Chapter 25 Grace
Grace
Iwake up the next morning like I went to bed: beyond happy, and eager to see Johnson again.
Everything that I would have hoped for on our first date—it’d been there.
And now I want more, even though it’s seven-thirty in the morning, and he’d only dropped me off eight hours ago or so. He said he’d text me though, so I hold myself back from messaging him. Although I don’t think he would complain if you did, a voice says in my head.
Instead, I let Grover outside, and head to the kitchen to make coffee. With the pup taken care of, I map out my run and get changed into workout gear.
Once I get going on the run, I revisit Coach Shelley’s request. Johnson’s phrase—“nothing to lose”—sticks with me.
Really, what negative consequences could come about?
At this point, it feels like none. The impact of the NCAA championships from eighteen months ago fades with every step I take forward to reclaim my love of running.
When I get back to the house, it’s a little after ten and a text is waiting for me from Jessica.
JESSICA: Hey girl! Want to come watch Rori’s match at our place?
Rori’s U.S. Open final match starts at four, and I’m definitely tuning in, but doing it with Jessica and Carter sounds more fun.
GRACE: Absolutely, send me your address? I’m at Landon’s.
JESSICA: Perfect. We’re six minutes away from him.
Oh, they’re so close, even better. I spend an hour reading on the enclosed deck, Grover settled at my feet. He’s a total rascal if let out free, so the gate down to the yard is firmly closed. I walk him around eleven to stretch both of our legs.
When I settle back down to resume reading, my phone dings again.
JOHNSON: Hey, good morning.
JOHNSON: How’s your day going so far?
GRACE: Honestly? Awesome. I had a killer run earlier.
JOHNSON: Nice.
GRACE: Thanks again for yesterday. All of it…
JOHNSON: I’m pretty sure I’m the one who should be doing the thank yous
JOHNSON: What are you doing for Rori’s match? Do you want to come over?
GRACE: Actually, Jessica texted me, inviting me to watch it with her and Carter at their house. Do you want to join? Obviously we’ll have to be discreet.
JOHNSON: Sure, I’ll text him to confirm. I won’t mention you told me, I can invite myself over.
GRACE: And then maybe we can have some time after the match?
JOHNSON: Absolutely, Goldie.
I take a deep breath, trying to contain my excitement. More time with Johnson, like I wanted.
A few hours later, I pull into Jessica and Carter’s driveway. As I’m getting out of the car, Johnson also arrives. I stand and wait for him to get out.
“You look amazing,” Johnson whispers to me as he approaches my car. He looks around and decides it’s safe to lean in for a kiss on my cheek. “You smell so good too,” he whispers in my ear before taking a quick nibble of it.
I hit him on his shoulder, while I also involuntarily shudder from his bite. “Johnson, don’t get us in trouble.”
We’re both trying to keep from laughing as we approach Carter’s door. Johnson rings the doorbell, and the man himself opens the door.
Carter looks at us both, pivoting his head back and forth, his brow crinkled. “You guys came together?”
I go bright red from his question. Stay cool, Grace. It’s not like you did come here together, even if you may be guilty of…other things.
“No,” Johnson replies calmly. Thank goodness he’s better at staying composed. “We just both got here at the same time.”
“Well, come on in,” Jessica says from behind Carter. “Rori’s already out on the court warming up.”
We walk into their living room, which has a big screen TV displaying the match.
The room is more “modest” than Landon and Johnson’s living areas, but that just means it feels like it’s normal sized.
Carter doesn’t get the same level of endorsements as a lineman, so he probably wisely chose to avoid overspending on his house.
“What do you both want to drink? I have seltzer, soda, beer…” Carter asks.
“Seltzer,” we both say at the same time. And once again, I blush. Dang it.
Johnson looks at me, clearly amused. “Great minds…”
Carter looks slightly confused again, but the expression clears quickly from his face. He leaves the room, presumably to grab our drinks from the kitchen.
Jessica moves to an armchair. “Come sit on the couch, you two.”
We head to the light gray chenille couch. I sit down first on the corner section nearest Jessica, and Johnson sits next to me, in the middle part. We’re less than a foot away—by his choice, based on where he sat. Pushing our limits, I think.
The match is starting, and Carter returns with the drinks, so we all quiet down as if we’re at Flushing Meadows itself, like Landon. Rori’s opponent is a top player named Hanna, who I’ve heard about for years on sports news shows but never watched play.
After Rori takes a quick lead, we all begin to relax and chat amongst ourselves during the commercial breaks.
Carter is also a music lover, so our conversation heads in that direction.
Jessica starts teasing him about how she wants Sabrina Carpenter tickets, and he looks aghast—but not for the reason I think.
“Like I would deprive you of seeing her, she puts on a hell of a show.” He winks. “But maybe wait for your birthday next month.”
“Hint, hint,” I joke.
In the meantime, Rori is owning this match. She wins the first set pretty easily, and only forty-five minutes have passed.
