AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Did you share all your innermost fears with me back then?”
I most certainly did not, the biggest one being my feelings for her. “Not everything needs to be shared, I guess.” But my mind is stuck on the fact that younger Jo kept secrets from me. “What else?” I ask, unable to drop the topic. “Were there other things I didn’t know about you?”
She nibbles her lip as a rush of color rises to her cheeks. She drops her gaze a moment, then slowly looks up, but my phone chimes with a calendar alert:
Work on the Elroys’ deck.
I blink at the screen, unsure how I lost track of time. Except time isn’t the only thing I lost track of, considering how close I’m still sitting to Jo. Around her, I have a tendency to forget my place in her life.
“Gotta head out,” I say as I quickly stand. “Hope you get some sleep, even though you look incredibly well rested.”
She doesn’t smile at my joke. Just frowns slightly. “I’ll send you the soccer info. Please try to come.”
A cocktail of feelings bubbles through me. Gratefulness for her offer, stirred with apprehension and a hit of excitement. I do want to play. I love being active and haven’t played with a team in too long. Being outside with Jolene and a group might be less intense than talking with her one-on-one. We’d just be a couple of old pals mucking around on the soccer field.
I nod, unable to help the smile that creeps across my face. “I’ll be there.”
chapterseven
Callahan
“She’s our biggest threat.” Javier stares at Jolene, who’s huddled with her team on the other side of the soccer field. “If we don’t neutralize her, she’ll be insufferable at the bar.”
“Agreed,” Delilah says, fixing the messy bun on top of her head. “Last time they won, she passed me my beer after the match and said, ‘To help wash down the bitter taste of defeat.’”
Ben huffs. “After the last game, Jo asked Kiyana if I also have trouble scoring at home.”
I muffle my laugh. Growing up, watching Jo take my brothers down a peg with her ballbusting jabs was always a blast, as long as I wasn’t on the receiving end. “We definitely have to steal the ball from her.”
“Yeah,” Javier says and knocks my shoulder, “youdo.”
“Whoa, no.” I hold up my hands. “I’m not the right person for the job. I’m the new guy. One of you should do it.”
We’re a smaller group than a full soccer match. Eight on each side, with an extra player who subs in as needed. Some of the participants I know, like Ben, Javier, Delilah, Jolene, Lennon, and E’s pal Ricky. Some I remember vaguely from high school, like Tvisha Shah, who Jolene sneezed on while trying to be cool with her daffodil corsage, and some are residents who moved here while I was hiding from cartel hit men.
Friends or not, they all welcomed me with enthusiastic handshakes and haven’t hesitated to pass me the ball. I’ve run my ass off, loving sweating it out on the field and feeling part of a team, but I’m far from a soccer pro. If I get up in Jo’s space and fumble, Poor Sportswoman Jolene will be unleashed.
“It has to be you.” Javier grips my shoulder, looking like an army general about to send his troops into battle. He flicks his dark hair out of his eyes. “Accept your fate.”
“Why me?”
“You distract her.”
“No, I don’t.” But my gaze slides to the opposing team. Jolene is listening as Lennon speaks. She looks adorable in her striped high socks, short shorts, and old-school soccer T-shirt.
Her focus snaps to me, like she senses my attention or she wants to keep tabs on our team.
I mouth,You’re gonna lose.
This game is bringing out my inner thirteen-year-old.
A smirk tilts the corner of her mouth, then she mimes slicing her neck.
I chuckle.
“Yep.” Tvisha’s attention ping-pongs between Jo and me. “It’s gotta be Cal.”
More sweat gathers along my forehead. “Once again, no, it does not. I can’t lose to Jo like that. She’ll be unbearable.”
