Page 16 of Zone Protection

“Archie, who is Emma?” my mom asks.

“Oh shit. Sorry, Ma. My friend Emma is here, I gotta go. I’ll call you later. Love you, Mama.”

“To the moon, baby. Call me later. I want to know wh?—”

I end the call before she can say anything else.

Emma smiles. “Mama’s boy?”

I shrug. “I mean … no? I’m the oldest of six and the favorite though, so you know how it is,” I say, laughing.

Her smile falls. “Right. So, wow … you have a big family then?”

“Yeah, all boys too.”

“Are they all, like, your size?” She has her backpack over her shoulder, and she shifts it to the other one.

“Uh, yeah, pretty much. Aiden is close to my size. And the four youngest brothers are getting close.” I stop talking and smile at her. “But I don’t think you came here to ask about my family, did you?”

“Oh, right. Yeah, no, I didn’t. So, um, how are you?” She’s gripping the strap of her bag so tight that her knuckles are turning white.

“Hey, let me take your bag for you. You want to come in? I just made a protein shake. I can make you one, if you want.” I reach my hand out, and she hands me her backpack.

“No, thanks. I’m sorry to drop by like this, but there’s something I need to tell you.” Her face is turning a little pink.

I’m not sure what it is she needs to tell me, but I’m pretty fucking happy she’s here.

“Oh yeah. Shoot. Follow me to the kitchen. Water? Gatorade? We don’t drink soda during the season, but I think my roommate has some of those sparkling waters if you want one of those.”

“I’m good. Are your roommates here right now?” she asks.

I pull out one of the chairs at the kitchen table and drop her bag on it. “No, it’s almost time for practice, so I think they left for the field house already. And Charlie, our other roommate, is in class or her sorority house.”

“Oh! I didn’t realize a girl lived here.”

I nod. “Yep. She is Casey King’s twin and Beckham Linson’s girl.”

She releases a breath. “Oh good. That’s good. Sounds fun.”

I can tell she’s nervous, but I’m not sure why. Is she embarrassed by the night we spent together? She did take off at some point during the night. When I woke up, she was gone, as was my Texas Forever shirt.

“So, Emma with no last name, I’ve been looking for you.”

Her eyes widen. “You’ve been looking for me? Why?”

I bark out a laugh. “Well, you pretty much blew my mind that night we spent together, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you.”

She stands there, looking at me with a shocked expression on her face.

“Does that surprise you?” I mean, it is out of the norm for me, but she doesn’t need me to tell her that.

“Sorry.” She shakes her head. “I’m just trying to figure out why you would be looking for me. I know your reputation—which is totally fine, by the way! I get it. College fun and all that. But, um, yeah. I think I’ll just come out and say it. I find it’s easier if I just blurt things out when I’m nervous.”

I reach out to take her arm, and she lets me.

“Hey, are you okay? You don’t need to be nervous with me. I’m stoked to see you. I’m not lying when I said I’ve been looking for you. I’ve been to Schuster and Smith’s house more times than I’d like to admit. I even scoped out a few other parties to see if you were there.”

She tries not to smile and rolls her lips in. “Good to know.”

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