Page 45 of Hometown Touchdown
I pause. One beat. Two.
Everything in me itches. The guilt, the ache, the part that still hopes Knox knocks on my door with that same wounded expression he wore when he brought me that stupid bunny and a heating pad.
But he’s dating. He’s moving on. So maybe I should too. I lift my chin and smile. “Sure. Why not?”
His eyes brighten. “Yeah?”
I nod. “One date. And I pick the place.”
Chapter twenty-one
Knox
SinceBrynnmovedback,I’ve been stopping by Gordy’s more than usual after practice. Sometimes with Cam. Sometimes just because I’m not ready to go home and stare at the wall I share with she who shall remain nameless.
Cam’s already in a booth when I walk in, fries in front of him and a strawberry milkshake in hand—his excuse always being “balance.” Ty, the new hockey coach, is across from him demolishing a burger. I slide in next to Cam.
“How was practice?” Ty asks between bites.
“Solid,” I say, reaching for a fry. “Drills are clicking. Defense is finally talking like a team instead of five guys screaming in five directions.”
Cam smirks. “I should record it. Use it as leverage.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“I would.”
Ty wipes his mouth with a napkin. “You football guys are lucky. I had a kid throw up on the ice yesterday. Not from skating. From sheer nerves.”
“Underclassman?” I guess.
He nods. “Took one check and skated to the bench like he’d seen death. Then, bam. Technicolor yawn.”
Cam nearly chokes on a fry. “You sure it wasn’t conditioning?”
“Nope. Just panic.”
“The kid realize the season hasn’t even gotten hard yet, right?” I say, shaking my head.
“At least my players don’t cry over a broken nail,” Ty counters.
“You’d be surprised,” I mutter into my root beer.
Cam nudges my elbow. “So…went on a date Monday.”
“Oh God,” Ty says. “Already regretting asking, but how did it go?”
“Not so great. Karaoke night.”
“There’s your first mistake,” I say.
“She sang ‘My Heart Will Go On.’ And cried. On stage.”
Ty’s face contorts. “She cried?”
“Full tears,” Cam confirms. “Told me a psychic said she and Leonardo DiCaprio were twin flames in a past life.”
Ty and I stare.
