Page 24

Hartley

N ext week is here and I’m buzzing with excitement for afternoon practice.

This isn’t an ordinary practice, though.

Liza is coming to sketch, and the primal part of me is ready for her to see me break a few legs on the field with my superior route running.

What she doesn’t know is that I planned a date that is too good to refuse after I finish up.

Kissing Liza was everything I thought it would be, and as I predicted, she became flighty after.

Texts were left unanswered, and she came up with every excuse in the book to avoid my presence until she had to see me to work on her project.

I’m going to prove that I’m not her loser ex and that I can give her everything she wants and needs out of someone.

I won’t mess up this opportunity to prove myself to her.

“Done daydreaming, Knox?” Mason yells, jolting me out of my head and back onto the field.

“Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not.” Standing with my helmet in hand, I jog toward him. “The world may never know.”

“You’re a certified nutcase.” He laughs and shakes his head. “How are the grades looking?” As team captain, Mason gets weekly reports from Coach about who’s struggling academically. It holds us accountable while also having a teammate check in instead of the coaching staff.

“Better. The tutoring has been working.”

“Well good, man.” He pats my back. “You’re more talented than you give yourself credit for.” A closed lipped smile forms across his face. “Or maybe it took a certain bubbly blonde to kick you into gear.”

I knew it wouldn’t take long for word about Liza tutoring me to travel to the locker room. A few of my teammates passed by the study room while we were there, and they did a double take before leaving. Football players are the worst gossips on campus.

“She’s amazing isn’t she?” I smile at my captain, but envision Liza’s laugh and the crinkle her nose makes when she does.

“Wait. . .” He pushes my shoulder to face him. He tilts his head as if he’s searching my face for a secret code. “You like her,” he says matter-of-factly.

“And what if I do?” My annoyance comes out because it’s none of his business who I’m pursuing.

“Liza doesn’t do relationships,” he deadpans. “And you know this already.” Crossing his arms over his chest and letting out a concerned breath, he continues, “You know what she has going with Locke.”

“I can change her mind.” My jaw tightens at the thought of Liza not believing that I can be good for her. “And she and Locke are nothing .”

“You do you. I just don’t want you getting hurt in the process.” He pats my shoulder again before backing away. “Or a brawl between teammates in the locker room.”

“Aye, aye, Cap!” I salute him as Coach whistles, signaling the start of practice. I throw on my helmet and smack it a few times before running to the huddle.

After the first few warm up drills, I take my helmet off to wipe the sweat and grass from my forehead.

Glancing into the empty stands, my eyes land on her in a white tank top tucked into a flowy, black athletic skirt.

Her pencil scribbles onto the sketch pad that rests on her knees.

As if she can feel my eyes on her, she glances up from her work and waves, showing off how comfortable she is when she’s sketching.

Her hair is half up half down, as it flows in the rare, cool wind.

I wink, push my helmet back on my sweaty head, and join the rest of the guys for playbook walk throughs.

I texted her earlier, asking her to wait for me after practice, so I could tell her bye, but I have other plans.

Once Coach lets us off the hook for the day, I take the quickest shower of my life in the locker room and speed out without talking to my teammates, earning questionable looks from Mason and Ryan. I hustle out of the facility and meet her by my car as promised.

“Goldie.” I jog up to her and wrap her fitted frame into a hug. What I really want to do is toss her on the hood of this car and kiss her until her lips swell, but I’m balancing between showing her affection and realizing she’s a flight risk. “Did you get the sketch you wanted?”

“Even better.” She twists and bites her bottom lip. “Seeing you out there gives me all sorts of ideas.”

My face lights up and twists in mischief with ideas of my own.

“For sketches!” She lightly smacks my chest and laughs. “You might never get rid of me.”

“Sounds like we need to do this more often.”

“Maybe.” She shakes her head and laughs. “Why did you want me to wait for you?”

“I thought you’d never ask.” Walking to the passenger side, I open the door and gesture for her to take a seat. “Get in.”

“Excuse me?” she sasses. “I don’t get in a man’s car without knowing the destination.”

I lean in close and tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear. “Do you trust me?”

