Page 75 of When I'm With You
Julie wraps her arm around my waist. “He was so annoyingly persistent that I finally gave in just to shut him up.”
“And look at us now.” I smile and kiss her temple.
“So,” I say, looking around at the kids gathered around. “Anyone want to play some football?”
“That’s awesome, Kyle. See how much more accurate your throws are when you lift your elbow like that?”
The freshman third string quarterback grins at me. “Did you see how far that went?”
“Sure did. Go grab some water and take a break. You’ve been working hard out here.”
“Thanks, Coach. Then I’m going to try the quick feet drills you showed me.”
Coach. I can’t help but get a little thrill when he calls me that. Kyle reminds me a lot of myself as a freshman. Not the fastest, and definitely not the biggest, but he has the purest heart, and he loves the game so much. I can see it every time he touches the football. Watching his face light up when I showed him that small adjustment to his throw had everything inside of me lighting up too.
“Quick feet are going to have to wait until tomorrow, Kyle.” Coach strolls over as Kyle tosses me the football. “It’s almost noon and it’s freezing out here. Time to call it.”
I tug my phone out of my pocket and am stunned to see that it is, in fact, almost twelve. We’ve been out here for four hours but it felt like four minutes.
“Thanks for coming Asher, seriously,” Coach says.
“I feel like I should be thanking you. That was the most fun I’ve had in a long time.”
“Look, I don’t know what’s going on, or why your girlfriend was adamant that you needed to come coach my team for a day, but whatever it is, you should know you’ve got the touch, Ash. Watching you with the kids—especially with Kyle—was a special kind of magic I don’t get to see very often. If you ever want to coach, I think you’d be a natural.”
“Thanks, Coach,” I say, too thrilled from the day to get into the actual reason I’m here. “It’s never too early to start planning for the future.”
“Son, I’ve known you too long to believe that bullshit, but if you ever need a listening ear, or someone to talk to, you’ve got my number. Don’t hesitate to use it. I’m going to head out, but feel free to stay as long as you want. I get the feeling you might need it.”
He turns and walks away, stopping to say something to Julie on the way out. I stay where I am and reach out my hand to Julie when she walks up to me. She looks absolutely delicious in leggings, a puffy jacket, and shearling boots. Her electric blue hat with the giant pompom on top makes her cobalt eyes even bluer, and they sparkle when she looks at me. When she takes my hand, I feel the zing of electricity even though our gloves.
“So, how did it go?”
I tug Julie into me, wrapping my arms around her and leaning my head against hers as I survey the field.
“It was actually…kind of great.”
“I’m so glad,” she says, cuddling into me. She doesn’t ask anything else, content to stand in silence as I work out my feelings in my head, and I’m grateful for it. I need some time to sort it all out. But what I do know is that in this moment, with my girl in my arms after spending the last four hours immersed in the sport of my heart, I want to hold on to the joy and fun alittle longer. My eyes fall on the bleachers and an idea pops into my head.
“Hey, Juliette?”
“What’s up, Hot Shot?”
“You ever make out under the bleachers in high school?”
She chuckles. “No, I can’t say I ever experienced that particular high school rite of passage.”
I grin, untangling us and grabbing her hand, tugging her towards the sidelines.
“Well then come on, baby. Let me show you how it’s done.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Julie
Hallie
JULES. I wish I was seeing you tomorrow at your parents’ house. Seriously, only Steven Parker would bbq in the middle of the winter. I’ll be out of town for a case and won’t be back until late tomorrow night. But you better be at the office Tuesday morning.
