Page 23 of The Summer of ’98

“Me too.”

Leroy grinned, watching the road but glancing to the side as I bopped in my seat. His hand found mine a moment later. It was such a simple gesture, but it felt like my heart was going to fly out of my chest. He had such an effect on me.

He swung into a parking lot of Archwood High School and we got out. I waited beside the car while he slipped into his cleats and retrieved his football from the backseat. The school’s wooden reception doors were locked up. A banner that read Happy Graduation Class of ’98 was falling off the building, attached only by one side. We walked across the parking lot, through a wire fence gate, and onto the large field. Wooden bleachers encircled the entire space and off to the right was a large dark-orange gymnasium where a couple of football players were gathered, chatting amongst themselves.

As soon as we came into view, members of the team gathered and greeted their captain with enthusiasm. I noted how brief Leroy was with his peers. He was polite and smiled and answered questions with what was necessary. But he wasn’t the same person that he was with me. He was a hint quieter, more reserved.

He didn’t bother introducing me to the entire team individually; instead, he boldly announced me while he had their attention and I blushed at the number of eyes that fell on me with curiosity. I had seen a lot of them on Saturday night during the party, but I hadn’t spoken to them. Of course, I knew Eric, so I gave him a small wave and in return he winked. “How’s it going, sweetheart?”

“Good,” I replied as he walked forward. The rest of the team fell back and began preparing for their practice.

“How was the hangover?”

“It was brutal to begin with, but by the time we got to the flag football practice, I felt better.”

“Ah, that’s right. Jordan said that he met Leroy’s girlfriend,” he laughed. “Have fun with that?”

“It was fun. They’re cute kids.”

He tilted his head to the side and stared at my temple with a furrowed brow.

“What happened there?” he asked, and I realized that he must have been referring to the cut from my careless head banging. “Leroy, you putting hands on this woman?”

He turned and pretended to threaten Leroy, who was sauntering back toward us with a helmet under his arm.

Leroy rolled his eyes with amusement. It was then that he locked eyes with me and cocked a brow. I caught the undertone of his smirk. He sure had been putting hands on me.

“Eric, go and start laps,” Leroy instructed. His tone didn’t leave room for argument, but it wasn’t rude. He seemed to have perfected keeping the lines of friendship and captain in perfect balance.

Eric gave me a friendly nudge in the shoulder and laughed before he took off, falling in beside someone else as they ran around the field. “You’ll be bored for a good two hours,” Leroy sounded apologetic.

“No, I won’t be bored.” I stepped closer and wrapped my arms around his neck. “I’ll be watching you. That couldn’t be boring.”

He ducked down and pressed a kiss against my lips. It was gentle and sweet.

“Oh swell, you’re here!”

Cass was coming through the wire fence with a bottle of beer in one hand and a pair of shades covering half of her face. She looked effortless in a pair of denim shorts and a striped orange T-shirt that exposed her midriff.

“It’s ten in the morning, Cass,” Leroy kept his hands rested on my lower back as he scolded the wild curly-headed girl.

She recoiled with confusion but then glanced down at the bottle in her hands with understanding. “It’s also summer . . .”

Leroy ignored her and leaned in for a chaste kiss before he headed onto the field. When I turned around, Cass was sprawled out on the grass, the bottle of beer straight up in the air as her throat rolled, swallowing the liquid faster than I could believe I was seeing.

When she was done, she dropped her arm and let the bottle roll across the grass with a sigh. “Want one? I left a box in the shade over there.”

I laughed and sat down beside her. “No thanks.”

It felt a little bit awkward. We’d been having the time of our lives on Saturday night but without the drunk confidence, she was back to being a perfect stranger. I had a feeling that she didn’t have the same problem around other people, though.

“Let’s hope that some of these jocks take their tops off, huh?” She sat up and leaned back on her palms, watching the warmups from beside me.

There was only one person that I was interested in seeing topless. And he was still clothed, much to my utter disappointment.

“Can I bitch about something for a sec?” Cass asked after a few minutes of observing. I turned and gave her a quick nod. “Noah is an absolute dick skin. I hate him, I do! But ugh, he’s like—addictive. We have great sex. Sometimes we even have great conversations. But then he leaves me in the middle of the night. Or I catch him with some girl in the school hall. I don’t know. Like, I can’t seem to tell him no, though. I mean, we’ve never been official, so I can’t call him a cheater. But I give in every time. As soon as he kisses me, it’s all over. I used to wish I could have liked Leroy. He’s so much nicer. But he just doesn’t do it for me.”

She took a deep breath after the long rant and I glanced at Leroy, glad that he “didn’t do it for her.” Although I couldn’t understand it either. How could he not?

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