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I sank into my seat and pressed my fist to my mouth. My son didn’t feel safe enough to play outside. Things had gotten so bad that I wasn’t even making him feel safe anymore. He was six and I was letting him down so much. Guilt and shame clogged my throat and made the backs of my nose and eyes burn.
“Another touchdown for Oklahoma after a complete shut down of Texas’ offense.” The crowd erupted around me and I forced myself to stand and cheer, too. My guys were playing their hearts out from the sound of things. They deserved my attention, too.
Jesse was fine as he screamed for the guys, all his heavy thoughts forgotten. For his sake, I forced my negative thoughts to the back of my mind and celebrated each touchdown with the rest of the crowd. By the time the game ended, our team was up by what Max called ‘basketball numbers’ and Caleb had made it clear that he was a better quarterback than Taylor would ever be.
When the whistle was called to signal the end, the student section swarmed the field and I watched as the guys were engulfed by adoring classmates and fans. It was amazing to watch the men I love be so celebrated. They were great and they deserved every bit of the support they received. Although, I did see one woman throw herself at Caleb and felt the need to rip her hair out. I looked away quickly to stop that feeling.
Shelly slipped her hand into mine and I looked down when I realized she’d pressed something into my palm. It was a business card. I expected her next words to be about me calling her to hang out since we’d hit it off, but what she said shocked me. “I work at a female advocacy center. We have services that could help you with Clarkson. He was scary, Olive, and I think you should take his threats seriously.”
I flapped my lips around for a bit and then cleared my throat and nodded. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
She smiled down at Jesse and gave him a thumbs up. “You’ve got one cool mom, kid.”
Jesse looked up at me and giggled. “She’s a good mom.”
I hugged him tight and prayed that I really was.
50
***Andrew***
“Wherethehellisshe?” My nerves were shot after the shit we’d gone through before the game. I felt paranoid. Taylor was coming at us from every angle and I needed to see Olive to make sure she was okay.
“She said she was going to wait for the crowd to clear before she headed this way.” Jack rubbed his temple and forced a smile when a passing group of guys congratulated us on the win.
Caleb looked down at his phone and swore. “She’s not answering.”
“Let’s head out to the field and see if she’s still there.” We bypassed people inviting us to parties later that night and hurried out of the tunnel. We were each feeling uneasy.
After having Taylor accuse us of cheating to the Dean and then accuse us of steroid use to Coach, I was worried about where his line was. What did he consider too far? We’d nearly lost our chance to play because of his bullshit.
The knot of anxiety unwound itself from around my chest as I took in the sight on the field in front of us. We froze where we were, content to just watch for a while.
Olive and Jesse were playing with his new football. He was running in circles around the endzone and she was chasing after him. They were both laughing and so lost in their game that they didn’t notice they were being watched.
Olive’s long blonde curls flew behind her as she spun around and her eyes were bright with happiness. She was wearing the same outfit she’d worn the week before and it hurt in the best way just as it had the week before. The skirt flew up around her thigh and the shirt hung off of her shoulder and was so thin that it showed every bounce of her breasts. She was so beautiful but when she was laughing and playing with Jesse like she was, she became magic. Magic that sucked me in and refused to let go.
“I love her.” I didn’t look away from Olive as I spoke quietly to the two men I trusted with my life. We knew each other so well, even more so after being with Olive. I figured they already knew I loved her, the same way I knew they loved her.
Jack made a sound at the back of his throat. “Are we just saying it now?”
Caleb moved forward a few feet and looked back at us. “Is it one of those things where we count to three and say it all at the same time? Or does one of us get to be first? I vote me.”
I eased forward. “Maybe we work out the kinks before we just do it?”
Jack laughed suddenly and shoved us aside. “Or we just see who can do it first!”
I chased after him, shoving Caleb aside as I did. “No one likes a cheater!”
Caleb pushed me aside and then managed to get his foot in front of Jack. Jack hit the ground but he managed to catch Caleb’s ankles and take him down, too. I tried to run past them and secure my win but Caleb kicked his leg out and I went down just as hard as they did. Still, none of us were willing to give up. We crawled forward, climbing over each other and wrestling as we went.
“Dog pile!” Jesse’s excited voice was punctuated with the three of us getting a series of bony elbows and knees in our backs and sides as he jumped on top of us.
“Jesse!” Olive hesitated and then I felt more skinny elbows digging into my sore body. “Dog pile!”
I saw Caleb hoist Jesse over his head so I reached around and pulled Olive under me without worrying about crushing the little dude. Pinning Olive to the ground, I stared down at her happy face and felt the day roll off my back.
“You’ve got sharp elbows. You and the kid.” I pressed a quick kiss to her full lips. We were being careful not to show Jesse too much so I held myself back from kissing her the way I wanted to.
