Page 28 of Quarterback Sneak
He grins. “I’ll be looking forward to it. See you then, Evie.”
“See you,” I say quietly as I watch Zane, Owen, and Quint join their teammates. When they get back to the group, Zane pauses for a moment and looks back. Our eyes meet, and I know I should look away; but I can’t. Somebody says something to him and elbows him in the stomach, and he turns away, breaking our eye contact. I glance down at my phone and realize I’m almost late for my next class. I book it and get there just as the professorstarts. I pull out my notebook and take notes, but I have a hard time focusing. As soon as class is done, I pack up and head out, thankful to be done with classes for the day. I head back to my room to drop off my books and then head back out to cover my shift at the coffee shop. Thankfully, it’s not a long one, just from two to seven. It should give me enough time to get over to the field by 7:30.
The shop is busy, unsurprisingly. Thursday night feels like a Friday night at the shop. We stay busy, and I don’t even realize what time it is until Rachel comes over to the counter where I’m working on a drink. “Weren’t you supposed to be off at seven?”
I don’t look up from the iced shaken espresso I’m making. “What time is it now?”
“7:35.”
Panic hits me. “Really?” I finally glance over at her. I hand the drink off to Bisch. “Hey,” I say when he finishes with the customer. “I didn’t realize what time it was. I was supposed to get off at seven. Is it okay if I clock out?”
“Yeah, Girl. I’m sorry. I thought you were my eight-o’clock tonight.”
“No worries.” I’m already tugging off my apron. I’m not sure how long it’s going to take to get to the field, it’s not close.
“You okay?” Rachel calls out after me.
“I’m good, just late for an appointment.” I call over my shoulder as I head towards the back door.
“Okay. See ya!”
“See ya!” I call back and push open the door. I pull out my phone and pull up my maps, looking for the dropped pin Zane put in for me. For the second time, I wish I really did have Zane’s number in my phone, so I could call him and tell him I’m late but I’m coming. Panic hits me that he’s going to think I didn’t show up and will leave. If he does, I have no way of contacting him and no way of getting Tessa’s present. I start jogging in the directionof the field. I really wish I was in jogging clothes. I’m not. I’m currently wearing black leggings, a white t-shirt, and no sports bra. I mean, I’m not large chested, but still...who wants to run across campus without wearing a sports bra. I think that’s going to be the least of my worries, though. About ten minutes into my jog, it becomes evident that I am not wearing the right kind of shoes for this. While I love these black Chuck Taylors that I found at a Goodwill, right now, I think they’re the worst shoe ever. They are definitely not running shoes. I check my phone and see that it’s almost seven-fifty. I pick up my pace. By now, my shirt is soaked with sweat, so much so that I can feel rivulets running down my back. My braid is plastered to my head, and I keep trying in vain to keep the sweat off my forehead. In short, I’m a mess; but I don’t think about that. I think about what’s going to happen when I get there, and he’s gone and I don’t have a present for my friend’s birthday tomorrow. The field finally comes into view, and I’ve never been happier to find a place. I slow down and scan the field. My heart sinks in my chest when I don’t see anybody. It’s obvious practice ended some time ago. I bend over and try to suck in oxygen, making a mental note to get back to running. I’ve let it go since moving to Florida, and it shows. It really, really shows.
“Evie.”
I turn at the sound of Zane’s deep voice. Elation fills me when I see him walking towards me. “You’re still here,” I say in relief, still trying to catch my breath.
“Did you run the entire way here?” he asks, his eyes running over me. I suddenly feel embarrassed at the state I’m in. I’m a mess.
“I’m so sorry. I was supposed to get off at seven but wasn’t watching the time, so I got off late.” I take another breath, trying to still my pounding heart.
His eyebrows rise. “You ran all the way here from the coffee shop?”
I nod. “I can’t believe you’re still here.” I put a hand on my chest and blow out a breath. “Thank you for waiting for me.”
He still looks concerned. “You didn’t have to run here. I would have waited all night for you if I needed to.” My eyes fly to his in surprise. He looks down over my outfit again. “Your feet are going to hurt tomorrow after running that distance in those shoes.”
I’m not really sure what to do with his concern, so I wave him off. “It’s fine.”
“Don’t you have a car?”
His question takes me by surprise, and it takes me a second to respond. “No.”
He runs a hand through his hair, looking frustrated. “I didn’t know you didn’t have a car. I would have never asked you to come all the way out here.”
I wave off his concern. “It’s not a big deal. I need the exercise anyway. If anything, this reminded me of just how out of shape I am.” His frown increases, but I continue because I don’t want him to feel bad about this. “So, do you have the picture?” I ask excitedly.
He stares at me a moment longer, and I do my best not to fidget under his intense gaze. Finally, he turns to look down at the back pack hanging off his shoulder, and I relax slightly now that his attention isn’t on me. He unzips his bag and pulls out the picture and hands it to me. I take in all the names and numbers scrawled out all over the picture. I grin because Tessa is going to love this! “Thank you so much! She is going to die when she sees this.”
“I hope not,” he says, but he’s still not back to how he normally sounds. I decide to just let him go, so he can get back to his night.
I take a step back. “Well, thank you again and thanks for waiting for me to get here. I’ll see you.” I turn to walk away, but his voice stops me.
“Where are you going?”
I turn back in confusion. “To my dorm.”
“I’ll give you a ride back; my truck’s right over there.”
