A wide smile spreads across her face, and her chest puffs out the slightest bit. “Yeah, it is.”
“Your mom would be proud,” I say, my voice lower.
Her hazel eyes glisten against the setting sun. “Thank you.”
We stand on the field, staring into each other’s eyes, and the world around us goes quiet.
“I was nervous to tell you,” she says.
My head tilts. “Why?”
She hikes a shoulder. “I don’t know. I guess I was afraid of what you’d say.”
“You know I’m not like that.”
Pig-headed. Anti-feminist.Women should stay in their own lanetype of mindset.
She reaches out and wraps her fingers around my forearm. “We’ll be spending a lot more time together.”
My gaze drops to her mouth, and I take a step forward.
But Evan tugs my elbow. “Come on. Not here.”
Ainsley shoots me a wink, and then walks off in the opposite direction. “Catch you later, Fletcher.”
Patrick opens his arms wide as he walks backward to the school. “Aww, come on, Ainsley. Don’t you want to change with us too?”
She flips him off, finger in the air over her head without turning around.
The rest of the guys snicker, but I shove Patrick, harder than a playful push between teammates. “Shut the fuck up.”
He chuckles. “Ah, what’s the matter? You worried about your girl seeing the rest of us naked and realizing she picked the wrong guy?”
“Nah, I just wanted to spare her the horror of seeing your micro-dick.”
“Yeah fuckin’ right.” He tosses his head back as he laughs, and we all step inside the building.
The locker room erupts.
“Is she serious?”
“She’s got no shot.”
“Girls can’t play on boys’ teams.”
Evan plops onto the bench beside me, keeping his voice low. “You’re going to have to rein it in, Fletcher. You can’t let them get to you.”
I nod, giving him a side-glance. “I’m more worried about her. You know how this crew can get.”
“She’s tough. She can take it.”
Ainsley is tougher than anyone I know. But she’s already got enough on her plate. She doesn’t need the close-minded people in this town making it harder on her.
“You can’t let your feelings for her get in the way of the game,” Evan says. “You have to let her worry about herself.”
I hear what he’s saying, and I get it. I do.
I just don’t know if that’s something I’m capable of when it comes to Ainsley Morgan.
