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He rolled onto his back. I put my head on his big chest. “Early practice today?” I asked.
“Yeah, I better go.” He gazed down at me. “Sally…”
“Yeah?”
“Come to Nebraska with me.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Ipropped myself up on an elbow. Clint wanted me to go to Nebraska with him? “No, hon. I’m gonna stay here and start classes in two weeks.”
He put an arm over his eyes. “Babe, I need you. And you could use a big guy around guarding your back. I wouldn’t let that asshole touch you.”
“You’ll be traveling half the time for games. And busy as a hive of bees. Get a wiggle on now so you can eat before practice.” I leaned over and kissed him quickly on the mouth then got up and went in the bathroom.
He was gone by the time I came out. I put on my workout clothes, then added a hoodie and sweatpants over the top. I shuffled out to the kitchen to start the coffee maker. The sun wasn’t up yet.
I drank my glass of juice and stared out the windows with the lights off. Life with Clint could be really good—it seemed like we understood and accepted each other in many ways. He’d chase after a career in football, work hard, and want a partner that made life simple for him. What did I want? I wasn’t sure.
I slumped onto a barstool at the counter, my heart heavy. In any case, being a quarterback’s girlfriend was not a good way to stay hidden. If I was counting my blessings as a fugitive from the stalker, Clint leaving could be added to the list. But I’d miss him.
Rolling my shoulders, I dragged myself out to the exercise bike, determined to work off my depression. The sun cracked the darkness while birds and frogs sang all around me. My feet moved those pedals until sweat was dripping off my forehead. I hated being alone. After Clint left, I’d be back to single status, with no end in sight. I doubted Hank would forgive me.
When we were teenagers, Clint and I had screwed every chance we got, but we’d also been best friends. We’d had our bad moments, like any other young couple, but he’d been as loyal as a mated swan even when I’d messed up and let Bradley Gibbons kiss me in the high school parking lot. After that he’d always walked me to my car. By the time college came around, I’d been ready for a break from our pseudo-marriage. But I’d intensely missed him once we were apart.
Kate shuffled out yawning while I was doing an extended floor routine. “Dang,” she said. “You’re on it today.”
“Too many damn men in my life. It’s stressing me out.”
She huffed. “Hey, enjoy the journey. You’re only young and fecund once in your life.”
“I feel like you’re speaking to my ovaries with that fecund word, and I don’t want them getting any ideas.”
“I hear that. The childbirth ward is the scariest place in the entire hospital.”
“You’re joking, right?”
“It’s like saying Voldemort. We don’t speak of that.”
The rest of the day I kept busy running errands. I walked around on campus in the afternoon finding each of the buildings where I’d have classes. In the bookstore, I pickedup a few more books for my coursework, and then got some clothes with the university logo.
Back at the house, Antonio had decided to barbecue. I helped set up everything to eat outside then settled by the pool, flipping through my books.
Layla sat in the chair next to me. “Hey, Sally,” she said, her pretty face wrinkled up.
“Hey, girl. What’s with the worried face—you have bad news for me, don’t you? And I bet it has to do with Blakely.” I closed my book and set it down on a side table.
“Yeah.” Layla swallowed. “She actually lives with Naomi, did I tell you that? Anyway, Naomi is really sorry—she didn’t mean to say anything. Blakely kind of got your name out of her when she was drunk…”
I exhaled. “Yeah, I understand.”
“Last night, after Blakely saw you and Clint kissing, she went home and posted a bunch of stuff about you online—with your name and Clint’s tagged.”
“Crap.”
“Yeah.”
I tapped the wooden arm rest of my chair with a pen. The hair lifted on the nape of my neck—this was it. I could either run right away or expect to be found.
