LEOWe'd been good over these past four days, Quinn and me. We'd kept our promise to each other, and although we'd touched and held hands, I hadn't kissed her on the mouth yet, and we'd shared only brief hugs at bedtime. It was as if we both knew that taking one more step put us at risk for a plunge we weren't ready to navigate yet. But tonight was my last night in San Francisco. Tomorrow I'd board a plane that would take me three thousand miles away from her, and neither of us knew when we'd be together again. Quinn had told me that she was technically free to leave any time, but she still felt responsible for some of the final cleanup details that went along with publishing and releasing a book. She wasn't sure when she would be back in New Jersey. "The thing is, I'd like to have a plan before I go back," she'd said earlier. "Mom's sold the house, you know. She and Shane the dry cleaner are in Europe right now." There was still a little residual bitterness in her tone, but I und
QUINNWhen I was growing up, football was a regular part of my life. My dad took me to games from the time I was little, and then once Leo began playing, I never missed seeing him play, from grade school on. In high school, watching him play and then go off with a different cheerleader every time had broken my heart on a weekly basis, until that brief, bright few months in junior year when he'd been mine-and then football had been more than fun, it had been almost foreplay. During Leo's years at Carolina, I'd been at as many of his games as I could manage. If I wasn't there in person, I was devouring his moves on television. Watching him improve each week, find his own graceful rhythm, had been sweet while we were together and then bittersweet after we'd broken up. As I made my way into the Richmond Rebels' stadium on the first Sunday of the season, I realized how much I had missed this. Football. I'd missed the excited chatter of fans ready to see their team play, the smell that
QUINNI thought back to a couple of weeks before, when I'd landed in Philadelphia. I'd planned to get a shuttle to Mark and Sheri's house, where my mother had left my car before she and Shane had taken off for Europe, and then drive down to the shore house. But instead, when I'd left the restricted area of the airport, Zelda and Gia had been waiting for me on the other side."As if we were going to let you do this by yourself?" Zelda had cuffed me on the arm. "I'm pissed that you didn't ask us to pick you up. Now come on, let's get your bags. We're going to stop for your car, and then Gia's going to ride with you while I follow behind on the drive to the shore. We're staying with you overnight, and then she and I will head back tomorrow afternoon."And that was just what they had done. I'd been pathetically grateful for their presence, because coming home was harder than I'd expected. After months of living in peace in California, back in Eatonboro, even for a brief stop, meant that
QUINN"Leo's starting?" I breathed the words in a whisper. He'd gotten a fair amount of play time last season, but he'd never actually started a game; he was always sent in, usually in the second half. Next to me, Ellie grinned. "Surprise! He didn't want to tell you, in case anything happened. How awesome is it that you're here on his very first game as a starter? It's like kismet." "I thought I was nervous before, but now I'm a mess." I bit my lip. "But I'm more anxious for him than for me. He must be freaking out.""Nah." Ellie shrugged. "Leo's cool, and he's confident. Just watch." Watching was all I could do. The Rebels won the toss, and I fidgeted in my seat as the players went into formation for kickoff. Detroit's kicker ran forward, and the ball soared into the air toward the Rebels. The guy who caught it managed to get about fifteen yards before Detroit piled onto him. Special teams ran off, and Richmond's offensive line trotted onto the field. I kept my eyes glued to
QUINNBy the second half, Leo seemed to have found his rhythm. He caught several more passes and ran for a decent amount of yardage. When the clock hit all zeros, Richmond had won by ten points. I was ready to sprint down to the locker room, but Ellie caught my arm. "There's no rush, honey. Look." She pointed to the field, where the players were still milling around. "They'll be out there for a bit, doing some on-field interviews, and then they'll be in the locker room for a while before the post-game press conference. I doubt either Leo or Corey will be part of that today, but still-we don't want to be hanging out in the hallway until right before they come out. It's a mess. The press is there, and the jock junkies." She wrinkled her nose. "Okay." I sat down again. "So we just ...stay up here?""Yeah." Ellie lifted one shoulder. "Most of the wives take off and wait in the parking lot or meet their husbands at home. Corey and I have a tradition of meeting in the hall, so I don't
LEOThe last time Quinn had been in my house, I'd been in agony, wanting her and yet knowing the timing wasn't right yet. So as I led her up the steps and to my front door, I was determined to erase all the bad memories and replace them with only good ones.Before I turned the doorknob, I paused, gazing down at her. "The day I found this townhouse, I'd been looking at places all day. My mom was with me. Everyone had told me not to buy right away, in case I didn't last the season in Richmond or if I got traded or whatever, but I had a hunch. I knew I wanted to buy a place to live and not be just renting. I was ready for something permanent."She nodded, expectant. "I couldn't put my finger on why none of the houses seemed quite right. Then I realized it was because I couldn't see you in any of them. When I stood here for the first time, though, I turned around and looked at the neighborhood, the front lawn ...the view." I steered Quinn by the shoulders, pulling her back against me
LEOI let her body slide down mine until her feet hit the floor. Looping my arms around her waist, I held her to me. "Mia, I know we've still got things to work out. I want to keep at it. I don't want to bury our shit under a rug or pretend we're perfect. But I want to deal with all of it together. I want us to be together, and not just for now, not until we see if things are good. I want you to live with me here, in this house I picked out because I could see you all over it."Quinn rested her cheek against my chest. I felt her tears soaking into my shirt, and I could only hope and pray that they were the happy kind. Swallowing hard, I went on, laying everything on the line and going for broke. In the back of my mind, I heard the old Eatonboro High Eagles chant: Go big or go home."Mia Quinn." I dropped to my knees and held both of her hands tightly in mine. "I love you beyond my ability to express it. I've loved you for so long that I can't remember when my heart didn't beat for y
LEOThe past and present jumbled for a moment in my mind. I had a sudden flash of memory, the feel of those legs wrapped around my back as I sank down into her, the weight of her breasts in my hands, the taste of her ...it was all so vivid and so immediate that I gave myself a little pinch to make sure she was really here now, and that I wasn't in the middle of some psychedelic mind trip. Then she smiled at me and spoke, her voice low and teasing, and I knew this was real. "Are you going to say something, or are you going to just lay there gaping at me? You're kind of freaking me out. I'm starting to worry that you're second-guessing the whole forever thing.""Babe. Never." I sat up and crooked my finger. "Come here. I'd go to you, but I seem to have lost the feeling in my legs."Quinn took a few steps closer to me, just beyond my reach. "You know, I realized something while I was getting changed.""Oh, yeah? What's that?" My eyes were glued to her fingers playing with the hem of