Page 27 of Summer Message

“That sounds like a good idea. I’m starving and you know that I’m addicted to pizza.” She kisses me.

We are walking back to my office when Mr. Martin stops me.“I hope you’re not trying to steal him away from us.” He shakes Kristina’s hand.

“I would never. You have a great school here.”

“Thank you. We try. Have a good weekend.” He walks away.

Kristina and I stare at each other than shrug. We keep walking as I place the order for pizza. We’re in my office and she’s on her phone texting while I’m looking over the plays for tonight. She sighs as she puts her phone away. It’s a sad sigh.

“What’s that sigh for?”

“How are we going to do this? I keep staring at my calendar. The next time I’ll see you is when you come to play at my high school.”

“Hey, we’re here now. I don’t know how this can work, but I know that we’re stronger than we give ourselves credit for. Football season isn’t going to last forever, and once January hits, I’ll have more time.”

“How can you be so confident?”

I don’t really know the answer to that question. I stare at her for a moment and it hits me.

“It’s simple. Love.”

There’s a knock on my open door, and I see the pizza delivery guy standing there. I thank him and we eat in silence for a while. I stare at Kristina, knowing that she’s having an internal argument with her head and heart.

17

Kristina

Can love conquer the distance and no time together?

I guess since we started out texting each other, we might as well keep that going for another four months. I’m eating in silence, going through the thoughts in my head.

“Do you think you could share the thoughts swirling around in that pretty little head of yours?” Matt grabs my wrist.

“I know that we’ll be okay because of how we started. The physical contact will have to wait, but the emotional intimacy will still grow.” Or at least, I hope. I swallow hard.

It’s time for the players to start coming in to get ready, so I make my way out of Matt’s office and towards the football field. Parents and cheerleaders are here while the other team’s cheering section starts to arrive. I buy my ticket and grab something to drink while I wait for the junior varsity team to start their game. I’m in the stands by myself, watching the band get in their section. The excitement that the kids are feeling that it’s not just the weekend but football night is contagious.

My phone rings and I see it’s Matt calling me. “Hey, babe.” I hear a lot of chatter going on at his end.

“Sounds like you’re having a lot of fun.” I tell him with a laugh. “The JV team is on the field getting ready to play.”

“Good. It will be a good game for you to watch, then I’ll come out to do my thing.” I hear him shut the door. “Then I can get you alone for the rest of the weekend.”

“I like that idea.”

The band starts playing and I can’t hear any more, so we hang up. The JV team lost by three points in a well fought game. The band and cheerleaders are keeping us entertained. I’m having so much fun and I’m meeting some of the parents of the varsity team. They were told to come say hi to “Mrs. Coach”. I laugh at that.

The Varsity teams come to the field and everyone stands to cheer. I can’t help but feel pride in my chest. Matt is standing there wearing his white and blue polo shirt with his black cargo shorts. He looks so handsome. He’s looking at his clipboard as the guys huddle around him. I spend the next three hours watching the game, almost losing my voice as I watch my boyfriend’s team win. Now I’m standing in the parking lot next to his truck watching people leaving.

I say goodbye to the team as they walk past me and smile at the parents. I sigh because I’m starting to get sore standing here, so I walk around his truck. I look like a dork, but my back is killing me. As I come around the front of the vehicle, Matt is standing there laughing.

“What are you doing?” He teases me.

“My back is killing me so I’m trying to move around some.” My voice is hoarse.

“Come on. I’ll drive. We’ll pick your car up tomorrow. I already spoke to security and maintenance about it.” He opens my door and kisses me as he pushes me up against the door. “I’ll rub you down.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me.

“We never get to the massaging of my back because you always start with my front.” I stick my tongue out at him.

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