Page 79 of Chasing After You
“I am. Defense sucks, but Hunt’s keeping it interesting.”
Mom shakes her head in disbelief. “Aren’t they awful? The least they could do is try to give the offense a moment to breathe before throwing them back out there, instead of letting the other team’s offense score right away.”
A parent walking past us glares, and Mom starts to lift her hand, but I push it down before she can flip them off. “Mom,” I scold as Penelope laughs.
“Oh, Mirabelle. You should have let Lia flip her off. Her kid is the one who didn’t block the wide receiver on that last play before halftime.”
“Yeah, her kid sucks, and she has the nerve to look at me that way after buying his spot on the team? My kid is the only reason we’re still in this game,” Mom says, sticking her tongue out at the woman’s back. Oh my god, my mother is a child. I don’t have the brain capacity for this.
I’m glad to see her in better spirits than earlier in the week, but this seems a little petty. “Mom,” I repeat, and she rolls her eyes.
“What?”
“I feel like as your child, I shouldn’t have to tell you to be nice.”
Mom pulls her hair back into a clip. “Then don’t.”
Penelope covers her mouth to smother her laughter as I gape at my mother. “How do you even know she bought his spot on the team?”
She points to the giant scoreboard. “Because Dean’s mom told me they donated last year, and then he magically started getting playing time after it went up. Plus, the offensive coordinator told your dad.”
Shit, maybe I should have gone with Henry.
I look over to where Henry had been, surprised to see him already returning as the announcer starts to speak over the intercom, announcing the second half of the game. I immediately spot the stony look on Henry’s face, and worry blooms in my chest.
Henry pushes a smile on his face, but it’s the fakest fucking thing I’ve ever seen. What the hell happened in that conversation?
“Why are you smiling like that?” Penelope asks him, and he forces a laugh.
“Mom, am I not allowed to smile?”
My mom looks at him skeptically now. “You don’t normally smile, unless you’re looking at my daughter when you think no one is watching, but that’s not your smile. It’s too wide.”
Wait, what?
I look at her in surprise and Henry laughs. “This is a smile.” He didn’t deny that he smiles at me when he thinks no one is looking. Does Henry actually do that? Wait—this isn’t the right time to get sidetracked by that.
“That’s not your smile. I would know. Your smile is beautiful, but this one looks like someone is ripping out your fingernails while asking you to smile,” I blurt out, and then I slap my hand over my mouth as Henry blinks, and his actual smile starts to appear.Oh my fucking god.
“You think my smile is beautiful?”
Maybe I don’t want to die of embarrassment right now, because yeah, I do think it’s beautiful.
The moments over when Mom snaps her fingers in front of my face, catching both of our attention again. “You two can flirt later. I’m still stuck on what happened before he came back over.”
“It’s nothing. The game is starting again, and we’re going back to our seats because I’m over the twenty questions about my face,” Henry says, grabbing my hand to pull me with him.
I have so many questions, but I’m afraid to open my mouth because I’m not sure what’s going to come out of it.
I follow his lead, but when we get to the top of the bleachers, Henry turns around and kisses me out of nowhere. I open my mouth in surprise, and Henry greedily takes advantage of it. I instinctively hold onto his arm and the front of his jacket as Henry takes my breath away, but it doesn’t last long. As quickly as it starts, he pulls away, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear. “I think your smile is beautiful too,” he says softly, and I feel dazed by the intensity of my feelings for him.
I want more, but maybe that’s the problem.
I’m always wanting more of Henry, and he’s not mine to have.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Mirabelle
