AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I had visions of us not finding a seat, or sitting in the wrong area, or sitting on our own with no friends, but Max and Millie swooped on us like vultures to roadkill. They must have been looking out for us.
Earlier in the day, I’d apologized to Millie for my rather rude and abrupt text message, but it was she who had been full of regret for trusting Addison. Apparently, Addison’s editorial position had been revoked for now, and she was under supervision from Mr. Harmon, the teacher in charge of the newspaper.
Millie had some seats saved for us and she plonked herself next to Dad, immediately getting her notepad out. I sat next to her, with Max on my other side.
“Is Phoenix coming?” I asked, now feeling totally conspicuous with my carefully styled hair while Millie was wearing a pink beanie, and had a camera hanging around her neck. “I didn’t see him at the gym this morning.”
“No, he didn’t come to school. I think you wore him out last night,” Max chuckled, but it didn’t seem like something to laugh about.
“Is he all right?” I asked in a low voice.
Max nodded. “Yeah, but he’s gone to his Dad’s for the weekend.”
“Oh,” I said. Last night I had wondered whether Mrs. Carter was on her own.
The Covington Chargers had their best opening game in nine years, according to the announcer. Coach Mercer could be seen jumping up and down on the sideline, and Cullen was carried by the team after his thrilling last minute pass which led Tennessee to score the winning touchdown. Dad was reliving his football dreams all over again. Millie was taking a stream of photos.
The band and the cheerleaders had everyone in a jovial mood. Max’s father had come over and he, Max and Dad were busy discussing the game.
Millie was scoping the field. “I’m supposed to get an interview with one of the players,” she said, “I wonder who I should ask. Probably Cullen, the quarterback? No, he’ll be too busy.” She was suddenly full of self doubt. “I don’t think I want to go to the locker room. Maybe I’ll just hang around and see if anyone comes out later.”
“I could text Tenn and see if he could do it,” I said.
“Tennessee? Was he the one who scored the last thingy with the ball?”
I laughed. “Touchdown. Yeah.”
“You have his number?” Millie looked at me incredulously.
I gasped. “It’s not like that! We’re...we’re in the gym together every morning,” I said.
Millie nudged me and leaned in close, whispering, “You and Max were looking very cozy.”
I gasped again. At times Max’s hand had grazed my jeans, and we might have high fived every time the team scored, but discretion was required with Dad sitting two seats away.
I sent Tenn a message while Millie took some crowd photos. Max headed back in my direction, leaving Dad and Mr. Saunders deep in conversation.
“So, hey,” Max said, casually nudging my shoulder.
“Hey.” I smiled as his hand brushed against mine, a spark of electricity sending a rush of blood coursing though my veins. With Dad wayover there, probably reliving his own football days, I bravely hooked my pinky with his.
“We should—” Max started to say, but the ping of my phone halted him.
“Wait,” I pulled my phone from my jacket pocket, reading excitedly, “Ooh, it’s Tenn.”
“Tenn?” The despondency in Max’s tone jolted me, and I remembered the time he’d asked if I’d been at Peter’s cafe with Tenn.
“It’s for Millie,” I said quickly, needing to relieve his anxiety. “Millie needs an interview for her report. Tenn said he’d do it. Come on.” I pulled Max by the hand, leading him down the rows to where Millie was adjusting the setting on her lens.
“Millie!” I tugged Max to keep up with me, grasping his hand more securely. He squeezed me back, sending another surge of flutters through me. How could hand holding be soaffecting?“Millie, Tenn’s happy to interview for you.”
Millie abandoned whatever picture she was about to capture, and her initial expression of joy was replaced by fear. “Oh! Oh? Now?”
I nodded, and we traipsed through the crowd to the field to where Tenn and the team had emerged, freshly showered and dressed in their school uniforms. I had learnt that it was a school tradition that the team went to the Country Club after the first game. Usually it was to commiserate over their defeat, so to celebrate a victory was a big deal.
We congratulated Tenn on his winning touchdown with high fives all around, not thinking I had to introduce Millie, after all she’d been at the school since freshman year. Millie was fumbling in her crossbody purse for a pen, while flicking through her notepad for a list of questions she’d prepared.
Up until this point, I had considered Millie to be cool, calm and composed, but she appeared to be as nervous as me, especially now that Max had positioned himself behind me, one hand positioned lightly on my hip, the other draping my shoulder—and my hair. Who knew that someone’s hand on your hair was so...stirring?
