Page 84 of Afterglow
“Why’s that?”
“Well, he and my grandfather played for Dallas. So, he thinks it would be cool to keep the legacy going but I don’t want to be in his shadow,”
“And your mum?” Ashley asked.
Jazmine’s eyes bulged. “Mum, I told you not to mention her.”
“It’s fine, Princess. She passed away four years ago,”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Ashley replies.
I smile softly. “It’s okay, I know she is still with me.”
Loud giggles and footsteps echo from the front of the house. A child sprints into the room, screaming as she runs into Jazmine’s arms. These must be some of heryounger cousins. The girl couldn’t be more than five and she resembles Jazmine with her curly blonde hair.
Jaz spins her around but the small girl’s eyes find me. “Who’s that?”
I move closer to her and Jazmine. “I’m Theo, what’s your name?”
She giggles. “Katie. Are you Jazzy’s boyfriend?”
This kid is smart. “Yeah, I am.”
“You’re really tall. Can you give me a piggyback ride?” She smiles, batting her eyes. I can’t say no. This girl is going to break some hearts in the future.
“How about we ask your parents?” I’m a stranger so I don’t want to do anything the parents wouldn’t.
Jazmine introduces me to Katie’s parents. Payton and Kaleb—Payton is George’s youngest sister. They also have another kid, Peter. He is eight years old and loves sports. When I tell Payton and Kaleb I play football, they laugh and say:
“Don’t mention that to Peter, you’ll be roped into teaching him for as long as you're here,”
I smile, shrugging my shoulders. “I wouldn’t mind,”
The time passes quickly and I meet Emma and Dante as well as their kids, Rosie and Sloane, who are ten and eight respectively.
We have been sharing stories, a popular one being how Jazmine and I got together. Her family members laughed excessively, but they all seemed super happy.
I can only assume that means I have the stamp of approval.
***
I watch the sun close in on the horizon, flicking my vision back to Jazmine. She is relaxed as every inch of tension has been released, while her smile hasn’t wavered since we arrived. My eyes don’t leave Jaz as she explains our research project and her internship with Cooper and Byrd.
Jazmine commands my attention, even when she does the simplest actions, all I can look at is her. She may be mine now, but I have always beenhers.
I’ve been trying to put into words every emotion that Jaz has pulled from me, not only from the past month but from the very beginning of our story. Drunk in love is the thought that is tattooed into my brain.
Love.
The four-letter word smashes into me, my heart thumping. Despite being scared, I think I fell a long time ago at multiple times: the first-time being freshman year, the second time was after her panic attack when I took care of her and the most recent time being on the football field after we won.
“You, okay?” Jazmine asks, snapping me from my thoughts.
“Yeah,” I smile. “Come with me for a second. I want to tell you something,” Jazmine nodded her head.
I saw both her aunts wiggling their eyebrows at Jaz when she carted me away. She only rolled her eyes.
Eventually, we made it to the edge of the Allen’s backyard. The sunset painting the backdrop for themoment. It’s perfect, reminding me of Jazmine pulling me from the dark place in my mind after a bad football game.
