Page 69 of The Way We Collide

“You can’t go that long without sex. It’s not healthy.”

Exhaling a laugh, I push against the panel beneath my feet, letting the burn in my quads distract my mind. “Maybe my play will get better.”

“If you get any better on the field, you’ll start breaking your own records.”

I finish the heavy reps, letting the last one fall hard. “Thanks, man.”

Stepping off the machine, my legs feel like jelly. “Let’s take a break. I need to check on Haddy.”

He makes some comment about not knowing me anymore, but I wave him away. Tyler and I were always just alike, players, jokers, but good guys at heart.

He knows me pretty well, and he’s right. All of this is out of character for me.

“Are they coming to the game Sunday?” he calls after me. “They’re running out of your number in the team store.”

My mind drifts to that scenario. Raven and Haddy in the box wearing my jersey number, watching me play and the way my chest squeezes, the way I can’t stop a smile, just confirms the whole thing.

18

Raven

“It never rains in southern California.” Wilt announces.

I’m not sure if Star had a chat with him, but he’s been on his best behavior since our first encounter. He didn’t even make a comment about my outfit today, which I’d prepared myself to deflect.

“People write songs about it,” he continues. “It’s how I got my tagline.”

Everyone deserves a second chance, so I take his bait. “What’s your tagline?”

His voice turns into polished TV newsman. “This is Wilt McCloud, and there’s not acloudin the sky.”

“Oh, no!” I lift my hand to my nose, laughing. “That’s terrible!”

“It’s memorable and accurate.” He points briefly, walking with me to the satellite computer desk. “Most days it’s seventy-one and full sun.”

He’s therhyme guy.

“So if it never rains, what do we talk about?”

“Traffic. Random meteorological facts. Whatcha got, Gale? Hit me!”

My brows rise, and I blink, thinking fast. “Ahh… The next Halley’s comet is July 2061!”

“Is that true?” His lips poke out and he nods. “I didn’t know that one.”

“I actually looked it up for my sister a couple weeks ago,” I confess. “It’s pretty easy to find online.”

“Still, good work.”

I follow him over to the desk. “I gotta say, reporting traffic is kind of a downer for a meteorologist.”

“It’s still useful, potentially life-saving information. And if you hang around til Christmas, the Santa Anas might shake things up.”

I remember the Santa Anas from that Christmas movieThe Holiday. “What are they like?”

“Depends. They’re called ‘devil winds.’” His eyes take on a storyteller cast. “They sweep in from the desert, and some years they can be incredibly destructive.”

“Ugh.” My nose curls. “Sounds like tornadoes. Hurricanes are more my speed.”

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