Page 27 of The Way Home (Pathfinders Lake Romance #5)

Jeremy

I didn’t think I could get any happier. We spent the rest of the evening on the couch, Riley in my arms, only moving when we needed to, and always returning to the same position.

Riley’s dark scruff nuzzling into my shoulder.

I loved the way his bristly cheeks felt.

As kids, he had longer hair but couldn’t grow a mustache.

Now, his black hair was short, and the unshaved look on his squared chin shed any of the young baby face he used to have.

He really grew into himself. Riley wasn’t simply cute and adorable anymore. He was handsome and sexy and mine.

Mine . The word made my now ever-present smile stretch wider. “Hey, Ri?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m really fucking happy.”

Riley let out a soft sigh and brushed his lips along my throat, kissing the sensitive skin there. “I am, too.”

Eventually, we moved to the bedroom. We got out of our clothes and slipped into bed naked, but it wasn’t sexual this time. I think we both needed to feel as close as we possibly could. I certainly wasn’t going to complain about getting to feel his skin against mine.

We kissed goodnight and settled in, Riley’s body tucked into mine as much as he could with his feet pulled up.

I didn’t sleep with a lot of people, like actual sleep, but with Riley, this was how I pictured our future.

A lifetime of him in my arms. The thought made me feel so light, as if we would both float away with only the ceiling to keep us in place.

In the morning, I woke to my phone ringing. Riley clung to me as I tried to get up to check it, which almost made me want to ignore the phone, but I couldn’t.

I pressed a kiss to the top of his black hair. “I gotta see who it is.”

Riley reluctantly let me go and flopped to his back. “Fine. If it’s my mom again, I’m not talking to her while I’m naked.”

I chuckled. “You know she can’t see you, right?”

“But I’ll know I’m naked, and that’s just weird.”

“God, you’re cute,” I smirked and grabbed my phone. When I saw the local number, I sat straight up. Clearing my throat to try to make it seem like I hadn’t just woken up, I answered, “Hello?”

“Hi, Jeremy. Good morning. This is Gary West, principal at Stony Creek. How are you doing?”

“Hi… Gary. I’m good. How about you?” I felt my chest squeeze. This was it. This was the answer.

“Good. Great, actually. I believe we found our new football coach.”

My throat went dry. Did that mean they picked someone else?

Was this a sympathy, let-down call? Riley gave me a concerned look and placed his hand on my leg.

I drew strength from his touch and forced myself to sound as positive as possible.

“That’s good. I’m glad to hear it. I’m sure you picked the right person for the job. ”

Gary laughed into the phone. “Oh, I know we did. I was wondering if you were available to come by the school today.”

I couldn’t fathom why he would want me to come by if they weren’t picking me. Maybe they were going to give me back the memorabilia with my name on it. Would that be weird to come into a new job and have a contender’s name everywhere?

“Yeah. Um, yes. I can be there in about an hour. Does that work?”

“Sounds great. We’ll see you soon.”

I hung up the phone feeling completely numb. Riley sat in front of me on his knees. “Who’s Gary? What happened?”

“Gary… Mr. West. The principal. He wants me to come to the school.”

“What? That’s great news!” Riley beamed.

“I’m not so sure. He said they found their new coach.”

Riley leaned in and kissed me, but I was too in my head to kiss back. “Oh, my sweet, beautiful jock. They could have easily sent an email to let you know if you weren’t the one they wanted. Seeing you in person is a good thing.”

I wrinkled my nose. “I don’t know. I’m literally getting called to the principal’s office. In my experience, that’s not a good thing.”

“Psh. You were never in trouble. Everyone loved you.”

“That was only because they could never prove I was involved.” My lips tugged up slightly as I remembered being questioned about the missing M in HOME on the score board. My team knew it was me, but they all had my back. HOEs united.

“Such a rebel.” Riley shook his head with a smile on his face. “Go! Don’t get yourself too worked up until you hear them out, but I think it’s good news. And no matter what happens, I’ll be here waiting for you when you get back.”

That thought was enough to motivate me. Sure, this was my dream job and I didn’t know what I would do if I didn’t get it.

Looking at Riley, though, he was my biggest dream, and it had already come true.

I could find something else if it meant having him by my side.

“Okay, okay. I gotta shower and get ready.”

