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He shook his head, laughing, coughing his breath back. “No, you warned me. A few times.” He lifted his head up and then thunked it back down on the grass. “I really didn’t think you’d be able to take me down like that.”
“I’m really strong.”
“Yeah, you are. Jesus.” He closed his eyes and I looked at his face, how soft it was, how he wasn’t even fucking mad about it.
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine. I’m fine,” he told me, blinking his eyes open like to prove it.
“No, I mean, I’m sorry. About how I used to… fuck with you. In gym class and shit. Really, I’m really sorry. I’m a fucking asshole. You just didn’t know how to do sports stuff and I tore you up over it and it wasn’t your fault and that was so fucking shitty. I should have just showed you. I’m sorry I hurt you. All those times. And now. Fuck.”
I started to get up off him again and this time he pulled me down harder, all the way, until I was splayed out right on top of him and he reached for my face with one hand, holding me still while he lifted his head up to kiss me, once, quick.
“I know you’re sorry. And I’mfine,” he said again. “You don’t have to apologize for being a fucked up kid. I get it. And you don’t have to apologize for being good at your job and knocking me down when I dared you to. Okay?Okay?” he repeated, and I nodded even though it was kind of a lie.
“Yeah.”
“Thanks for teaching me how to play catch.”
There was something so simple and genuine about that, so totally honest with the gratitude that it made my throat close up, made me want to do a million more nice things for him when I couldn’t remember ever wanting to be nice to anyone. “Sure.”
I glanced around at nothing and nobody that seemed to go on forever and bent down to kiss him again. He grabbed the back of my neck hard, keeping me there, kissing me harder, sliding his hand up my side and around my back. “Why didn’t you leave your shoulder pads on, though?” he asked me when he pulled back. “Those are so hot.”
“Because you’re a fucking science nerd and I didn’t want to hurt you, freak.”
He smiled, grabbing my ass and squeezing. “What are you wearing under these?”
“What do you think?”
“Show me.”
“What, out here?”
He cut his eyes over to the equipment shed. “What about in there?”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
I looked around again, knowing there was no one to see, that there was no reason for anyone to come hunting me down, although it was a possibility, I guess. Not that that kind of thing worried me so much.
I’d never actually fucked around in the equipment shed, it was hot and dirty and not really a place anyone was dying to spend time, but seeing how The Beast was clearly a fucking Punt Bunny, getting a peek at my jock in the middle of a bunch of practice gear was probably big time his thing. Which made it big time my thing.
“Alright.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
I climbed up off him and this time he let me. I reached out my hand and helped him up off the ground and he grabbed the ball while I grabbed my pile of crap, pulling my pads back on over my head because why not give the guy a thrill.
I let us in, and he looked around the shed like it was a fucking museum, and I could see that curiosity sparking up again. I guess I really liked that kind of thing when it wasn’t shooting straight at me, how he seemed interested in just about everything on the planet, even things he didn’t have much use for.
“What is all this?” he finally asked.
“Just practice equipment, mostly. For agility and blocking and stuff. Some of it we only use at camp. Storage. Alumni shit.” I kicked the big stack of boxes I’d moved earlier. “Raffle tickets for Booster Night.”
“What’s Booster Night?”
“Just a stupid dinner where people donate shit and you have to dress up and shake hands and they give away prizes to people who don’t need any prizes. Like Walker’s parents won a trip to Maui or some shit last year. It fucking sucks.”
