Page 26 of Our Secret Moments

I catch the slight glimmer in her eyes as she talks, as well as the tightness of her voice. “Your mind is extraordinary, Cat, you know that?”

I watch as her face softens a little before a ridiculous smile spreads across her face. “I know,” she sighs, throwing her hair over her shoulder in that simple yet sexy way that I like. “God, it’s exhausting being this incredibleeveryday.”

“Big ego too,” I mutter.

She rolls her eyes at me, getting back into her serious position. “So, Connie,” she says. Fuck. I love it when she uses my nickname like that. “When did you fall in love with football? And you’ve got to tell me the truth because I know when it was too.I saw it in those tiny little eyes.” She coos at me, scrunching her face up.

I know exactly what she’s talking about.

It’s the only memory I can replay before a game that calms me down.

“The morning after mine and Nora’s eighth birthday,” I whisper, laughing a little. Catherine’s whole face lights up, fidgeting to get into a more comfortable position as if this is the best story she’s ever heard. If it makes her this happy, I’d tell her over a hundred times. “We went to the Cheesecake Factory like we did every year. Wes was busy giving Nora a Wet Willy, and she was screaming and squirming so badly that she fell off the chair and then Russell Wilson picked her up. I had recognised him from the TV and at that point I wasn’t that big of a fan. I only watched it when my dad said I could stay up late to watch the highlights. He looked at me when Nora got back to her feet. All he did was nod at me and…”

“And you haven’t been the same since,” she says, finishing my thought for me dramatically.

A laugh escapes me as I shake my head. “It was pathetic. I bought every magazine, used up all my pocket money to buy my first football and a Russell Wilson jersey. I begged Wes’s dad and my dad to run drills with us in the park while you guys watched from the swings.”

Her smile falters. “My mom loved watching you guys play. She would talk about it over dinner and how she secretly wished she had more kids, a boy.”

I nudge my foot against her knee playfully. “You could still play football.”

She barks out a laugh. “With my two left feet? Yeah, right.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” I reply, laughing. “I don’t think it would be a good look for me either.”

Catherine tilts her head to the side, zeroing in her gaze on me. “Why’s that?”

“Because I think that if you tried hard enough, you could be great at anything, Cat and I mean that,” I admit. She sucks in a breath at my admission. “I’ve seen you through every awkward stage imaginable. Which also means that I saw you try out for every extracurricular in high school until you found your calling. Just because you didn’t stick with football on the first try, if you wanted to, you could try again, and you’d probably be better than me.”

She tightens the blanket around her again, shifting uncomfortably. “You have a lot of faith in me, huh?”

“Somebody has to.”

She lifts one perfectly shaped brow. “What does that mean?”

I sigh. “Nothing,” I say, shaking my head. She’s clearly not going to let this go. I shouldn’t have said anything anyway. “It’s just because your dad– I haven’t– Recently he’s just been–”

“A dick?” she finishes. I nod slowly. Eric has always been kind to us. Before Catherine’s mom passed, we’d have weekly dinners together in the Mackenzie’s backyard. He’d always help out at barbecues and play with us at the park, but since her mom passed, he’s not been to any get-togethers at all. “Yeah, I don’t know. He’s trying though. Sort of.”

“Well, I’ll always be your cheerleader, Kit-Cat,” I say, and she rolls her eyes at the nickname.

“You should take some of the faith you have in me and use it in yourself,” she whispers quietly. “I think you’re just too in your head about this, Connie. Trust me, with a bit more practice, you’ll be fine. You’re confident in every other way. This shouldn’t be any different.”

When she puts it like that, it actually seems possible. She makes it seem like I have some sort of potential. It’s been a whilesince someone has believed in me like that and I want to feel like that all the time.

TWELVE

CAT/CONNOR

KILL ME AND MY UTERUS NOW.

CAT

It seemsto me that I can’t go a week at school this year without something ridiculous happening. First being ambushed into doing the new project, then getting roped into helping Connor by the water fountain and now Wes is walking alongside me with Sam on the other side. I know Coach said they’re like hyperactive puppies, but they have crippling attachment issues too.

“Hey, Cathy,” Wes and Sam say in unison. They smell like ass which is helpful because I was supposed to meet Elle and Nora for lunch. Strangely, I don’t see that happening anymore. Wes slings his arm around my shoulder, causing me to sway a little as he walks with me.

“Samuel, Wesley, to what do I owe this pleasure?” I ask.

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