Page 92 of Fumbling for Perfection

Idoenjoy volunteering. Hell, the entirety of my free time and ninety-nine percent of my social life centered around volunteering and my organization I founded in San Francisco.

I’m gonna accept the oxygen mask analogy. While it’s important to give back and help others, you have to take care of yourself first. Something I never did. Until now. Making Riley my priorityistaking care of myself.

I scramble a couple eggs and eat three slices of peanut butter toast and wash it all down with a tall glass of milk, then jog a mile through the city streets to the volunteer tent. I signed up online last week and didn’t tell Riley about it. There’s a chance she saw my name on the list of volunteers, but if she had, she would have texted me about it. Maybe.

The element of surprise has me grinning like a lovesick fool as I pull my baseball cap lower down my forehead and check in with a woman wearing a bright yellow and blue volunteer shirt.

When I’m all checked in and given my assignment of unloading cases of water bottles from a box truck to another tent area, I tug my new shirt over my plain white T and scan the area for Riley.

There has to be at least a hundred people milling around, setting up, laughing, flipping through their papers on their clipboards. Twenty minutes later, I’m breaking a sweat and still no sign of Riley.

“There he is.”

I turn around, shocked as hell to see Dec. “What are you doing here?”

“Figured I’d call your bluff.” He gives me a cheeky grin and takes off his Revolutions T-shirt, making no rush to cover his naked torso with his volunteer shirt.

“Dude. There’s no one here to play hero worship with you. Cover your string bean chest.”

“Oh my God, are you Declan Anderson?” A woman rushes over to us and glances at me and freezes. “And you’re Walker Bankes?”

“I am and he is,” Dec says with a flirtatious smile. It doesn’t matter that the woman is old enough to be his mother, he lays on the charm thick and heavy to anyone who gives him attention.

“Wow. This is so, just, wow. Aren’t you leaving this afternoon for your game in North Carolina tomorrow afternoon?”

Impressed that this woman follows our team and not just our faces, I hold out my hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Have you been volunteering with Riley for a while?”

And, yeah, I may be impressed she knows football, but I’m not going to miss my opportunity to ask about Riley.

“It’s my third 5K with her. Each year is better and better. The media will be here this year. Oh, is it because you two are here?”

“I mean—” Dec starts, but I cut him off.

“No. We were last minute volunteers. I’d rather the media focus on the contributions Boston Strong is doing for kids in the community than making it about us.”

The woman sighs and gives me puppy dog eyes. “You are a big, soft sweetie, aren’t you?” She squeezes my forearm and clucks her tongue. “Well, it was nice meeting you boys. I need to get back to my station.”

The woman jogs off without even introducing herself or telling me where I can find Riley.

“Ouch. I’ve never felt so snubbed.” Dec rubs his hand up and down his sternum.

I rip his spare shirt from his hands and snap it at him. “Doing volunteer work isn’t about stroking your ego, rook.”

“I’m kidding, old man.” He snags his shirt back and attempts to whip my hip with it.

I may be a decade older, but I’m faster than him. I jump to the side and stumble into a woman, nearly knocking her on her ass. I wrap my arms around her waist and haul her into my chest, and citrus and vanilla hit me before I realize my luck.

“Fancy running into you here,” I whisper in Riley’s ear.

“Walker?” She pushes back slightly and tips her face up to me. “What are you doing here?”

“Volunteering.” I give her a wink and lift my shoulder so she can see my shirt.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

My fingers dig into her hips and I lower my chin and my voice. “I wasn’t sure if you were ready for me to...come.”

Her cheeks turn a beautiful shade of pink and she blinks her eyes a million times. I can see her brain running a million miles a minute before she shakes her head and lets out a slow sigh.

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