My dad called me at lunch to let me know a recruiter from Florida State was passing through town and wanted to meet with me. It doesn’t happen very often, but because I’m a five-star high school recruit and I rank high on the national registry, schools will call and want to sit down with me even if I haven’t shown any interest in the school. So instead of going to class, I headed to Coach Anderson’s office. Florida State is an excellent school with a fantastic football program, and I’m honored they asked to meet with me, but Florida is too far away. I’m a snow and mountain kid through and through. I like the ocean, but I’d take a mountain lake over the salty sea any day.
My dad wasn’t thrilled about having to leave work, but he wasn’t about to let me meet with the recruiter alone. He’s set on me playing for USC, but he’s also willing to listen to what other schools have to say and offer. Gary Rothman, the guy from Florida, was super friendly. He invited me out to tour the campus, attend a football game, and even meet some players. By the end of our conversation, he had me interested in playing for Florida. However, he didn’t convince my dad. When Coach Anderson asked him what he thought, he just said he needed to get back to work.
I change into my workout clothes and put my running shoes on. I love sports PE during football season. It’s a free hour to exercise the way I want, and I spend most of it running. It’s always the one thing that gets pushed out of my schedule during the school year. I find Jack and Tyler in the weight room, sitting on the mats, stretching. “Are you guys going to run with me?”
“That’s the plan,” Jack says, stretching out his calves.
“Running on a treadmill while watching Criminal Minds reruns is preferable, but after seven hours of being bored out of my mind and sitting in stuffy classrooms, running outside is appealing.” Tyler laughs, slapping me on the back.
“I don’t know why you didn’t take AP classes, T. you’re probably smarter than me.”
“Eh, then I’d have to do homework and work for my grades, and that would cut into my tv and gaming time. The easy A’s keep my parents happy, which makes me happy. I’ve never been interested in being valedictorian like you and Clark. If I don’t get a football scholarship—”
“Which is highly unlikely.” Jack cuts in.
“True, but you never know. But if I don’t get one, I’m going to Boise State. They have a great criminal justice program, plus they’re close to home, and I’m a mama’s boy.”
“Oh jeez, that’s because you’re the baby in your family. And when you sign with a college to play football, what will you major in?” I ask.
Tyler shrugs. “If the school doesn’t have a criminal justice program, I’ll major in law or psychology. And don’t talk about babies to me. You’re the youngest in your family.”
“My sister is seven years older than me. I don’t think that counts. You’re the youngest of four boys,” I argue.
“Yeah, whatever. I admitted to being a mama’s boy.” Tyler shrugs.
“What about you, Ford? You have your pick of schools. Are you going to go for the football program or an academic program?” Jacks asks.
“Is it too much to want both?”
“Not when you’re you,” Jack says.
I point to Jack. “What about you, Fitzgerald? Do you have the future figured out?”
Jack shakes his head. “Not even close. All I’ve ever wanted since I was little was to play football. All I want now is to play college football. I love the sport, and I want to play as much as I can for as long as I can. After that, I want to be a part of it. I think I’m going to major in sports medicine. I don’t want to be a doctor, but I like what coach Gara does for the team. I think he’s a physical therapist.”
“You’ll get that scholarship. I know it,” I say.
“Come on, let’s go run. I hate talking about my future. It’s all my parents seem to want to discuss lately,” Tyler says. We walk out into the gym. I glance around for Hannah, but I need to clear my head, and that’s hard to do with her running next to me.
“Son of a bitch,” Tyler exclaims. I walk outside through the main doors and hold out my hand, letting the rain splash against it.
“The sky was clear at lunch.” I wipe my hand on my shirt, irritated with mother nature.
“I guess we’re running indoors. Football practice is going to suck,” Jack laments.
I hesitate for a few seconds, then follow my friends back inside. I’d run in the rain. I like the feeling of the rain against my skin; it grounds me and helps me think. But Jack and Tyler would think I was crazy and protest if I told them I was going to run in it. The two of them have been keeping a closer watch on me with everything that happened at the end of summer. They think I haven’t noticed, but I have. I just don’t say anything. They have my back, and if the situation were reversed, I would do the same for them.
We go up to the second floor of the gym to run. I hate running in a circle, but at least I’m getting the time to run. I pull my headphones out of my pocket and slip them into my ears. I used to listen to music all the time before I started running with Hannah. Now I hardly ever do, even though she doesn’t run with me anymore. Today there are too many giggly girls around who will try to talk to me. The headphones are a good deterrent and give me an excuse to ignore them. I get into the zone, letting my mind go numb. The hallway isn’t very wide, and it causes crowding, which slows everyone down.
My neck tingles, and someone comes up behind me, brushing my shoulder. I know it’s Hannah before I even look. I always get this feeling when she’s nearby. I can’t explain it. It’s almost like I get a calming sensation that turns into a little jolt that hits me in the chest and spreads down my torso. She gives me one of her smiles that sends a zing through me and winks, then lengthens her stride, passing me. I almost trip over my feet when my eyes lock on to her ass swaying in those hot pink shorts.
Son of a bitch.Those pink shorts are going to be the death of me. She’s trying to kill me. This is because of the bet. Hannah knows she’s going to lose, and she’s playing her last card. And damn, it’s a good one, but not good enough to win. School cannot end fast enough. I turn my headphones up and pick up my feet. When I catch up to her, the urge to reach over and slap her ass is overwhelming, but I refrain.
We’re in public, and even though it’s in good fun, and Hannah would see it like that, others may not. It could give another idiot the idea. Instead, I tug on her ponytail. When she looks up, she has a crease across her forehead, but it disappears, and her mouth quirks up into a little smirk. I smile and wink, then pass her. She tries to keep up with me, but there are too many other people running, and she gets stuck behind a couple of girls doing more talking than running. I pick up my pace, and soon enough, I’m behind her again. I accidentally bump her this time. She tries to scowl, but it turns into a laugh, and she bumps me back. I run past her, and she picks up her feet, trying to keep up. I slow down for a few steps but then pick my feet back up, running in front of her. It only takes a couple of minutes before I’m behind her again.
Except this time, Beckett and Dave are running behind her. I pull a headphone off to ask them to move, but stop when I hear their conversation.
“Clark looks hot this year,” Dave says.