Riley took my hand and met my gaze. “It’s going to be fine, Jem. When you get back, we’ll celebrate.” A naked celebration, I hoped. I couldn’t stop picturing him waiting for me with his ass in the air.

“In the event that it’s not a celebration, I may need a little consolation of the sexual variety.” I pouted, and gave him my best puppy dog look.

Riley barked out a loud laugh. “I promise to take good care of you.”

I headed to the bathroom with a grin on my face.

I loved him so much. I didn’t know if I could have faced all this stress without him here.

Riley had a way of soothing my soul. It felt really nice to have someone believe in me like he did, even after all the distance that had been between us for so long.

In his presence, I felt like I could do anything.

His confidence was starting to reach me, and I felt a surge of hope rush through me.

What if he was right? This could be good news.

Once I was showered, dressed, and ready, Riley saw me to the door, gave me a long kiss for luck, and sent me on my way.

The taste of him lingered on my lips as I made the drive to town.

I tried to focus on that, on him, instead of sinking into the mind-cyclone that was trying to get my attention.

My hold on the image and feel of Riley slipped when the school came into view.

After parking, I blew out a deep breath. This was it. This was the moment that would either put me in a career I longed for or sent me back to square one. Either way, I wouldn’t have to deal with it alone.

I got out of the car and walked up to the front office, trying not to listen to the thoughts that were fighting for attention. It was going to be okay. No matter what happened. I rolled my shoulders back and lifted my head, walking in like I was walking onto a football field.

The office clerk at the front desk hadn’t been here when I came for my interview. She looked up and smiled when she saw me. “Hi, are you Mr. Rodriguez?”

Mr. Rodriguez, it sounded so formal, so like… my dad. It would take some getting used to. “Yes. That’s me. I’m here to see Gary, uh, Mr. West.”

“Yes, of course. He’s waiting for you in his office. Do you need me to show you where it is?”

I shook my head. “No, thanks. I remember the way.”

Feeling like I was taking a long walk off a short pier, I moved around the counter and headed to the principal’s office, each step heavier than the last. When I got to his office, the door was open and I knocked on the frame.

Gary looked up from his computer and looked pleased when he saw me. That had to be a good sign, right? He stood and met me with a handshake. “Thanks for coming in… Coach.”

“Coach?”

“Yup. That’s right. Congratulations, and welcome to the Stony Creek High team.”

“Wait! Are you shitting me? Shit, sorry, I didn’t mean to say that, sorry. But are you serious?”

Gary laughed and clapped his hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay, and yes, I’m very serious. We’re happy to have a legacy. It’s always nice for the students to hear that someone came from this school and is returning to support the community here.”

A legacy. Was that all I was? “You’re sure I’m the right guy?”

“We’re sure. I’ll admit, I was excited to hear what you had to say, and you didn’t disappoint. You’re not just a legacy, Jeremy. You know your shit.”

I stared at him with surprise. I never thought I’d hear my principal cuss.

Except… I was no longer a student, and he was showing me I was on new terms with him.

It struck me then that this was real. I got it.

I got the job. I lunged forward and hugged the man.

“Thank you! Thank you, seriously. I’m not going to let you down. ”

He patted my back and chuckled. “It’s not about me, Jeremy, but I know you’re not going to let your students down, and what’s more… yourself.”

My eyes burned, but I refused to shed tears here in front of my new boss. I let him go and took a step back. “Okay. Okay. This is great. Thanks again. What happens now?”

“Well, we start with paperwork to make everything official.”

“Right. Paperwork. Let’s do this.” I clapped my hands together.

Twenty minutes later, it was official. I was going to be working at my alma mater, doing what I love. It was surreal, even signing my name didn’t make it feel real yet. There was still a weird disconnect in my mind when I left and headed back home.

Home. I would be moving back officially. Now, with Riley, it felt more like home than it had since we all lived here together. A huge weight lifted off me. Years of floundering and aimlessness and now it felt like everything was lining up the way it should.

Pulling up to the cabin, it all hit me, and I knew inside was the person I couldn’t wait to share it with.

I leapt out of the car and rushed up the steps, anxious to share the news.

The door creaked loudly as I pushed it open, expecting to see Riley waiting in the kitchen for me, but he wasn’t there.

“Ri?” I shouted, peering around the living room. No response came. I set my keys and phone down on the kitchen table and headed down the hallway. “Riley? Where are you?”