Page 42 of Running
“Johnson, why do you always call me ‘Little Battle’? I mean, especially now that we’re older?”
He’s made it to the front porch, and he turns around to give me a small smile. His voice is quiet and a little wistful as he answers.
“It’s how I remember whose sister you are.”
And before I have time to react, he’s stepped into his house, shutting the door behind him.
BETTER TOGETHER CHAT
That Afternoon
GRACE: Great job, Rawls. Proud of you.
RAWLEY: Thanks, Gracie.
RAWLEY: Shit, I messed up that one answer, though. I forgot what I was supposed to say and winged it.
LANDON: My PR agent is cleaning that up now, guys. We got your back, Rawley.
CONNOR: Does it even matter? I mean, he clearly showed his commitment to the sport.
LANDON: He didn’t deny the partying behavior as strongly as we planned. It’s the kind of thing NFL teams will look at for the draft. We’ll work through it.
GRACE: It’s going to be okay, Rawls.
LANDON: Just no more drama until the draft. Stay on the straight and narrow. Football, school, and nothing else.
RAWLEY: I’ll be a perfect citizen for the next eight months, I promise.
LANDON: Not a time for jokes.
RAWLEY: I mean it, I won’t let you down, Landon.
CHAPTER 14
Johnson
THREE WEEKS LATER
After Grace drove away from my house, I made it a week without getting despondent about how we left things, letting football distract me—specifically our first preseason game and final week of camp.
Once the last week of training camp passed though, my emotions started to churn.
And now two weeks after that, all I feel islack. Lack of her, lack of the chance to see what we could be.
Here I am, alone in this big fucking house, and the woman I want to spend time with…
She’s off limits.Interested, but off limits.
It’s not lost on me that in our conversation she admitted she’d like to explore something too. Because I hadn’t had that assurance before.
Now I do, and it’s a punch in the gut.
Not to mention her saying that she wouldn’t mind if I kissed her, when I was fucking desperate to do just that.
The fact that she’s a virgin—I’m not a dumbass about that like I was in college either. If she’s waited, it’s for good reason.Whateverthe reason.
But still, three weeks later, none of the dynamics with Landonor the team have changed either. We even went 3-0 in the preseason, only heightening the need to keep our locker room chemistry strong.
