Page 26 of Waiting for Her

It does.

Still…

“Well, to be fair, after the accident I was offered an internship to coach under Bales, so I could stay with the team. I learned everything I know from him.”

She flinches at the mention of what brought me here.

If I hadn’t been injured, I have no idea what my life would be like today.

Maybe I’d still be standing on this field doing exactly this.

I’ll never know.

“I have some questions about the accident.”

This time it’s my turn to flinch.

She should know it all.

“We have a few more hours out here. You can keep watching, then we’ll talk.”

“Okay.” She offers up a small smile before turning her gaze back to the field.

I’ve noticed she’s been watching, dissecting each move I call. Especially the play we’re working on now. The one she knows is all my own rather than handed down to me from Coach Bales. Everything my Defensive Coordinator shouts to his guys. She’s probably itching to interfere.

“You’re dying to stick it in there, aren’t you?” I ask her, gesturing to the old school recorder in her hand but the second the words are out of my mouth I wish I could pull them back in.

To my sex-deprived brain, it sounded dirty, even though it was far from it.

She presses her lips together and looks away.

“Sorry, didn’t mean it to sound that way.”

“No worries,” she giggles then stops abruptly, looking embarrassed. “I’m sorry. This is so… strange.”

“It is, and it isn’t.”

She turns her head to the side in question. “It…” I scrub a hand down my face and look her in the eyes. “It feels right to have you on the field with me.”

Her lips part and a gust of wind causes a few strands of hair to escape from her pony tail. I have to shove my hands into the pockets of my shorts to stop myself from reaching out and tucking it behind her ear.

From tracing the side of her face with my fingertip.

All to hear the gasp of breath I’m sure would come; like it always did.

To watch the rise and fall of her chest, the pink tinge in her cheeks, her tongue to sneak out, tasting her lower lip. Almost prepping it for my lips.

It’s a dance I’m well versed in when it comes to her.

A dance we perfected in the too-short amount of time we weren’t just friends.

But we weren’t only lovers, either.

My soul called out to hers and it always answered.

And damn it all if it’s still calling.

Bri