again, jolting his arm forward as he whips the ball to the left.
No, wait.
He didn’t throw the ball at all! It’s still in his hand behind his back! As the bodies scramble on the left side of the field, Cameron’s cleats beat the ground as he beelines for the end zone. He’s down the field in a flash and the defense is scrambling to catch up after chasing a fake out to the side of the field.
Damn, he’s moving like he’s got a jetpack strapped to his ass. Holy shit, he’s gonna make it to the end zone! The crowd is shrieking as we collectively watch with disbelief. Cameron spikes the ball down at the end of the field. It’s a touchdown!
They did it! He did it!
The Buffaloes won 38 to 36 with a trick play. I guess you should never say it’s over until it’s done. At least in football, anyway.
The stadium sounds like an airport runway with the roaring crowd celebrating the unexpected win. Honor opens her eyes and jerks her head off Lauren’s chest, blinking like she’s not sure where she is. Her mouth twists down as she begins to wail, clearly not a fan of a bunch of boisterous adults interrupting her nap.
“That was amazing! Did you see that?” Chris yells as Lauren tries to comfort her daughter.
“It was incredible,” I smile at him.
He was incredible, is more like it.
“Dad, Dad? Can we go down to the field? Can we go say ‘hi’ to Cameron?” Chris ignores his sister’s cranky cries as he presses Mack to let him go.
“Uh, I don’t think that’s a great idea, bud. Honor just woke up.”
“Awww, come on! Please? Only for a minute. I promise. I just want to tell him how awesome that was,” my nephew pleads.
Mack’s eyes dart over to Lauren, looking for guidance. I’m with him; we should really get Honor out of here and head home. Only because I’m a great auntie. No other reason.
“Honor will be fine,” Lauren nods back at Mack and my heart sinks. Shit. “I’ll just take her to the car and feed her. You guys go talk to Cameron, if you can. I’ll meet you out there,” she smiles down at her baby. “All right!” Chris whoops and bursts out toward the stadium stairs, full of bustling bodies trying to make a quick exit.
“I, uh, I’ll go with you,” I tell Lauren as I follow on her heels.
She stops short and twists back to look at me, “You’re not going to go down there?” Her eyebrows shoot up suspiciously.
“Nah, I’ll come out to the car with you. I can help you with Honor.” I mumble back, avoiding her piercing look.
“What’s going on with you? First you didn’t want to come to the game and now you don’t want to go see Cameron? Did something happen between you two that I don’t know about?” She cradles Honor against her, slightly swaying her back and forth as she demands the truth.
Did anything happen?
Technically, no. We talked. We kissed. End of story. However, my heart wrenching in my chest is calling me out on my lies. It wasn’t the end of the story. It felt like the beginning.
I watch Chris and Mack slowly fight the tide of people heading up the stairs as they make their way down to the field. My eyes drift over to Cameron; he’s walking toward the barrier between the seats and the grass to meet them. Except, he’s not looking at them.
He’s staring at me.
“No,” I manage to twist my head back in my sister’s direction and pull my gaze from Cameron. I try not to sound panicked, but I really want to get out of here before this turns into an awkward scene. “Nothing happened. Well, remember when Honor was born?”
The look on Lauren’s face makes me instantly wish I didn’t ask such a stupid question. “Um, of course,” she frowns at me.
“Yeah, I mean, I know you do. Anyway, that night Cameron was supposed to drive me home, but we didn’t go home,” I start to spill my secret.
“Oh my God! Did you sleep with him?” Her eyes go wide.
“No! Nothing like that. We just, we talked. And then we kissed,” my voice trembles.
Kit Tunstall, R.E. Saxton
Mike Barry
Victoria Alexander
Walter J. Boyne
Richard Montanari
Sarah Lovett
Jon McGoran
Stephen Knight
Maya Banks
Bree Callahan