“I’m going to help you with your baton handoffs so you can be in the relay. With your hand, you can’t really be in any other sprints because of the starting blocks. So you need to be able to handle a baton with your non-dominant hand, right?”
“I’m not even sure I rememberhowto receive one, you know?” I nodded toward my broken hand. “And with my nondominant hand…”
He shifted in his seat and faced me more.
I caught a whiff of his scent. I figured it’d smell like stale beer and barf for how rough he looked, but it was more like a fresh rain scent with a splash of cedar. It curled around me and sent a fluttery sensation charging through my stomach in a way it hadn’t felt for a long, long time.
What the absolute hell wasthatabout?
“We’ve got about a week until tryouts.” He nodded. “I’ll help you.”
From behind thick black eyelashes, his dark brown eyes peered into mine. For a moment, I allowed myself to get lost in them. The thought of reaching out and brushing my fingers along his smooth cheek flashed through my mind.
Blinking, I forced the image away.
I wasnotgoing to get sucked into believing this old Preach everyone talked about was back and here to stay. I’d seen him change at the drop of a hat. Bite off his best friends’ heads. Treat others like crap.
But all of that didn’t mean that I was ready to try out for the 4x100 team, receiving and handing the baton off with my left hand. Since Sam didn’t have any experience on relay races, I did need help.
“We could meet at the track tomorrow,” Preach said. “Teacher conference day, no classes. It’s supposed to be fifty degrees and sunny. We could work on baton handling on the actual track.”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, Cher.”
“Give me a chance to show you I’m not a gigantic a-hole.” The corners of his lips tugged into a small smile.
I chuckled but didn’t say anything.
“Grace?”
I did need to get some baton practice in… I could always work with Sam or some of the other girls, but I didn’t want them to see me fumble a million times and think I would screw up their chances of getting into the state tournament.
“All right, all right. We can meet at the track tomorrow. But listen, if you don’t show, or you come reeking of booze, I’m done with you. Forever. Understood?”
Preach grimaced, then said, “Got it.”
The curtains covering the picture window shifted, and my sister, Kiara, poked her head through.
“I better get going. Thanks for the ride.”
“Does noon work? I can pick you up.”
“No, thanks. I’ll run there.” I pushed open my door and hopped out.
“I won’t screw up. I won’t ghost you. I won’t no-show. I’m done no-showing.” He leaned to the side, looking at me as I stood at the door, holding it open. “Promise.”
I leaned in and got into his line of sight. “Remember, this is your last chance.”
“I know,” he said, casting this gaze down.
You know, but are you going to stick to your word or let everyone down again?
Chapter Seventeen
Grace
I let the necklace fall against my chest, my brother’s name still lingering on my lips. After he’d passed away, I started talking to him before each race, telling him that I’d give it my all. He was my best friend and he’d been my biggest supporter when it came to my running.
I leaned over, bending my knees as I envisioned I was in the starting blocks with my butt in the air. The baton I’d brought from home was cool to the touch as I gripped it in my good hand.