“Hey, you,” Grace said as I approached.
“What’s up, Preach?” Sam waved. “Hey, Brodie!”
“Duuude.” Pax crashed into Brodie from behind. If Brodie wasn’t so strong, we all would have gone down like dominos.
“Come on, man.” Brodie held Pax steady, then took the beer can out of his hand. “We’ve got a scrimmage tomorrow.”
“Is he okay?” Grace asked, eying Pax.
“Not so much,” I whispered. “Brodie, you got him?”
“Yeah,” he said, then shoved Pax away. “Quit with all of that crap or you’ll be puking on the ice.”
“I can’t believe you were getting drunk and hanging with him,” Grace said.
“Yes.” I grabbed her hand. “But we don’t speak of those things, right? Totally not going there again…ever.”
“Good. I like this Preach much more.” Grace leaned into me, and I put my arm around her shoulders.
“I’m glad you’re here.” I hugged her tight. She always smelled like roses. I’d really come to like that scent. “How was your day?”
“The twins were so wound up,” she said with a giggle, “I chased them all around the yard for hours after track practice. Did some homework, nothing too major. But Mom got a break for a couple hours, so that’s good.”
“I don’t know how she does it.”
“Me, neither!”
The flames reflected off her smooth skin, and I saw a smile claim her lips. I slid my hands around her neck and pulled her hoodie up, tucking her hair in. The tip of her nose was a little red, as were her cheeks. “You cold?”
She snuggled into her hoodie and stepped closer to me. “I’m good.”
I eased my arms around her and rested my chin atop her hooded head, totally in disbelief we were here together and I was holding her like this. “Come on. I wanna show you something,” I said, urging her away from the fire.
She threaded her fingers with mine and nodded. “Where are we going?”
“Hey, Preach!” someone said and slapped my shoulder, but I didn’t see who it was.
“Way to go, Grace!” someone else shouted.
“Jeez. You win a meet and you’re famous,” she whispered as she leaned into me. “This town is full of a bunch of fanatics.”
“Yup, it’s pretty much a real lifeFriday Night Lights, but it’s pretty cool.”
“Was it like this for hockey, too?”
“Worse.”
“Do you miss it?” she asked.
We breached the circle of students and faded more into the darkness. Trees looming over us shifted in the breeze, the leaves rustling. I drew in the cool air and let out a long breath. “Yeah, I miss it. It was a really big part of my life for so long.”
She squeezed my hand but didn’t say anything, which was nice. Usually people jumped in with an encouraging saying or some other words of wisdom. Mostly what they said bothered me or ticked me off in some cases, but this silence was golden.
“But I like track, too. Always have. And now that I’m doing it as my primary sport and not just to help my hockey along, I’m realizing I really do enjoy it.” I chuckled. “Maybe not as much as hockey, but…it’s easier on the body, that’s for sure.”
“Not getting checked all the time?” she said.
“Exactly.”