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Chapter 43: Alone and uncertain
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Keeping Score Chapter 44: Wake-up call
LEOThere was an annoying buzzing somewhere near my head, and still mostly asleep, I frowned. The wrinkling of my forehead sent an ache through my head, and for a moment, I was pretty sure I was going to puke.The buzzing sounded again. I'd thought it was a mosquito, but as awareness seeped in, I realized it was a telephone vibrating somewhere. Close to me? I couldn't tell. A distant part of my brain considered moving my hand so I could grope around for the damn thing, but apparently some of the synapses had been damaged, because my hand didn't do anything. After a few seconds, the buzzing stopped again, and I drifted back into some kind of pseudo-slumber. "Taylor! You in there, dude?" The voice was loud and unfamiliar. I groaned and covered my head with one bent arm."Taylor. Leo. C'mon, man, you gotta wake up." The guy I didn't know sounded upset. And then he shook me, and bile rose in my stomach. "Stop." I ground out the word. "I'm going to fucking hurl on you, whoever the fu
Keeping Score Chapter 45: Devastation
QUINN"Hey, honey, your mom just sweet-talked me into picking up dinner from Mandarin Inn tonight. You want your regular garlic chicken?""Hmmmm." I hummed under my breath, setting down the book was reading as my dad leaned through the doorway of my bedroom. "Yes, please. Oh, and can we get a side of fried won ton, please?""Sure. Anything for my high school graduate daughter." He winked. "Mom's calling it in, so by the time I get there, it should be ready. You hungry?"I shrugged. "I guess. It's not like I've done anything today but lay around and read. Hard to work up an appetite doing that.""Depends on what you're reading. For instance, in the book I'm reading, the main character keeps ordering Chinese food. I'm thinking maybe your mom somehow planted subliminal messages in it."I smiled. "I wouldn't put it past her.""Pesky woman." He smirked, because we both knew that my mother had him totally wrapped around her little finger. "Hey, you okay, hon? You know, I didn't want t
Keeping Score Chapter 46: Exceleration
LEO"Can't you drive this fucking car any fucking faster?" I hunched over, one hand braced on the dashboard, as though I could move us along the freeway. "No, I can't. Or let me amend that. I won't. I'm going five miles over the speed limit. That's the best I can do." I glowered at the guy behind the steering wheel, wishing like hell there'd been anyone but him sober enough to drive me home. His lips were pressed together and his jaw was tense, probably because I'd been repeating the same words more or less for the past thirty minutes. He glanced in my direction and sighed, his mouth relaxing just a little. "Look, dude, I get it. You need to get home. But me breaking the law so we get stopped for a ticket, or worse, get into an accident, is only going to slow us down. So chill, okay? Put your head back and get some sleep. I got the address in my GPS, and I'll wake you up when we get there.""I'm not going to sleep." I growled the words. "I can't. I-I just need to get to her." S
Keeping Score Chapter 47: Angst
LEOThe front hall of the Russells' home led into a formal living room, which I couldn't remember us ever using. But today, everyone was sitting there: my dad was the first person I saw, slumped in a deep green wing chair. On the sofa, my mother and Sheri, Nate's mom, flanked Carrie, who seemed to have shrunk in the less-than-forty-eight hours since I'd seen her last. Quinn's mom wore yoga pants and a huge sweatshirt. As I stepped into the hallway, I recognized the shirt as one of Bill's. Her hands were lost in the sleeves. Her sleek black hair, always so neat and styled, was tousled and held back from her face by a clip. She didn't look up or even react when my mother cried out my name and stood, her arms reaching for me. "Oh, my God, Leo. Thank God you're here. You have no idea-" She bit her lip, casting a glance down at Carrie. "We were worried.""I'm sorry." The response was automatic. I knelt in front of Quinn's mother and laid my hand on hers, which lay loosely in her lap.
Keeping Score Chapter 48: Being noble isn't easy
LEOBefore I could figure out what she meant, Quinn kissed me, open-mouthed and hard. There was nothing uncertain about her; on her lips I felt desire and desperation. Her hands tightened on the back of my neck. I knew that a stand-up guy, someone here to comfort his friend, would not take advantage of the fact that said friend was currently thrusting her tongue into his mouth, with her boobs, boobs that he'd been dying to touch again for over a year, teasing against his chest. He would not be getting hard and horny as hell, and he'd just hold her, so that nothing happened that she might regret. I was not that guy.With a sound that was combination groan and growl, I raked my fingers through her hair, holding her head in place. As hard as she'd been pressing her mouth to mine, I kissed her even deeper, angling her body closer against me. "God, I've missed your hands." She covered my fingers, still deep in her hair, with her own hands. "Missed them on me. Missed you touching me.
