Page 35 of Secret Love

“Guatemala, wow. That must have been an exciting place to live.”

“For me, it was probably because it was the opposite of exciting. It was more the sense of community I felt while I was there. We weren't going nonstop and doing activities all the time, filling it up with busyness like we do here…I don't mean Silver Hills, I mean in the States. Everything felt simpler to me. I made some lifelong friends there that I still keep in touch with…Maria and I still write back and forth.”

“I love that,” he says. “What took you to Guatemala?”

“My dad’s job. He’s an engineer.”

“Interesting. Were you mostly out of the country?”

“No, but my parents are in Australia now. And I’ve lived in California, Texas, Illinois, New York…and spent some time in Boulder.”

He whistles. “That’s all over the place.”

“Yeah, I don’t know what to say when people ask where I’m from.”

He smiles, and it’s really such a lovely smile. He leans in and I gasp when his thumb swipes over my bottom lip.

“You have a little bit of marshmallow…”

My tongue flicks out and I accidentally lick his thumb as he’s pulling it back. We both stare at each other and he grins.

“You got it,” he says.

Then he licks the marshmallow off of his thumb…

And.

I.

Die.

“I’m really glad you're liking it here. Silver Hills is a good place.”

“Uh, did you grow up here?” I ask, somewhat shakily.

“No, actually my family is from Minnesota, and my parents still live there now. But I’ve lived in a few places because of football. This is the place I would have wanted to stay though, even if there’d been another transfer for me to play elsewhere. It’s not going to happen now, at least I’m not planning on playing anywhere else…I’m already playing overtime at this age. Most are retired when they hit thirty-six,” he adds.

He gives me a pointed look when he says that, like he’s letting me know just how old he is. Message received. I swallow hard, wanting to go back to what he said about football.

“That would be hard to stop doing something you love so much…well, I'm assuming you love football since you're still doing it. Maybe you're ready to be done.”

He leans forward, his elbows on his knees. “I do love it so much. I never thought it would take me this far, but it's been amazing. But yeah, I will be okay when it's over too. My body is tired and it's cost me…this job has cost me.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

“For one thing, Bree didn't sign up for a professional football husband. And I don't have regrets that things are the way they are now because I know it's how it's supposed to be. We're in a good place. We're friends. It's probably all we ever should have been. But when our marriage fell apart, I didn't quite see it that way.”

“I’ve noticed you two seem close. I wasn't sure if you still hoped to be more or if it really is over,” I admit.

He turns and looks back at me. “No. We're much better off as friends, and I’m content with that.”

The way he looks at me when he says that…I swallow hard. I know he's feeling something too. My hands are shaky as I lift one to push my hair back.

He's your student's father, I remind myself.This can't work.

We stare at each other, the fire twinkling in his eyes, and longing stirs in me.

“Tru, would you like to go—” he starts.

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