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Kelsey Bear,
I know a bouquet of flowers won’t fix the problems between us, but I figure it’s a start. Please give me another chance. I miss you so much.
I love you,
Grant
“Ugh…” I groan in disgust, crumpling up the card and throwing it in the trash. “Want some flowers for your office?”
“You don’t want them?” She looks at me, confused. “I would’ve thought you’d be happy Grant sent you flowers.”
“We broke up over the weekend. This is his feeble attempt to win me back.” I wave the flowers in my hand. “I don’t even like carnations.”
“Oh, Kelsey. I’m so sorry to hear that!” She places her hand over her chest, offering the fake condolences that people often do when you share bad news.
“Don’t be, I’m fine.” I wave a hand dismissively. “Seriously, though, if you don’t want them, I’ll be handing them out to the kids in my next class.”
She huffs a laugh and takes them from my hands. “I’ll never say no to fresh flowers in my office — even if they’re secondhand apology flowers.”
After my tutoring session with Dominic is over, I make my way down to the main office. “Hey Mary, did Joey happen to come by and leave my keys here?”
“Hmm, I don’t believe so. Let me check with the other girls.”
I check my phone for any messages from Joey, only finding one from Grant instead.
Grant: Did you get the flowers?
I can’t contain the rolling in my eyes as I slide my phone back into my coat pocket.
“Sorry, Kelsey. It doesn’t look like he stopped by.”
“Okay, thanks.” I tap the counter before pushing away from the counter and exiting the office. I know he’s here for football practice, so I make my way toward the field.
There’s something insanely sexy about watching him in his element, coaching the kids in a sport he loves with every fiber of his being. It takes me back to high school, when I used to watch him from the stands. If Taylor’s song “You Belong With Me” existed back then, I would’ve had it playing on a loop. Seeing him standing there reminds me of the first game I went to after I started tutoring him.
I wasn’t the kind of girl who liked to stand out in a crowd — I much preferred to blend in. But that didn’t stop Joey from spotting me when the team made their way out onto the field.
When he waved at me, I looked around me to see if there was someone else he’d be waving at. I looked back out on to the field and he nodded his head as if to say, “Yes, Kelsey, I’m waving at you.”
Butterflies started fluttering rampantly throughout my stomach as I shyly waved back. Throughout the game, my eyes were consistently drawn to number 17. His passes were like missiles flying through the air, zeroing in on their designated receivers. We ended up winning the game by a landslide.
After the game, Joey came over to me, grinning ear to ear. “I think you’re our good luck charm. We haven’t won a game by that much all season. You should come to all of our games.”
Watching him play became the highlight of every week for me, because it was the one time during the week that I got to see him outside of the tutoring center.
Seeing him out there now brings back all of those old feelings of nostalgia. “Hey Coach!” I shout from a few yards behind him.
He turns around to see who called him, and when he sees me, his face lights up. He mutters something to his assistant coach before he runs over to me. God, what a fine specimen that man is.
“Hey, Kels. I’m sorry — I totally forgot to text you earlier. I had to order a new starter for your car. It’ll be ready for you tomorrow.”
“That’s okay, thank you for doing that for me.”
“Do you want to take my truck home?” He holds up his keys. “I can catch a ride with Mitch.”
“Um, yeah, no. There’s a reason I drive a little Corolla, Joey. I can just go back to my classroom and finish grading my papers. Just come get me when practice is over.”
“Are you sure? I feel bad making you wait for me.”
