Chapter Six #2
“Do you know that guy?” she asks.
This is the perfect opportunity to come clean about who I am and what I do, but instead, I keep it to myself. I don’t know why. Perhaps, because I’m enjoying having her treat me like a normal person a little too much to ruin it this soon.
Shaking my head, I say, “Credit card receipt. Guess it didn’t work on their screen.
” The lie has my gut twisting, instantly putting a bad taste in my mouth, but I ignore it, chasing it down with a drink of my sweet tea.
She’ll find out eventually, hopefully by then I’ll know if she’s for me or not.
Right now, I’m leaning toward the keep her forever side.
Taking the last bite of my pizza, I swallow it and ask, “Tell me about these dogs you had to run off to take care of.”
Her eyes light up, sparkling with warmth. “Oh, you’ve done it now. I hope you’re ready to hear all about my precious baby dogs.”
“Baby dogs? You have puppies?”
She grins, shaking her head. “No, but I have Dobermans and that’s pretty much the same thing.”
Yep, my new woman is a badass. I knew it already, and she just keeps proving me right.
Later, we’re walking back to my truck, holding hands, when she lifts mine and gives the blue plastic band around my wrist a little tug. “Tell me about this,” she sweetly demands, and I open the truck door, helping her inside.
I wait until I’ve climbed into the driver’s side to explain the significance.
“A little boy I met named Dylan had cancer, and he gave the bracelet to me. I wear it throughout the year in his honor, so I never forget how lucky I am at getting to live another day. He asked me to live for him, to do great things one day. I promised I would, that I’d make my life count since he wasn’t getting the same chance. ”
She has tears in her eyes when I glance over. She stares out her window for a moment before confessing, “I wasn’t expecting that. I’m sorry,” she apologizes and swipes at a tear that falls. “I’m being emotional.”
“Hey, don’t apologize for having feelings.
Seriously, it was a rough moment, even for me.
Dylan was a sweet kid, and one thing I wish is that I’d met him sooner.
It’s one reason why I stop by the children’s hospital monthly to donate and visit.
I don’t want to miss meeting another great kid like Dylan, and lose out on the opportunity of knowing him a little better before he passes. ”
“It’s just, you see people wear those plastic band bracelets and it’s usually for something insignificant, like a sports team or something.
And, here you have the saddest, but most noteworthy story to yours.
You have depth, JJ, and I appreciate that.
I’m sure those kids do, too, when they have a new face to visit them each month. ”
I offer her a small smile; grateful she doesn’t see me as just another meathead due to my size.
I’m not bulky like most of my teammates, but I still get stuck under the dumb jock stigmatism.
I don’t miss the remark about the sports team being an insignificant reason, so it has me asking before I can stop myself, “Do you not like sports?”
She grins, the moment before eased by the subject change. “Actually, I love sports. Adore them, especially football.”
“You don’t say,” my voice comes out a bit strangled. I hope she doesn’t notice. Does that mean she does actually know who I am?
“Yep, huge TB12 fan. I mean huge! Give me the Bucks or New England. Ugh, even several others. I’m kind of addicted to the Knock Abouts show HFO does on the teams. Each team I don’t care for, that I watch the show about, I end up becoming sort of a fan.
Minus the Dirty Birds, they play ugly and always will in my opinion.
It’s the players mostly. I stopped being a one-team woman. Def not a Dallas fan. For sure.”
I swallow a bit roughly. She must not recognize me since she’s basically told me she’s a huge fan of the best quarterback alive and claims not to be a fan of Dallas.
I’ll admit it stings a little, having the woman I’m interested in claim to be such a big fan of my favorite sport that I’ve devoted my life to and not know who I am or root for the team I help lead.
The team I’m still lucky enough to have a contract with, given my age in the sport.
I may be younger than Kinsley, but in football, I’m damn near considered a grandpa.
“Not a Texas fan, hm?”
“Nope, unless it’s hockey. I’m all in on Texas hockey.”
Of course she is, and I’m friends with a few of those guys too. Kind of rubs salt in my metaphorical wound.
“I had a really good time, thank you,” she comments as I pull to a stop in her driveway.
“I’m glad. I did too. Why do you have the privacy fence across your driveway, too, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“For more security. Plus, this way my dogs have even more space to run around on.”
I nod, glancing at her. I’ve had to stop myself from staring all night long.
Her hand goes to the door handle, and I reach for her fingers closest to me to stop her.
“I’m going to come around and help you out.
Before I do, I want to know…” I pause, trying to build up the courage to ask her, when I’ve never had this issue in the past. Something about Kinsley throws me off kilter and makes me want to try harder than I ever have before with a woman. “Can I, uh, kiss you?”
She stares at me for a solid two minutes, making me hold my breath. Her eyes move over my face, taking me in, almost as if she’s having an internal battle over what her answer should be. I swear, sweat blooms on the back of my neck; she’s so intense.
Finally, she says, “Abso-fucking-lutely.”