Page 67 of Finding Fate

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“Hey! Tuck man!” Noah Reynolds called to him after the game. Jet and a few other football players were with him.

Tucker had been waiting outside the stands, between the field and the locker rooms, to catch sight of Izzy. Several dance team members had already come out.

“Hey, Noah,” Tucker greeted his hair obsessed friend with a fist pound. “Hey, guys,” he said, giving them each the same greeting. “Awesome game. I still can’t believe you got past those two linebackers, man,” he said to Noah. “They were huge.”

“Yeah, I got skill,” Noah replied with teasing nonchalance. “Hey, some of the guys are going to grab a bite over at Bob’s Diner. You game?”

He hesitated, but Jet answered.

“How about we meet up with y’all in a bit? Gotta go say hi to the girlfriends…make sure they have a ride home.”

“Oh, you think their whips will reach all the way over here?” Kyle laughed.

“Fuck off,” Jet countered.

“Alright, see ya later,” Noah replied as he and the other guys headed toward the parking lot.

“Thanks, man. I really need to talk to Izzy tonight,” Tucker said, turning to Jet once the others were out of earshot. “Great blocking tonight, by the way. I’d’ve been plowed over.”

“No, you wouldn’t. You’ve got size on your side. But thanks. Why did you need to talk to Izzy? Didn’t everything go okay this afternoon?”

“Annie says it went fine.”

“Annie?”

“I guess she didn’t tell you why Izzy called her over. She got angry at me on the way home. I need to smooth things over with her.”’

“Oh. I wondered what happened. So did you deserve it, or was she overreacting?”

“A little of both. She was overreacting to what we were talking about, but then I made the mistake of blaming it on hormones.”

Jet released a low, appreciative whistle. “Wow, congratulations, dude. You really know how to screw things up.”

“Yeah, tell me about it…so were you gonna go talk to Annie before we meet up with the guys? Izzy’s on her way over now.”

Jet looked back toward the locker rooms and saw their pale friend approaching. “Yeah, do you know where she is?”

“She was still up in the stands when I left. Talking, ya know?”

“Alright, I’ll see you at the diner then?” Jet asked as he backed away.

“Actually, can I ride over with you? Bridgette just dropped the girls off tonight, so they’ll need my truck.”

“‘Kay, meet me at my car then,” Jet replied before heading up the ramp to find Annie.

Isabel approached Tucker slowly. She knew that she’d overreacted earlier, but at the same time, she was still a little upset about the comment he had made. Even if the extremity of her reaction was due to hormones, she had meant every word she said.

When she reached him, she simply stood in front of him, not quite able to look up and meet the warm chocolate eyes she loved. What could she say? She felt bad about hurting him, but her feelings were hurt, too.

Tucker looked down to watch Izzy’s timid movements. Her shoulders were slumped slightly, and she was paying careful attention to her fingers that were playing with the red strap on her dance team bag.

The soft wind that was blowing made the wisps of hair around her face brush gently against her creamy skin, the stadium lights highlighting her striking, soft features.

She looked beautiful in her solemn stance, but her sadness made his heart ache. It didn’t matter that she had been harsh with him that afternoon. She had had reason enough without his remark.

His arms reached out and wrapped gently around her, pulling her into a tender embrace. He held her there for several long moments before he gently lifted her chin, tilting her head so that he could look into her eyes. Eyes that seemed to make his heart stutter in his chest each time he looked into them.

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