Page 42 of Hail Marry
“Thatwas incredible,” Jasper says, jogging up to us. “I asked for intimate, and you delivered! At this point in my career, it’s tough to surprise me, but”—he shows us his arm—“you two just gave me goose bumps.”
You and me both.
I don’t know what just happened, but intimate is certainly one way to describe it.
11
LUCA
The jig is up.
At least, that’s how it feels when I drop Victoria off at her place after the photoshoot. I’m under no illusion that, particularly in the first half of the evening, I sold “us.” If those photos get out as the promo for our marriage, people will see through them right away.
The second half of the shoot was better—it certainlyfeltdifferent, but who knows if that’ll translate to the photos. At the end of the day, Victoria and I were still two near-strangers being forced into a photoshoot meant for newlyweds.
I feel terrible about how badly I did in the first half. It wasn’t until she told me I was making her look like an undesirable fool to her ex that I realized how stupid I was being. That’s when things shifted for me.
I went from worrying she was uncomfortable—I’ve realized she’s good at masking that—to being determined Ryan would see the pictures of us and want to punch himself in the face for being such an idiot.
I’m in classes the next morning, then we’ve got a team scrimmage in the afternoon. Most of the guys head home afterward, but I stick around and work on my drills. I did pretty well at Pro Day a few weeks back, but my 40-yard-dash is a continuing weak spot, and I’m determined to shave as much time off as I can.
When I feel like stopping, I picture Ryan laughing at me—I have no idea what he looks like, but I’m imagining a smug guy in a tailored suit—and I keep going. Iwillget faster. It would be really lame if I went through all this work to get drafted only to sit on the bench or get put on the reserve list because I’m not quick enough.
The following evening, I’m just out of the shower when an email comes in from Zach. It’s addressed to both Victoria and me.
Zach
These are absolutely killer shots, guys! Way to go. I’ve already sent some of the best ones to Preston. Since they were the last piece of the puzzle we were waiting on, he went ahead and sent them in with the paperwork. He said you can feel free to send him more photos as you take them, and he’ll keep those in the event he gets a request for more evidence. Again, great work!
Beneath the message is a gallery link, which I tap on.
A webpage opens, and it loads with dozens of pictures from the other day.
I tap on the first one.
It’s an out-of-body experience, seeing Victoria and me like that: cheek to cheek, looking into the camera, with the sun and the city of L.A. behind us. It’s a shot I wouldn’t be surprised to see in Vogue or on a designer ad. Frankly, it’s hot. Or she is, at least.
I scroll through the next ones, waiting to see the awkward moments I know for a fact filled the evening. But they never come. There are laughing shots—the moment after I told Victoria I didn’t believe Jasper made her squeeze my butt—and serious ones. As I flip through, a strange feeling takes hold in my chest.
I pause on one picture and stare at it for ages. Victoria’s hands are on my chest, and my hand cradles her face. Our eyes are closed, and there can’t be more than a millimeter or two between our lips.
It gets my heart beating. Fast.
I can remember being in that moment, the things I felt, and how I camethisclose to kissing her despite Jasper’s instructions that we stop just before our lips touched. I got so caught up that our lips actually did brush briefly.
Which is when I pulled away. I’ve never been great at keeping the physical and the emotional separate, which is why I avoid both. It’s also why I’m known by some on my team as The Nun. I don’t do hookups. I can handle the teasing from my teammates better than I can handle the emotional turmoil of getting attached to people who won’t stick around.
I flip through the rest of the images, then open up a text to Victoria, curious what she thinks of them.
Luca
Did you get Zach’s email?
Victoria
Jasper is a magician. We look HOT!
By the way, we really should nail down our story better. I can only stay cryptic for so long with my family.
