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I take a step back, pulling her with me and pressing her up against the side of the car.
Soft and gentle turns greedy and desperate. Lust blazes a heady trail through my body. I love kissing Maeve Stevens, and I don’t get to do it nearly as often as I’d like. It’s always with some looming deadline, with both of us knowing one is leaving. Eagerness and frustration pour into our kiss as Maeve sucks on my tongue.
A throat clears. Nearby and loud.
Maeve looks dazed when we move apart. I smirk at her flushed cheeks and lidded eyes before looking at the source of our interruption.
Liam doesn’t look like he wants to punch me out, which is a lot further than I thought our relationship might ever come, to be honest.
Setting aside our prominent roles on opposite sides of the rivalry, I’m dating his sister.
I’m not sure which of those offenses bothers Liam the most—my Alleghany address or my relationship with Maeve. By some miracle, we’ve become friendly.
Proposing to Maeve might erase away goodwill that victory gained. But I don’t focus on that, because I’m anxious enough. Kissing her was a nice distraction, but now I’m suffused with nerves again. I give Liam a smile and a nod, dropping my hands from Maeve’s waist.
Liam glances at his sister’s disheveled appearance and then gives me an unimpressed look on par with the man at the gas station. “I should have gone with Mom and Dad.”
“John and Stephanie already left?” I ask.
He nods. “They headed out a couple of minutes before you got here.”
“Okay. Let’s go.” I head for the driver’s side. Maeve climbs into the passenger’s seat and Liam gets in the back.
“I was ready to go ten minutes ago, before you two started making out,” Liam grumbles, but there’s no real irritation in his voice.
“I haven’t seen Wes inweeks,” Maeve tells him.
“Yeah, yeah,” Liam says.
“How is the new place?” I ask Liam, as I pull away from the curb and head toward Fayetteville. After graduating from Arlington, Liam moved to Boston and started working at an engineering firm.
“It’s small and expensive,” Liam replies. “But it’s nice, being in the city.”
I glance at Maeve. She’s staring out the window. I have no idea what she’s thinking. We’ve been together for a long time. Longer than Liam and his girlfriend, who just moved in together. Logically, I know that every relationship is different. Natalie and Liam’s path forward as a couple was clear after they both graduated.
The factors Maeve and I have to consider are complicated. We’re at a crossroads we’ve kept pushing further and further away. Eventually, we’ll have to decide whether and how to merge paths, or else just keep drifting apart. Physically, and maybe in other ways as well.
The driveway is full when I pull up. I end up having to half park on the grass in order to get off the road.
My mom sold our house in Alleghany about a year after the divorce was finalized. She ended up renovating and moving into my uncle’s cabin in Fayetteville, which sat empty most of the year, splitting her time between here and New York City, where her boyfriend Dean lives.
The lawn is crawling with people who are filling plates from the buffet that’s set up, sipping drinks, and socializing. We’re some of the last to arrive.
Tonight is meant to roll a lot of celebrations into one—graduations, the draft, new beginnings, the start of summer. It’s a massive mix of people. Most of my friends are here, along with their parents. There’s a healthy representation from Glenmont, too.
Chris comes right over as soon as he sees me. We text a lot, but this is the first time I’ve seen him in person since I was home for the holidays. He smiles at Liam, hugs Maeve, then turns to me. We’ve been best friends since we were fourteen. The past eight years have been filled with plenty of speculation about what my future in football might look like. Seeing him, knowing at least some of those goals have come true, is a special feeling.
Maeve and Liam drift toward the center of the party, giving me and Chris a chance to talk. He peppers me with questions about San Diego and training camp until we hear my mom announce dinner has been served.
Chris claps me on the back and says we’ll talk more later. I walk over to where my mom is standing, waving at Stephanie and John Stevens as I pass them.
My mom is standing with Natalie’s, setting bowls of pasta and salad out next to the trays of meat already on the table.
“Hey, Mom.”
She spins, a wide smile stretching her face as she sets down the bowl she was holding and throws her arms around me. “Wes! The drive was okay? You didn’t hit any traffic?”
I shake my head. “No, it was fine.”
