Page 86 of Trick Play

I shook my head. I had no idea where to start.

“You went from being excited to shutting down. Please, talk to me.”

I shoved my hands into my pockets, digging for my gloves for something to do.

“Kenny, please?”

“I don’t know what any of this means.” I gave up my search and dropped my shoulders along with my head.

“The teams and scouts? I know it’s frustrating. We can all get excited now, but it might turn into a contract or nothing at all. We won’t know for months.”

I nodded. “I know. I get that. It’s … I don’t know what this is.” I pointed to him with my hand still in my pocket.

“You and me?”

“Yeah. What did it mean when you came to my graduation? Or helped me load my car? Or invited me tonight? Are we talking? Was that you coming to me? Do you still need time?”

He wiped the back of his hand over his lips and cheek. “I couldn’t even consider not showing up to your graduation. I wanted you to know I was supporting you. Getting invited out to lunch was unexpected. I helped you with the boxes because I could, and I wanted to see you off. I called you tonight because when I found out about the scouts, you were the first person I wanted to tell.”

I sucked in a breath. “So what does that mean?”

He shrugged. “It means that I want you in my life.”

That was it? “To what extent?”

“That’s what we need to decide, together.”

“This could be it,” I offered. “This could be the end. The closure we both needed. We can end on a good note and let each other go.”

He waited a few seconds before nodding slowly.

“Or we could keep talking and seeing each other occasionally, as our schedules allow us. We could take it a week, or day, at a time and see what happens this summer.”

“Uh-huh.”

This was it. Did I put it all on the line or cling to what was left of my brittle walls? I stared up at his blue eyes and knew.

“Or do we give this all we have? No more holding back. No more lies or secrets. No more deciding things without talking to each other first. A relationship that we let develop, and see what happens?”

I thought back to the pictures from our project. I could see our love, our relationship, but the future was unclear. The best we could do was work hard together. Fight for each other. Support one another. What was meant to be, would be.

“I pick that one,” he said with a gleam in his eyes.

My heart was racing, but I refused to regret any of this. “Me too.”

His hands went to my neck and pulled me toward him. I pulled my hands out of my pockets in time to slide them up his shoulders before his lips met mine. This was a promise. A commitment to try our best. To learn to love each other again and let go of the past. To support each other’s dreams and believe in us.

Epilogue - Ethan

“Did we have a week off or months?” Reid asked as he dropped next to me on the bench in front of our lockers. “Do you think we should ask Haley and Kennedy if we can change date night to something more low-key?”

I held up a thumb, hoping he knew without me saying that I agreed and covered my mouth with the other. I was one wrong move away from throwing up. Again.

“I’ve never hurt this bad,” Benjamin grumbled from the ground. “Everything. Every single muscle aches.”

“Coach is trying to kill us,” I confirmed.

So many sprints. So many laps. So many drills. It wasn’t just my legs or arms or abs that hurt. It was my teeth. My eyes. My beard. Pain.