Chapter 35
Ari
The teachers-versus-students football game is worse than I imagined.
We’re losing. Badly.
The students are younger, faster, and significantly more motivated to embarrass us—which they do repeatedly.
“Run, Miss Langford!” one of my students yells.
“I am running!”
“That’s a jog!”
“Then why am I so winded?”
The teachers have the ball. Wade’s hand is on my lower back as he steers me toward our huddle. I glance down over my shoulder, looking at the contact then up at him, but he just shakes his head.
After the play, his fingers brush my hip as he straightens the belt at my waist. “Your flag is twisted.”
“Yours is too.” I smile up at him as my hands go to his waist, spinning his belt.
Across the field, Landrie catches my eye. The look on her face says she’s noticed the unnecessary touching. I immediately look away. I don’t have time for judgmental sisters at the moment.
Now the students have the football. I jump up to intercept but miss and fall to the ground.
Wade must’ve done the same thing too, because he’s suddenly on the ground beside me.
The play continues on, the student easily scoring behind us.
Instead of immediately hopping up, Wade rolls over my body with a roguish smile, basically using me to push himself upright.
“Stevie,” one boy laughs, “Langford’s on your team. You’re not supposed to tackle her.”
“I guess I forgot the rules.” Wade laughs as he helps me up. Once I’m standing, he doesn’t let go of my hand but pulls me closer to him. “Convenient how that keeps happening.” A cocky grin rounds out his expression before he turns and runs to the line of scrimmage.
Oh, my heart.
I press my hand against it, willing it to slow down, but it doesn’t seem to work.
When we have the ball again, I take off across the field, fully aware that nobody expects me to catch anything.
There’s not even a student guarding me. But somehow a football lands directly in my hands—because Wade threw it at me.
For one deeply misguided second, I think I’m athletic.
Then, three senior boys immediately start charging toward me, and I squeal despite my competitive spirit.
One of the boys reaches for my flag, but just before his fingers touch it, Wade is there, making an incredible block like he would die before he’d let a student get close to me. I run into the end zone.
TOUCHDOWN!
Wade lifts me clean off the ground in celebration. I forget that I’m a teacher and that he’s the principal and wrap my legs around his waist as he spins me in the air like we just won the game.
We didn’t.
We’re losing by twenty-seven.
When he finally sets me down, I become aware of two things.
One: half the town is staring at us with smiles that feel oddly too big.
And two: Wade doesn’t seem to notice.
Or maybe he doesn’t care.
The tailgate takes over the school parking lot within minutes after the teachers’ football game. Students throw balls between rows of trucks. Parents set out Crock-Pots, grills, and folding chairs. Somebody brought a speaker and plays music.
The smell of grilled burgers and wood smoke drifts through the parking lot. It’s quaint in that perfect small-town way.
“About time,” Pam Vasser says as she hands me a paper plate.
I pull my eyes to her. “About time for what?”
She gives me a look that says she knows something I don’t. And for a split second, I’m worried she's going to bring up the beet incident. Instead, she says, “You and Wade. It’s about time he actually fell in love with a girl.”
My brows lift. Fell in love?
Did Pam steal a controlled substance from the doctor’s office and get high off of it? Because love is a heavy word to be throwing around.
Before I can refute her claims, she’s gone.
Five minutes later, Edna Two corners me beside the dessert table. “I always said he’d come around eventually.”
“Carson, the new dentist? Has he been trying for a long time to get back to Autumn Ridge?”
“Wade.” She pats my hand. “I suppose you two are cute together.”
Then she walks away too, smiling like she knows something.
It’s unsettling how involved everyone in this town is.
“When’s the wedding?” Mayor Monroe asks when he’s beside me at the dessert table.
“Oh, it’s next week. Juliet should’ve gotten an invitation for your family.”
Mayor Monroe smiles. “I meant you and Wade.”
My forehead crinkles with lines.
It’s bad when the mayor is weighing in. I mean, when it comes to his love life, I voted for Sharon Price over at the library, but it seems wrong for the mayor to comment on mine. I see the double standard, and I do not care.
By the time Liv finds me, I’m hiding beside a folding table, pretending to be very interested in a bowl of potato salad, just to avoid more unsolicited relationship comments.
“I’ve been looking all over for you,” she says.
I immediately know where this is going. “The fake-relationship thing.”
Liv folds her arms. “Uh, nothing about you and Wade looks fake.”
My stomach does a weird little cartwheel. “Liv—”
“I don’t want to hear it. I've been watching you two all week. The face painting, the pumpkin weigh-in, and then that ridiculous display of public affection at the flag football game.”
“You’re one to talk. What about you and Tate?”
“That’s different. I’ve been ordered by the police to go undercover.”
“It doesn’t seem that different to me.”
“It is. So, tell me what’s really going on with you and Wade.”
I glance across the parking lot. Wade is helping Mr. Heath unload coolers from a truck. He sees me watching him and gives a cute little wave.
“See?” Liv points to him. “He’s constantly looking for you, and when you’re around, he doesn’t pay attention to anyone else.”
“He’s friendly with everybody, you know that.”
“He isn’t acting friendly with you.”
She’s right.
Friendly Wade is loud. Confident. Charming. The Wade who’s been following me around fall festival week feels...different. Like, tender and sweet but also sincerely flirtatious.
I turn to her, ready to face the facts. “He literally volunteered for every activity I was overseeing this week. He remembers random things I say. He keeps finding reasons to touch me when no one is around. Last week, I thought he was going to kiss me when there was definitely no fake dating on the table.”
Her eyes widen. “He’s in it for real.”
“You think?”
“Ari, you just listed a few things he’s done off the top of your head. I’m sure there’s a hundred other little pieces you could add to the puzzle.”
“Maybe I’m reading into things too much.”
“Either Wade Stevenson is the greatest actor in the history of mankind…or he's falling for you.”
“But what if I’m wrong? You know I’ve been wrong before.” I don’t even need to mention Andy’s name for Liv to understand.
“What’s the worst that could happen? You misinterpret your fake relationship for something real, have a little fun with it, and then walk away? It’s not that big of a deal. It’s not a four-year engagement like it was with Andy.”
For once, I don’t immediately argue.
Because I’m tired of fighting every look. Every touch. Every piece of evidence.
“You’re right,” I finally say. “Every other girl in town has dated him. Why can’t I have a turn?
Just for fun. Nothing too serious.” As the words leave my mouth, I already know what I feel for Wade is more than nothing serious, but this is the only way I know how to frame it so I can feel good about it.
For years, I’ve carried around the same story.
Wade never wanted to date me. But here he is, giving me all the signs that he wants to date me now.
Why not just go for it?
Better late than never, right?
“Do you like him back?”
I look across the parking lot again at the way he laughs in the middle of a group of men. The answer should be simple.
Instead, it terrifies me.
Because if I admit I like him, then I have to admit I want this to be real, not just an easy-breezy fun thing.
And that feels a lot riskier.
“I don't know,” I say. “I’ve never thought about it.”
Liv’s smile is small. “Yeah, right.”
I hate how well my friend knows me.