Page 36 of Forever Yours

“Where’re you from?” David asked.

The soles of our shoes crunched along the crushed slate pathway.

“Highland. You?”

The summer night’s breeze circled lazily around us. I caught a hint of his cologne, something spicy and warm.

“Durham. I’m surprised we never met, seeing as we only lived about an hour apart, and our football teams played against one another.”

The only football games I went to were with Julien and the guys whenever Fallen Brook played a home game because their friends were on the team.

“Football isn’t my thing.”

David knocked my shoulder. “We’ll have to change that. We’re playing Duke in two weeks. Home game. I’ll reserve some seats for you if you want to come.”

My footsteps stumbled but I recovered quickly. I wasn’t used to receiving sudden gestures of kindness from most people. First Ash, then David, Lamar, and Shawn. It was weird, but in a good way. A way that had me thinking that CU might just work out after all.

“Yeah. Absolutely. Thanks so much.”

“What’s your last name?” David asked next.

His abrupt change of subject made me chuckle. “Are we playing twenty questions?”

“Just answer the question, blondie.”

Caught off guard by the nickname, I cocked my head in his direction. It almost sounded like he was flirting with me.

“It’s Barnes. Why?”

“Just curious. Does that shit happen a lot?”

He didn’t have to say what shit. I knew what he was referring to.

Threading my fingers through my tamed curls, I looked across the yard at the house and all the people.

“Since I came out to everyone? Not much. Everybody at school was afraid of Fallon and knew he’d come after them.”

His head bobbed as he nodded. “Those are the best friends to have.”

I was lucky in that respect. I had a small village of people in my corner who would always have my back.

“Is that who Shawn and Lamar are for you?”

“One thousand fucking percent,” he replied. “We didn’t grow up in the best part of Durham. Lots of crime, gangs, drugs. My best friend was killed in a drive-by, and my brother is serving twenty because he decided that selling drugs to kids was easy money. Me, Lamar, and Shawn didn’t want to wind up going down that road, so we watched each other’s backs and worked our asses off on the football field. It paid off cause here we all are. Full scholarships.”

“Congrats, man. That’s awesome. It’s kind of amazing that you all got football scholarships to the same college.”

His mouth curved in a proud smile. “What are the fucking odds, huh? Guess we have that in common. You and your guy are here together… what? What’s that look for?”

I really needed to work on my poker face.

I made the decision to come to CU. It was my choice. A choice I would make again in a heartbeat. However, dreams of Stanford and the different path my life would’ve taken still lingered in my thoughts. There would always be thatwhat if.

“It’s really nothing. Just some stuff I’m dealing with.”

His tawny eyes slid my way. “If you ever need an ear to listen, I’m your guy.”

When I stopped walking, David turned around.

---