We will spend the rest of the time video calling each other every night. We’ve talked about this too,” he reminded me.

His forehead rested against mine, and I breathed in his comforting and familiar scent. What would I do when I didn’t have him to ground me? “You’re not nervous at all, are you?” I asked. I had only just realized the lack of that sour smell he always got when he was nervous.

He shook his head. “How I see it is even if I never play another football game as long as I live, then at least football already gave me something important. It brought me to Creelin, and I got to meet you out of it. Whatever happens, we’ll cope.”

“We’ll cope,” I repeated.

“We’ll cope.”

Kieran smiled and pulled me into a soft kiss.

“Evie, Kieran,” Kali bellowed upstairs, preventing me from deepening the kiss with my boyfriend. “Round three starts in fifteen minutes. Get your tails down here!”

I pulled back and grinned. Kieran gave me a suspicious look, and I turned around, wagging my tail at him. He laughed. “Really?”

“She did say to get our tails down there,” I reminded him. “Who am I to disappoint?”

Kieran shook his head before he took my hand. We walked down the stairs together. The moment Kali saw my tail, she thwacked me upside the back of my head and called me an idiot. I couldn’t say that I didn’t deserve it, but it was worth it to hear everyone else laugh.

And I did mean everyone.

Pack members who had moved out of the warehouse years ago were gathered around the main sitting area. Every couch was full, except for the small, black leather love seat in the middle of the room. That couch had been reserved for me and Kieran, and there was a camera in view. Ready to record if we got drafted. We wove our way through the crowded room, dodging a few of the younger pack members who were sitting on the floor coloring.

Fifteen minutes later, the television started playing the opening notes of the draft theme music. Talking heads came on to recap the first two rounds of the draft. Then, it started.

We watched as four people’s dreams came true, watched them celebrate with their friends and family.

The entire time, my hand stayed latched onto Kieran’s.

The Washington Warrior’s turn came up on the draft. Then it happened. Kieran’s phone rang. He almost dropped it in the rush to answer it, and I watched the moment through teary eyes. He’d been drafted. He’d been picked in the third round.

I thought I would have been jealous. After all, we’d both been competitive our entire relationship. Neither one of us had taken our spot on the team for granted, and we’d both played hard for our roster spots. Even if it meant that we tried to outdo one another. We’d become known as one of the best wide receiver pairs in college sports. Watching this happen to him, knowing it might not happen to me or it might change everything… I’d secretly thought I would be jealous.

Instead, I was so happy for him.

Across the room, the camera started flashing, recording part of Kieran’s initial reaction.