Page 107 of Third and Ten

“I will.” He stares at me until another coach calls his name, reminding him that they’re a minute away from kickoff. “I’m sorry, I have to go. But I’ll be there with y’all tomorrow, I promise.”

“Don’t worry about us. We’ll be okay,” I try to reassure him. “Good luck.”

He grabs my arm and pulls me in for a hug, catching me off guard, and whispers into my ear that he loves me. I guess we’re breaking the rules tonight. I inhale deeply as I allow myself to indulge in the comfort of his embrace, just for a second. Then we pull away, and he turns back toward the sideline.

Caidence comes over a second later, her ponytail bouncing. “Is it Mr. Jude?” she asks as soon as she sees my expression.

“Yeah,” I answer quietly. “He seems to have gotten worse this afternoon, so we’re going to go back, just in case.”

She reaches out and places her hand on my forearm, offering me a small bit of comfort. “I’ll be praying for y’all. We all will.”

“Thank you, I appreciate that. I’ll have Ethan send you an update when we can.”

She nods and gives me a sympathetic smile before returning to her squad, and I reflect on how much I like Ethan’s girlfriend as I walk off to join him at the gate.

“I told Caidence we were leaving,” I inform him as we exit the stadium.

“Oh, thank you,” he says.

We hurry to my car, and he finally speaks again once we’re on the road. “So, um, speaking of Caidence…”

“Yeah?”

“She mentioned seeing you and JD together today.”

I open my mouth to speak but think better of it when I remember that JD and I were interrupted in the stairwell earlier. She must have walked in on us. “Oh,” is all I say.

“Oh?” He huffs. “So much for not embarrassing me.”

“I’m sorry. We didn’t think anyone would see us, all right? But people will find out eventually,” I explain in my defense.

“Yeah, especially now that you’re serious.”

“What do you mean by that?” I ask, my heart rate quickening.

“I read his lips just now, when you guys were hugging in front of everyone. I came back to remind Coach about something I’d seen in the game film, and it looked like he was saying he loves you.”

My face flushes.

“That’s what Caidence overheard, too, isn’t it?”

I can’t help but smile. “Probably.” But when I glance at him again, he looks much more sullen than I expect. “You don’t seem happy about it.”

“It’s none of my business, I guess,” he says, crossing his arms.

“I didn’t think either of us needed to ask you permission to make that declaration, but I suppose it’s still somewhat your business,” I clarify. His response is a grunt. “Okay. Want to tell me why you’re so upset, then? Because I could have sworn you wanted us to be together, last I checked, which was—oh, yeah, this morning.”

“Well, I did. I mean, I do.”

“Then what’s the problem with us being…serious?” It’s still hard for me to get that last part out.

“I guess I just can’t understand how you weren’t ready to date him until a month ago, and now you’re saying you love each other. Wait, are you in love with him, too?”

I bite my lip and take a deep breath before I confess. “It sounds crazy, but I think I am. Does that bother you?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. It’s just that everything is changing, and it’s all happening really fast,” he rambles anxiously.

“You’re not wrong. It feels that way for me too, bud.” I stare at the road for a while. “But Ethan, even though some of these changes are sad ones, there are some good things happening, too, right?”

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