“I’m surprised. Hanna is the number one player right now,” Carter, the biggest tennis fan among us, observes.
“That’s because Rori is coming to claim it,” Jessica says, and all three of us athletes in the room make sounds in agreement, as if our own competitive juices kicked in.
Carter stands up and starts walking back towards the hallway. “Do you guys want some food? I’ll grab some cheese and crackers Jess bought earlier.”
“I could eat,” Johnson says.
“You boys and your appetites,” Jessica teases. “Carter, I’ll come help.”
They both head into the kitchen, out of sight.
Johnson watches them leave and then turns towards me. He has a gentle look in his eye, and rests his left palm over the top of my right hand, which is only a few inches away.
“You hungry?” he asks me quietly, shifting closer.
“Nevermind, he doesn’t need me after all,” says Jessica, bursting into the room.
Her eyes go big. Johnson hasn’t had time to move his hand off mine before she sees it, and he’s leaning toward me in a way that’s more intimate than typical for a casual friendship.
“Um, yeah, I’ll have some snacks,” I say with a deliberately loud voice. Johnson snaps his hand back to his lap and a second later, reaches for his seltzer.
I peek over at Jessica, and yup, she’s staring at me. As soon as she sees me looking at her, she throws in an eyebrow raise. Oh no, she’s definitely suspicious.
But then it gets worse. She mouths “dark,” “beard,” and “leader” in succession, counting off the three words on her fingers. I shake my head “no,” but she looks skeptical. “Girl,” she mouths next.
“Grace, can I show you something in my room?” she says in a normal voice. “Just for a few minutes, we won’t miss much.”
“O–okay.” Oh shoot. Think fast, I tell myself. Except I’m panicking too much to think at all.
She leads me to the opposite side of their house, into their master bedroom. Only a few steps in, she turns around and faces me. “Grace Battle, start talking.”
“Um…” I really don’t know where to even begin or what to say. “About what?”
“C’mon, my friend. Is Johnson your new guy? Hello, he fits your description to a T.”
“Jessica…ugh, this is so bad.” My hands come up to my face. “No one is supposed to know.”
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry. I’m pushing.” She ratchets down her tone. “It’s him, though? Johnson.”
I pull my head out of my hands. “It is. It’s a secret, Jessica. You have to keep it to yourself.”
“I will, girl, don’t worry.” She brings her hand to my shoulder, but then her face crinkles up. “Well, I don’t keep secrets from Carter. I don’t think I can skip telling him. He would die for Johnson, though.”
This is going from bad to worse. “Okay, I understand.”
“I’ll tell him no BJs for six months if he squeals.” Her voice carries a determined tone. “He’ll keep it quiet. Why are you guys hiding it, exactly?”
“Landon.” I whip through an explanation of the dynamics with my brother and why we can’t tell him right now.
“I have so many questions.” Her hand drops off my shoulder. “But we better get out there before we miss more of the match and the guys start hunting us down. You owe me another mimosa lunch. Maybe on a day we both have classes again?”
“Sure.” It might be nice to have someone to talk to about Johnson, I realize.
We head back out to the living room, where Carter has rejoined Johnson, bringing the food with him.
“There they are. Come grab some snacks before J and I eat it all.”
Johnson sneaks a look at me when I sit down, as if he’s seeking his own reassurance about what Jessica might have seen. I shake my head at him, trying to project the message “we’ll talk after.”
The second set is well underway at this point, but I’m distracted from the tennis. What will Johnson want to do now that our secret has started to get out? Especially if Carter knows as a member of the team?
As we head back out to our cars to leave after the match, there’s no chance to talk to Johnson because Carter is watching from his doorstep, waving goodbye. Instead, he sends me a text as soon as he’s in his car to confirm our plans.
JOHNSON: Still coming to my place?
I reply yes, and he sends me a smile through our windows before starting his car and heading out. I follow suit, nervous the whole drive about how Johnson’s going to react.
It turns out, not that badly. After a brief grimace, Johnson’s cool as a cucumber when I finish describing my conversation with Jessica. We’re standing in his kitchen, where we grabbed some Flash Fuel from his fridge.
“She’s right,” he says stoically. “Carter’s not going to say a word. I’ll talk to him too.”
I let out a visible sigh of relief, and I’m certain my expression has made plain that I’ve been stressing over this development.
“Goldie, don’t worry. You’re not getting away from me that easily,” he teases lightly.
“I was scared that you wouldn’t want to keep seeing each other,” I respond. Immediately I realize how telling that statement is about how I feel about him. Too much too soon?
He brings his arms around me in a hug, his eyes warm. Apparently it wasn’t too much.
“As long as you and I are good, we’re going to figure the rest out.”
I lean my head against his chest and start to laugh, able to appreciate how ridiculous it was that our secret got out on our first outing with other people.
“I can’t believe we’ve blown our cover already.”