Page 14 of Falling for the Quarterback
I wait until I’ve climbed into the driver’s side to explain the significance. “A little boy I met named Dylan had cancer, and he gave the bracelet to me. I wear it throughout the year in his honor, so I never forget how lucky I am at getting to live another day. He asked me to live for him, to do great things one day. I promised I would, that I’d make my life count since he wasn’t getting the same chance.”
She has tears in her eyes when I glance over. She stares out her window for a moment before confessing, “I wasn’t expecting that. I’m sorry,” she apologizes and swipes at a tear that falls. “I’m being emotional.”
“Hey, don’t apologize for having feelings. Seriously, it was a rough moment, even for me. Dylan was a sweet kid, and one thing I wish is that I’d met him sooner. It’s one reason why I stop by the children’s hospital monthly to donate and visit. I don’t want to miss meeting another great kid like Dylan, and lose out on the opportunity of knowing him a little better before he passes.”
“It’s just, you see people wear those plastic band bracelets and it’s usually for something insignificant, like a sports team or something. And, here you have the saddest, but most noteworthy story to yours. You have depth, JJ, and I appreciate that. I’m sure those kids do, too, when they have a new face to visit them each month.”
I offer her a small smile; grateful she doesn’t see me as just another meathead due to my size. I’m not bulky like most of my teammates, but I still get stuck under the dumb jock stigmatism. I don’t miss the remark about the sports team being an insignificant reason, so it has me asking before I can stop myself, “Do you not like sports?”
She grins, the moment before eased by the subject change. “Actually, I love sports. Adore them,especiallyfootball.”
“You don’t say,” my voice comes out a bit strangled. I hope she doesn’t notice. Does that mean she does actually know who I am?
“Yep, hugeTB12fan. I mean huge! Give me the Bucks or New England. Ugh, even several others. I’m kind of addicted to theKnock Aboutsshow HFO does on the teams. Each team I don’t care for, that I watch the show about, I end up becoming sort of a fan. Minus the Dirty Birds, they play ugly and always will in my opinion. It’s the players mostly. I stopped being a one-team woman. Def not a Dallas fan. For sure.”
I swallow a bit roughly. She must not recognize me since she’s basically told me she’s a huge fan of the best quarterback alive and claims not to be a fan of Dallas. I’ll admit it stings a little, having the woman I’m interested in claim to be such a big fan of my favorite sport that I’ve devoted my life to and not know who I am or root for the team I help lead. The team I’m still lucky enough to have a contract with, given my age in the sport. I may be younger than Kinsley, but in football, I’m damn near considered a grandpa.
“Not a Texas fan, hm?”
“Nope, unless it’s hockey. I’m all in on Texas hockey.”
Of course she is, and I’m friends with a few of those guys too. Kind of rubs salt in my metaphorical wound.
“I had a really good time, thank you,” she comments as I pull to a stop in her driveway.
“I’m glad. I did too. Why do you have the privacy fence across your driveway, too, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“For more security. Plus, this way my dogs have even more space to run around on.”
I nod, glancing at her. I’ve had to stop myself from staring all night long. Her hand goes to the door handle, and I reach for her fingers closest to me to stop her. “I’m going to come around and helpyou out. Before I do, I want to know…” I pause, trying to build up the courage to ask her, when I’ve never had this issue in the past. Something about Kinsley throws me off kilter and makes me want to try harder than I ever have before with a woman. “Can I, uh, kiss you?”
She stares at me for a solid two minutes, making me hold my breath. Her eyes move over my face, taking me in, almost as if she’s having an internal battle over what her answer should be. I swear, sweat blooms on the back of my neck; she’s so intense.
Finally, she says, “Abso-fucking-lutely.”
Chapter Seven
Kinsley
“Thekisswaseverything.”
He’d helped me out of his truck and then walked me to the front of it, near my gate lock. His hands landed on my hips, and he leaned in ever so slightly, almost as if he was double-checking he had my permission. Didn’t this man know I was smitten with him already at this point? I was. Hook, line, sinker, it was a done deal, and I wanted him fiercely. It’s been so long since I’d had a first kiss, I’d say at least twenty-two years, and it was so much more than I remembered.
He'd tenderly brushed the tip of his nose against mine; my toes already curled in anticipation. When I’d moved a touch closer, he’d finally taken the hint, and his lips met mine. They were warm, soft, and gentle, reminding me of perfect pillows. He had the type of lips you’d never grow tired of kissing, the kind you set to memory so you’d never forget. His tongue met mine, carefully at first, before putting a punch of passion behind it. He tasted like pizza and sweet tea and something else that I can only think of as delicious man. God, he’d made me go wild for him inside, my mind spinning, stomach flipping, core heating, and my heart beating…all for his kiss.
“I can’t believe you didn’t drag him inside and jump him,” my best friend comments, with a laugh. “If it’d been that long for me, you wouldn’t have seen him come up for air for at least a few days.”
I roll my eyes because, like I had been, she’s married, and has been for forever. Only I broke that curse, while she’s still stuck over there in love with her husband. “I wanted to, trust me.”
“I hear a silentbutin there somewhere.”
She knows me too well.
“But he’s young and I want to take things slowly this time around. I knew my ex for a few months before giving him all of me, and look where it led me. I lost myself doing whatever I could to make him happy, and it made me beyond miserable. This time around, if I’m going to be with someone, I want it to be for the right reasons. I don’t want to lose the person I am, nor be forced to put up with someone ungrateful and unwilling to compromise on anything.”
She knows a little about how poorly my ex was in our relationship, but I don’t think she knows to what depth. By the time we divorced, I couldn’t stand him or his touch. I wanted to not be anywhere near him and came up with whatever excuse I could find to not have to deal with his negativity. The constant bitching about anything and everything, then coming to bed with the audacity of saying I wasn’t doing enough.
I did everything.
