“I told you I was falling for you Austin, you still haven’t responded.”
I leaned forward and gave her a peck on the lips. “I’m falling for you too. For the first time since I can remember, I am thinking about something other than football. My whole future is wrapped up in that game. And now…”
“Now?” she pressed.
“Now I have someone to consider in all that.”
“Me too, but it’s different now, right? I mean, we’re in a relationship. Is that going to mess up my plans of becoming a Nurse Practitioner?”
“I hope not. I’ll support anything you want to do.”
“What about you, though?”
I sighed.
“Wow. These are some deep thoughts.”
“I know, but we can’t keep pretending we’re not thinking them.”
“Yeah…” I rolled over on my side, facing her. “How do you feel about getting our own place next semester? That could be a good next step.”
“Are you serious? I’m so tired of Jocelyn.”
“Me too,” I said. “Me too.”
The rest of the evening, we hung out together, talking and getting to know each other better. She told me a funny story about chasing an ice cream truck when she was in the fifth grade. I let her know about the first time I played with a football.
Beyond the random facts from our past, we opened up to each other in a way we had never done before.
TWENTY-FOUR
Brooke
When I returned home the next morning, I found Jocelyn sitting in my recliner crying. What now? I thought, not wanting to deal with her after such a great night.
She glanced up as I walked over.
“You’re in my seat.”
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she pouted.
“I’m…I’m…I’m fine…”
“Obviously you’re not. What’s going on? I need to get to class.”
“Go ahead,” she sobbed. “I know I’m not important to you.”
I sighed.
“If you’re not going to tell me what’s wrong, I’m leaving.”
“It’s Austin…he threatened me and stuff.”
“And stuff? What are you talking about? You were harassing him, weren’t you?”
“No, I told you I had nothing to do with it, but he sent me a nasty email last night.”
“Austin was with me last night.”