“How’d you know?”
“Wild guess.”
“The crowd was much more interested in securing halftime snacks than they were in my award.”
He wanted to drag a trail of kisses down the side of her throat, then continue along the line of her collarbone—
“I’ve been making up for the deprivation of football in my early years,” she went on, “since Dylan started playing. I haven’t missed a single one of his home games.”
The girls handed Leah her change and a bag containing her new shirt. She put the change away and looped the bag over her wrist, then met his eyes. He felt the reverberation of it deep in his chest.
“Can you give me an update on Levi and Isabella?” she asked. “I’ve thought and prayed about them often.”
Have you thought about me, Leah? Because I’ve never stopped thinking about you. “Levi went home.”
“Wonderful.”
“Isabella struggled with fluid around her lungs, but now she’s on the mend.”
“I gather no heart’s become available?”
“Still no heart.”
“I’m sorry.”
He didn’t want to make her sorry. About anything. He wanted to make her life lighter, not heavier. “How’s Dylan?”
“Content to drag his feet with his college applications and to procrastinate conversations about potential career tracks. In other words, he’s fine, but I’m dying inside because of the feet dragging and procrastination.”
“I see.”
“Thank you again for the art supplies you gave him. He loves them. So much so that I regret not giving him a set like that for his last birthday.”
“Not all of us can be superior gift givers.”
“The next time you realize what gift my brother requires, will you kindly text me to let me know?”
He dipped his chin.
The announcer’s voice came over the sound system. “Welcome! Please find your seats. Sophomore Daisy Harris will sing the national anthem in five minutes.”
Don’t leave, he thought.
Her hair dipped over her eye. She pushed it back.
Stay.
“I always sit with my friends Tess and Rudy,” she said. “You and Ben are welcome to join us when you finish your shift here.”
“Thank you, but . . . ” Ben won’t want to sit with you if I’m there, too. “The Colemans saved us seats.”
“Okay. I’m glad we ran into each other.”
“So am I. . . .” His sentence faded as he caught sight of Ben. His friend stood several yards away. People drifted between their two positions, yet Ben was looking right at him and Leah.
How long had he been watching?
Sebastian refocused on Leah. “I’m glad, too.”
Leah left and Sebastian’s world turned dull and flat. Ben handed drinks to the girls. He said nothing about Leah, but Sebastian could almost hear the wheels of his friend’s mind turning.
As in many small southern towns, Misty River’s high school football team was the whole town’s team. It didn’t matter whether a resident had a child in high school or whether they’d graduated from Misty River High. For many, including the Colemans, cheering for the Mountaineers at Friday night home games was a family tradition.
Sebastian sat in the stands with a niece on one side of his lap and a nephew on the other. He remained mostly silent during sporting events. The Colemans didn’t share his approach. From every side of him, they shouted a running stream of encouragement and criticism at the players and referees.
After the Mountaineers kicked a field goal to win the game, the spectators filed from the stadium in a satisfied tide of blue and gold.
In the past, Sebastian had kept one car in Atlanta and one car in Misty River so that whenever he flew here, a car was waiting for him at the field. But he’d wrecked his Misty River car the day he’d met Leah and hadn’t replaced it. Because of that, he’d been driving here lately instead of flying since it was a headache to get around town without a car. This weekend was the exception. He’d missed flying enough to pilot the twin-engine here earlier today.
Ben had given him a lift to the game, so they walked together toward the faculty lot. The farther they went, the more the crowd thinned. Only the light from the outdoor fixtures punctuated the darkness.
“Everything okay?” Sebastian asked. Ben had been subdued during the game.
For several seconds, Ben didn’t respond. Then he said, “I’d like to know how you feel about Leah.” He kept his head fixed straight ahead.
“Nothing’s going to happen there—”
“Sebastian,” Ben said calmly. “Please just tell me honestly how you feel about her.”
Sebastian pursed his mouth. If their friendship was going to continue to be as strong as it had been, it wouldn’t be because of lies. “I feel the same way I felt about her the day I met her. My feelings haven’t changed.”
They walked without words.
“I could tell that by the way you were looking at her tonight,” Ben said. “And I could tell, by the way she was looking at you, that she’s attracted to you.”
“Ben—”
“I regret what I said when I called you at work the day after she and I went out to dinner. I was disappointed. And jealous. And selfish.”
“And honest. I understood why you said what you said. You’ve shared everything in your life with me.”
“Here’s the thing, though. That doesn’t give me the right to decide whom you’re allowed to date. I was kidding myself to think that it did.” He looked across at Sebastian briefly. “You and I both like Leah, but she only likes one of us back as more than a friend. And it’s you.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“If so, she’s made a mistake. You’re the right person for her.”
“I’ll be the right person for someone someday, God willing. But I’m beginning to think that you’re the right person for Leah Montgomery.”
Because such powerful hope was rising in him, Sebastian had to make sure he reacted not in the way he wanted but in the way that was right. “Let’s say she is interested in me. And let’s say we get together. It would be painful for you to have to see us together, to have to hear about our relationship. I can’t be with her if I know it’s going to make you unhappy.”
They’d reached the fender of Ben’s Jeep. They faced each other.
Ben knew him better than anyone, and Sebastian couldn’t help but feel as though his skin was being pulled back so that Ben could see inside.
“Remember that time,” Ben said, “when we were in middle school and those two kids hissed racial slurs at me when they passed us on the field? You ran after them and started punching them in the face. All three of you got suspended.”
“Yeah.”
“I could name at least five other times when you’ve stuck up for me. I think you felt like you had to defend me because I was Black and because I’ve never been the kind of person who strikes back when someone insults me. But you might not know that I’ve also always felt the need to defend you. Because of your history, I can’t help but want the best for you.”