Chapter 8
“This is so freaking cool!”
Leigh smiled at Sophie, her friend from the pizza place. “I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I’m freezing my butt off.”
The autumn wind had a much more distinct chill of winter now and the iron gray clouds were refusing to let any sunlight through to the shivering spectators. Most of them were bundled in several layers, Leigh and Sophie included, but it didn’t help as much as she’d hoped.
“Oh come on, you’re excited, I can tell.”
Sophie leaned forward, watching the team run onto the field with sparkling eyes. The stadium erupted with cheers. Some people were actually chanting Dean’s name. Leigh smiled and drew her coat more tightly around herself. It was good to hear so many people supporting him.
“Okay,” she admitted in the interest of honesty. “I’m a little bit excited.”
Sophie laughed. “I think you’ve fallen victim to his charms after all.”
Leigh cleared her throat. “He’s nicer than I thought,” she said primly. “And a lot smarter, too.”
Sophie poked her in the ribs. “And hot, am I right?”
Leigh put her nose in the air. “I never said he wasn’t hot.”
“Look, there he is!” Sophie pointed to him. “Number 42!”
He’d taken his position. Leigh put her thumbnail into her mouth and began to chew. He’d been worried about this game, even though he hadn’t wanted to admit it. It was the first one since the rough victory of two weeks ago.
“There’s the snap,” Sophie said, still leaning forward. “Oh, he’s got it!”
Leigh clapped her hand over her eyes. Sophie tugged it down and they watched as Dean ran. He dodged two of the other team’s linemen and faked out a third. A lightening quick reversal had him into the end zone. The crowd was on their feet, Leigh included. It had been an astonishingly quick and efficient play.
“An amazing start to the game from the Tigers running back, Dean Harper!” the commentator boomed. “It’s no wonder several recruiters have had their eyes on him. We haven’t seen speed like that in years!”
Leigh just barely held back a squeal. There was no way she was going to prove herself that far gone, but she did clap till her hands hurt.
“Are recruiters really watching him?” she asked Sophie when the crowd had managed to calm down.
Sophie shook her head with a laugh. “You really don’t keep up with anything but classes, do you?”
“Well...” Leigh said. “Okay, no. But I’m asking now.”
“Yeah,” Sophie said seriously. “They’ve been watching him for a while. This year especially. I think he could go pro anytime he wanted.”
Leigh smiled. “That’s really good to hear.” First of all, because he wanted it so badly. Second of all, because he obviously intended to graduate before he went pro. Pride welled up within her and she had to hide a smile. She didn’t want Sophie to know. Not yet.
The rest of the game flew by and she was surprised to find herself actually interested. The team was up by quite a lot, but she was almost holding her breath by the last quarter. When the Tigers were announced the winners, she stood and clapped again, joining in as the rest of the people in the stadium shouted happily.
The crowd milled about in cheerful chaos and a few girls Leigh knew from class called to Sophie. Sophie waved back and Leigh made her way down to the field while her friend was distracted. She doubted that she’d get to Dean, but maybe she could wave. She just wanted him to know that she had been there. That she’d seen him exceed everyone’s expectations. That she was proud of him.
As she got within sight of the field, a pretty redhead swept past her, moving confidently toward the players. Leigh thought absently that the girl must be seeing one of the other guys on the team. Then the redhead stepped up to Dean, threw her arms around him, and kissed him.
Leigh stopped in her tracks for just a split second. The girl was stretching up, her body curving sensually to Dean’s. They looked like they fit together. They were both remarkably attractive, both of them exuded confidence. She remembered the way the girl had moved through the crowd, expecting and accepting the way it parted for her.
Leigh spun around and worked her way back through the throng. This time she moved quickly, desperately. If he saw her now... She couldn't let that happen. Her eyes misted over as her throat tightened. Thank God she hadn’t said anything to Sophie. Or anyone else, for that matter.
By the time she managed to get home, she was sobbing and feeling like a complete idiot for doing it. She’d barely been able to see to drive home. As she opened her door, she was profoundly thankful that her roommate had gotten the last of her things the day before. She really didn’t want to run into anyone when she looked like this.
Leigh locked the front door and walked down the hall, trying to stop crying. They hadn’t even been together, for God’s sake! At least, not officially. But she couldn’t stop picturing it. And her heart wouldn’t stop hurting. And, overly dramatic or not, all she wanted to do was drop into her bed and cry herself sick.
She went into the bathroom and washed her face. A glance in the mirror set her off again. She would have bet her life that the redhead cried prettily. She, Leigh, did not. Her nose was as red as Rudolph’s. Her eyes were nearly swollen shut. And she’d produced more snot than she’d thought possible. It was the final straw.
Leigh went into her bedroom, closed the shades to plunge the room into darkness and stripped off her clothes. She pulled on her ratty yoga pants and an old sweatshirt, kicking her clothes in the direction of the hamper in the corner. Then she crawled into bed, pulled the covers up around her shoulders and cried. It hurt more than she’d thought possible.
She hadn’t known Dean that long. But it didn’t matter. She had completely fallen for him. Much too fast and much too hard. And now she was paying for it.
Leigh heard her phone ding with a text. Then another. Then another. Then a phone call. She pulled a pillow over her head. She didn’t want to hear it. It was either Dean telling her that they were through, or Dean not telling her they were through. After the kiss she’d seen, she didn’t want to hear either one.
****
Dean frowned at his phone the second time he got Everleigh’s voicemail. She’d promised to come to the game, but he couldn’t find her anywhere. As he searched through the crowd, he ran into a girl that he remembered seeing with Leigh on campus a few times.
“Hey there, star player!” the girl said with a smile.
Sophie. That was her name. “Hey,” he said. “Have you seen Ev...” He stopped and corrected himself. “Leigh? Did she make it?”
“She should be around here somewhere,” Sophie said. “We sat together. She was on the edge of her seat the whole time.”
Dean felt intensely relieved. “So she liked it?”
“Oh yeah.” Sophie laughed. “She didn’t take her eyes off of you.”
Dean couldn’t hold back a grin at that. “Thanks.”
“Sure thing!”
He hung around for a while, but eventually he had to go to the locker room and get cleaned up. Freshly showered and with no plans, he decided to drive out to Everleigh’s house. Maybe her phone had died. And then they’d just lost each other in the crowd.
Or maybe...something nagged at the back of his mind. No. There was no way. Everleigh wouldn’t have just let that go. She’d have marched up and given him a piece of her mind.
Her mustang was in the driveway and Dean hurried up the walk with a spring in his step. He knocked briskly. Nothing. He knocked again and then leaned around to look in the window. She wasn’t in the living room. He leaned the other way. Her bedroom curtains were drawn, so he couldn’t tell if she was in there or not. He knocked once more, but he still didn’t hear footsteps.
Dean sat down on the top step and pulled his phone from his pocket. Then he sent her the fourth text of the day.
“Everleigh? Is everything okay? I’m starting to worry.”
This time there was an answer. It wasn’t the one he wanted.
“Yes. Not feeling well. Congratulations on the win and I’ll talk to you later.”
He stared at the message, his heart sinking. The victory suddenly felt hollow without her there. Maybe he was reading too much into it. There was no way that she could have seen Kristen. Just no way.
“Hell, she’s got to see me sometime,” he muttered. “We’ve got this project to finish up.”
They’d done the interviews and they were about to enter writing and proofreading week. And he’d seen her in class tomorrow. He pushed himself up and got back into his car. He’d planned to spend the day with her. Suddenly all he wanted to do was go to bed.