Page 34 of Flame After the Fumble

“And what if I do?” My annoyance comes out because it’s none of his business who I’m pursuing.

“Liza doesn’tdorelationships,” he deadpans. “And you know this already.” Crossing his arms over his chest and letting out a concerned breath, he continues, “You know what she has going with Locke.”

“I can change her mind.” My jaw tightens at the thought of Liza not believing that I can be good for her. “And she and Locke arenothing.”

“You do you. I just don’t want you getting hurt in the process.” He pats my shoulder again before backing away. “Or a brawl between teammates in the locker room.”

“Aye, aye, Cap!” I salute him as Coach whistles, signaling the start of practice. I throw on my helmet and smack it a few times before running to the huddle.

After the first few warm up drills, I take my helmet off to wipe the sweat and grass from my forehead. Glancing into the empty stands, my eyes land on her in a white tank top tucked into a flowy, black athletic skirt. Her pencil scribbles onto the sketch pad that rests on her knees. As if she can feel my eyes on her, she glances up from her work and waves, showing off how comfortable she is when she’s sketching. Her hair is half up half down, as it flows in the rare, cool wind. I wink, push my helmet back on my sweaty head, and join the rest of the guys for playbook walk throughs. I texted her earlier, asking her to wait for me after practice, so I could tell her bye, but I have other plans.

Once Coach lets us off the hook for the day, I take the quickest shower of my life in the locker room and speed out without talking to my teammates, earning questionable looks from Mason and Ryan. I hustle out of the facility and meet her by my car as promised.

“Goldie.” I jog up to her and wrap her fitted frame into a hug. What I really want to do is toss her on the hood of this car and kiss her until her lips swell, but I’m balancing between showing her affection and realizing she’s a flight risk. “Did you get the sketch you wanted?”

“Even better.” She twists and bites her bottom lip. “Seeing you out there gives me all sorts of ideas.”

My face lights up and twists in mischief with ideas of my own.

“For sketches!” She lightly smacks my chest and laughs. “You might never get rid of me.”

“Sounds like we need to do this more often.”

“Maybe.” She shakes her head and laughs. “Why did you want me to wait for you?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” Walking to the passenger side, I open the door and gesture for her to take a seat. “Get in.”

“Excuse me?” she sasses. “I don’t get in a man’s car without knowing the destination.”

I lean in close and tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Do you trust me?”

“I’m working on it.”

“Then, give me a chance to earn it.”

“Fine.” She shuffles to join me, and I wait until she’s buckled in to shut the door and slide across the hood to my side.

“Have you lost your mind? You could have dented your hood!”

“And lose the wow factor of how cool that moment was? Never.” I crank up the engine and place one hand on the wheel before peeling out of the parking lot and onto the highway. We drive in tranquil silence for a few miles before detouring off course down a makeshift gravel road.

“I’m trying, really I am, but this is getting sketchy.” She grips the door handle and taps her feet on the floorboard. She shifts uncomfortably in her seat, changing positions every few seconds.

I chuckle, but give her no indication of where I’m bringing her. “Don’t stress. We’re here.” I park on the edge of the overgrown brush and hop out of the car to grab her door. She scoots out and pats the wrinkles out of her outfit before gathering her hair to one side and stroking her fingers through the strands. “Here.” I reach my hand out for her to place in mine in order to guide her through the wild area. She intertwines her smooth fingers with my calloused ones as I lead her through the overgrown, grassy hills. A few steps before we reach the surprise location, I drop behind her and place my hands over her eyes. “Follow me.”

She nods and allows me to guide her blindly the rest of the way to the field.

“Okay, we’re here.” Batting her eyes a few times to adjust to the sun, she takes in her surroundings.

“How did you know?” Her hands clasp over her mouth as she takes a few steps forward to admire the bountiful wildflower field in front of us.

“Lucky guess with the assortment of flowers you stick behind that pretty little ear.”

“This is amazing. How did you find this place?” She crouches down and strokes her hand over a patch of yellow, purple, and white mini daisy looking flowers.

“I explore the outskirts of town when my mind feels too full. It keeps me sane. I stumbled across this field last year. It reminds me of you.”

After admiring the flowers, she picks one of each and hands the makeshift bouquet to me. “Could you?” She gestures to the nook behind her ear by moving her hair away, creating space.

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