Page 43 of Personal Foul
“Well, she’s pretty stubborn.” I laugh, remembering the day. I can still see the look on her face when I asked her. The heartbreak in her eyes as she dropped the whisk into the bowl, in the middle of making pancakes. “She told me she’d put up a fight before she’d let me go anywhere.”
We both laughed as tears of joy came to my eyes.
“I didn’t realize it at the time, until later, when my dad told me they had filed papers to officially adopt me. He promised me I’d always have a home with them.”
That day changed me forever. When my dad started coaching for the Miami Blaze, I fell in love with going with him to practices. So, when the opportunity came up to work for the Blaze organization, I couldn’t pass up the chance to come back home.
“They saved my life. I genuinely believe it. If it hadn’t been for them, I probably would’ve been in and out of different foster homes until I turned eighteen, and Lord only knows where I would’ve ended up after. Probably where my father did, honestly.”
Colson exhales heavily when the last sentence passes my lips.
“I get where you’re coming from, I understand, but everything happens for a reason. You were meant to end up in their home, just like I believe we were both meant to end up on the sidewalk that day.”
I nod. “You’re absolutely right.”
“I know I am.” He grins. I playfully push his chest, but he doesn’t budge. His arms tighten around me, never letting me go.
“There’s nowhere else I would want to be,” he whispers, his eyes locking on mine, making it clear he means every word.
Gripping his face in both my hands, I kiss him. Slow at first, but like every kiss, it grows with intensity as the weight of his words envelop me.
Pulling back slightly, enough to be able to look him in the eyes, too, I whisper, “I’m right where I’m supposed to be.”