“I’m working on it.”

“Then, give me a chance to earn it.”

“Fine.” She shuffles to join me, and I wait until she’s buckled in to shut the door and slide across the hood to my side.

“Have you lost your mind? You could have dented your hood!” “And lose the wow factor of how cool that moment was? Never.” I crank up the engine and place one hand on the wheel before peeling out of the parking lot and onto the highway.

We drive in tranquil silence for a few miles before detouring off course down a makeshift gravel road.

“I’m trying, really I am, but this is getting sketchy.” She grips the door handle and taps her feet on the floorboard. She shifts uncomfortably in her seat, changing positions every few seconds.

I chuckle, but give her no indication of where I’m bringing her.

“Don’t stress. We’re here.” I park on the edge of the overgrown brush and hop out of the car to grab her door.

She scoots out and pats the wrinkles out of her outfit before gathering her hair to one side and stroking her fingers through the strands.

“Here.” I reach my hand out for her to place in mine in order to guide her through the wild area.

She intertwines her smooth fingers with my calloused ones as I lead her through the overgrown, grassy hills.

A few steps before we reach the surprise location, I drop behind her and place my hands over her eyes. “Follow me.”

She nods and allows me to guide her blindly the rest of the way to the field.

“Okay, we’re here.” Batting her eyes a few times to adjust to the sun, she takes in her surroundings.

“How did you know?” Her hands clasp over her mouth as she takes a few steps forward to admire the bountiful wildflower field in front of us.

“Lucky guess with the assortment of flowers you stick behind that pretty little ear.”

“This is amazing. How did you find this place?” She crouches down and strokes her hand over a patch of yellow, purple, and white mini daisy looking flowers.

“I explore the outskirts of town when my mind feels too full. It keeps me sane. I stumbled across this field last year. It reminds me of you.”

After admiring the flowers, she picks one of each and hands the makeshift bouquet to me. “Could you?” She gestures to the nook behind her ear by moving her hair away, creating space.

I nod my head and twist the thin stems together so they don’t fall out.

I lick my lips nervously and inch forward, placing my hand on her shoulder to steady myself before adorning her with nature’s growth.

She closes her eyes, giving me a closer look at the light glitter that shimmers on her eyelids in the afternoon sun.

She inhales a deep breath and keeps them closed, centering herself in the moment. “The smells are what I love the most.”

“Why?”

“It reminds me that the world is bigger than me. It’s filled with beauty all around us.

My problems seem insignificant when I immerse myself in a place like this.

I used to sneak out as a little kid and wander around the overgrown forest areas back home.

” She smiles, bringing a core memory to the forefront of her mind.

“I liked searching for clovers, moss that fell from the oak trees, or dandelions. After, I would go home and draw it how I remembered.”

“I get it.” It’s the reason I know about secret garden in the first place. Solitude brings me peace when everything feels too out of control. “You’re a wildflower, Liza.”

“How so?”

“Wildflowers are uniquely beautiful and different in their own way. They work together in a field like this one.” I sit on a patch of flat grass and help her down with me.

She leans her head on my shoulder, reaching over to pick a few more flowers beside me.

She inhales the sweet floral scent again and again.

“I wasn’t sure how they worked, so I Googled it.

They’re harmonious, but are significantly different from the same species rooted firmly next to them.

They don’t care that they don’t make sense to most of the scientific world.

” I snake my hand around her arm, touching her warm skin. “They make sense to each other.”

She lifts her head off my shoulder and meets my lazy stare with vulnerable eyes, desperate to give in to whatever is holding her back. She leans in and presses a gentle kiss to my lips. It’s soft, quick, and full of unspoken promises.

Her lips tremble as she blinks to cast away the sneaking emotion. “I was wrong about you. You’re not like him.” Her eyes tear away from mine.

My body is ablaze from her lips meeting mine. The first time she’s initiated contact, and that’s not lost on me.

I don’t speak another word, too worried to scare her off. Instead, we gently lay our backs to the dewy grass and look to the clouds, getting lost in the puffy white clouds that can be anything we want them to be. We don’t need words or empty promises. All we need is each other.