Page 31 of For Emery

My breath caught in my throat as I stopped and glanced over my shoulder. He looked even more gorgeous than I remembered in his jeans hanging low on his hips and the short sleeves of his T-shirt clinging to his biceps. “You coming to the game Saturday?”

“Wouldn’t miss it.”

He smiled. “Want me to leave you a front row ticket, like the old days?”

I stilled, preparing for his reaction. “Flip already got me and my roommate tickets.”

Anger flashed in his expression for a split-second and then he recovered. “I guess I’ll see you there then.” He turned and, in no rush at all, walked away, greeting people he knew along the way with fist bumps. But he didn’t turn back.

Why didn’t he turn back?

The Jordan I knew always turned back one last time to be sure I was okay. Maybe that was the sign I needed to know his feelings for me would never change.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Emery

The electricity in the stadium overwhelmed me as I stood in the front row beside my roommate, Raquel. She was excited to be at her first football game, mostly because she’d hooked up with the kicker.

The team was warming up on the field and I spotted Flip playing catch with his backup. He looked like a star out there, all tall and built with a missile for an arm. I knew this was a dream come true for him. And regardless of what others may have thought of him, he was thrilled to be the quarterback for one of the best universities in the country.

Jordan stood on the sideline, his eyes scanning the crowd behind him. When his eyes caught mine, a smile spread across his lips. He’d yet to put on his helmet so his light eyes twinkled in the early afternoon sunlight. He held his hands out to his sides as if to say this was a long time coming. I smiled back and nodded my agreement. He shook his head, seemingly amused by the way we could still read each other’s minds.

Raquel leaned over. “He’s hot.”

“He’s the first boy I ever kissed.”

“No way,” she said.

I gave her a sidelong glance. “Yup. And then I moved away.”

“Nothing else happened between you?” she asked, her eyebrows bouncing in question.

I shook my head. “I was only fifteen. And he was older and my best friend.”

“Wow. I wish I had a best friend who looked like him.”

I laughed. “It definitely wasn’t easy. Especially when I had to see him with other girls.”

“Sounds like Flip has some competition.”

I scoffed. “I don’t think Jordan will ever see me as anything but the friend who left town and never called him.”

“Why didn’t you call?”

Oops. Too much information. I shrugged, playing it off nonchalantly. “It was easier that way.”

“Does that mean he’s fair game?” Raquel asked.

My stomach twisted at the thought of him with someone else. “I thought you were into the kicker?”

She shrugged. “Just keeping my options open.”

I turned back to the field, saying nothing because I didn’t know what to say. Could I stake claim on him when he saw me solely as a friend?

Before long, both teams lined up on the sidelines. An announcer asked everyone in the stadium to stand for the National Anthem. Just like in Texas, it was still so crazy to see Jordan on this big stage making his dream a reality in person. He told me he’d do it when he was eleven, and he actually did it. I wondered what it felt like to make a dream a reality. I gathered it was quite similar to the moment Jordan finally kissed me. I’d dreamt about that moment for as long as I could remember and once it happened, it was surreal.

The game began and the stadium erupted. Our opponents lost yardage and turned the ball back over to us in three downs. If I thought it had been loud before, that was nothing compared to the energy that ensued once we gained possession of the ball.

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