Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 69018 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69018 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
I felt a ball of dread hit my stomach at her words.
Everybody did want me.
In fact, tonight there were five recruiters in the stands, and all of them had talked to me before the game.
Despite what I’d told them—what I’d yet to tell Perry—they’d stayed to watch me anyway. Just in case I changed my mind.
But I wouldn’t—couldn’t—change my mind.
Not anymore.
Not after today.
I really, really needed to talk to Perry.
“I need to talk to you after we leave,” I said. “Your place or mine?”
The smile dropped off of her face. “Yours, and okay.”
My parents came up to me then, my dad slapping me hard on the shoulders.
“Good game, kid.” He grinned. “I just wanted to come back and say hi and that we were leaving. I have to work in the morning, and after having to take off this afternoon to…”
I gave my dad a look and shook my head, my eyes flicking to Perry.
Understanding dawned and he nodded his head.
“And you, little lady. You’re looking well,” my dad said.
Perry grinned. “I am. Bruises are getting to the point where they’re that really ugly putrid green color. I think that means they’ll be gone soon.”
“They will,” my mother said as she patted Perry’s hand then looked at me. “As much as I’d like a hug, I have to ride home on the back of your dad’s bike for a couple of hours. I really don’t want to be wet the entire time. Give me a kiss, though.”
I did just that, dropping a kiss to my mom’s cheek.
She smiled at me and patted my other cheek as she said, “Don’t keep her in the dark long, Banner. Just tell her. It’ll be okay.”
I leaned back and grimaced.
It would… hopefully.
“Love you.” I smiled at her.
She winked and pulled Perry into a hug.
“Make sure you feed my boy,” she ordered. “And yourself. Y’all just went through a lot of hard work. You deserve to splurge a bit.”
My dad looked at me then. “You have enough money?”
I did.
“Yes, Dad,” I said. “I still have quite a bit left over from my summer job.”
I’d intended to get a job here as soon as I could, yet after this afternoon, I doubted that I’d bother to do that anymore.
I wanted to spend as much time with Perry as I could before I left.
“Let me know if you do,” he ordered. “Y’all be good tonight.”
After saying our goodbyes to my parents, I looked at Perry. “You ready to go?”
Before Perry could reply, we were surrounded by our friends.
Blue on one side of her and Echo on the other. Titus and Slone made their way to my sides.
“Y’all going to go get food?” Titus asked. “We’re starving.”
“Yes,” Perry snickered. “We’re going to go to grab pizza then go to Banner’s place.”
My lips twitched.
“Sweet, I’ll go,” Slone said. “My mom has the baby tonight. They went to visit her sister in Dallas.”
I grinned at him. “So you’re a normal teenager tonight?”
Slone shrugged. “As normal as a teenage father can be, I guess. I’m fuckin’ worried about them and they just left two minutes ago.”
I chuckled and slapped him on his helmeted head. “Let’s go get changed. We’ll meet you at the cars?”
That question was directed at my girl.
She batted her eyelashes. “Of course. I’ll always wait for you, Banner Spurlock.”
Oh, how much I wished those words to be true.
Especially after she heard what I had to tell her tonight.
***
“I told my mom I was staying with Blue.” Perry grinned at me.
I licked my lips in anticipation.
“You did?”
She nodded as she jumped onto my bed and turned around to sit on it crossed-legged. “We have some things we need to talk about. Mainly where you’ve been this past week, and the secret you’ve been trying to skirt around telling me since this afternoon.”
I opened my mouth to deny it, to do what I’d been doing all week, and then thought better of it.
“I was going to wait until tomorrow,” I admitted. “Until after we did this dinner with our friends.”
She frowned hard. “Why?”
I thought about easing into it, making it sound better than it really was, but then thought, ‘fuck it.’
She needed to know the truth. Not a version of the truth that may or may not have been something that might happen.
I needed to tell her what was for sure happening right now.
“When I was four, I told my dad I was going into the Navy,” I said softly.
Perry’s face went carefully blank.
“I’ve known what I wanted to do since the first time I met one of my dad’s Navy SEAL buddies. From that point on, I’ve had a direct career path that I’ve not deviated from. Never once have I had second thoughts until you,” I continued quietly.
Her eyes went hot.
“But, even then, I know that it’s not going to be enough to make me stray. This is my dream, Perry,” I said. “And I’ll be living my dream where, hopefully, you’ll still be a part of my life, starting in just a few months.”