Keeping Score Chapter 49: Someone else's pain
NATEMy stomach growled, and that was what woke me up. I couldn't remember when I'd last eaten. We'd been just about to sit down to dinner the night before, when my mom had gotten the frantic telephone call from Lisa Taylor. I'd been in the kitchen already, pouring a glass of lemonade, and I'd glanced over at my mother's face when I heard her voice. "Oh, my God. No. No. Lisa-what-oh, my God. Okay. Yes, I'll head over now. Yeah. No, I know. I just can't-yes. I'll see you there." My dad had just come inside with a plate of burgers he'd been grilling outside. He was whistling, I remembered now. We'd had a relaxed Saturday after the excitement of graduation and the party over at Quinn's house. That was my parents' usual MO: they worried that too much fuss or out-of-the-ordinary activity would wear me out, make me more susceptible to getting sick. So a busy day was always followed by one at home. My mother had turned around, and my father saw her face. He'd stopped whistling, slid th
Keeping Score Chapter 50: Together again
NATEBy the time the sun rose, I could barely keep my dry eyes open. Every time I blinked, it felt like sandpaper scraping over my eyeballs. My mother, who'd been putting away a few things in the kitchen, touched my shoulder. "Nate. You need to go home and get some sleep. Dad'll drive you. He should sleep some, too, in his own bed instead of that chair."I shook my head. "I don't want to leave Quinn." I knew it was idiotic. I wasn't doing her any good, but the idea of not being with her made me panic. "I think maybe if you go get some sleep, she might, too. Just a few hours, honey. C'mon. I can't have you getting sick. I can't deal with it."That was what finally got to me. I nodded reluctantly and stood up. Quinn glanced at me without even a flicker of interest in her eyes. "I'm just going home for a little bit. I'm going to get some sleep, and you should, too." "Nate's right, Quinn. Why don't you go lie down, sweetie?" Lisa rubbed Quinn's back. "I'll get you tucked in. Com
Keeping Score Chapter 51: Remind me about normal
QUINNThe seven days after my father died were a blur of numbness. Later, I would look back and not remember much more than a few minutes here and there. People came to the house. My mother's family as well as my father's, people I hadn't seen in years, arrived in town. They didn't stay with us-except for my mother's sister, who did-but it seemed there were always at least three or four people at the house. And they all wanted to talk to me, or hug me, or feed me. All I wanted was to be left alone. Well, alone with Leo, that was. He never left me during that week, unless it was for brief snatches of time when he had to run home for more clothes, and even then, he made sure Nate was with me. The two most important guys in my life seemed to have come to some sort of meeting of the minds, and they were more at ease with each other than I'd seen them in years. The three of us hid out in my room as much as we could. When I had to go downstairs and be sociable, Leo held my hand in h
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Keeping Score Chapter 131: Days of You and Me
QUINNThe party was in full swing, with music blaring and the dance floor crowded. I was sitting on Leo's lap, with his arms circling my waist as we chatted with Zelda and Tucker. "Hey, did you see that?" Zelda nodded toward the crush of dancing couples. On the very edge, Gia was slow dancing with Tate Durham. She stared up into his face as he murmured to her, and I glanced back at Zelda with raised brows. "When did that happen?" I'd spent quite a bit of time lately with Zelda and Gia, who were both my bridesmaids, but Gia hadn't mentioned anything about Tate Durham. I didn't even realize she knew him, although thinking back, they must've met at Carolina, when we used to go see Leo and Matt."Got me. But they look mighty cozy.""She deserves a little happiness. And Tate's a good guy." Leo, who had been talking to Tucker about how brutal mini-camp had been this year, picked up on my last words. He followed my gaze to Gia and Tate and smirked. "Well, it's about time." "Hey.
Keeping Score Chapter 130: The best choice I ever made
QUINNThanks to the security team that we'd hired to keep the media and the curious public at bay, I could only barely see the people lining the perimeter of the roped-off section of the beach. I knew they were there, but it was okay; today of all days, I wanted to share all of my happiness with everyone and anyone. Behind me, the folding chairs that had been arranged on the portable wooden floor-and who knew they had such things!-were filled with our loved ones. We had quite a crowd, for what we'd both termed a small, intimate wedding, but then we were very blessed with both friends and family. My mother sat in the front row, flanked by Joe and Lisa on one side and Mark and Sheri on the other. Leo and I had dispensed with the silly idea of the bride's side and groom's side. We shared so many friends that making them choose which one of us to support would have been crazy. And our parents had decreed early on that they were all going to sit together, forming a united front. The
Keeping Score Chapter 129: We earned this happily ever after
QUINNWe'd been waiting in the empty, echoing corridor outside the locker room for twenty minutes. The guard had kindly but firmly told us that we couldn't go any further, but after Ellie had cajoled him, he'd promised to give us any update he heard and to talk to the trainer about letting us in as soon as it was possible. People swooshed through the hall, to and fro, but none of them showed us the least bit interest. A couple of reporters straggled down, but a non-life-threatening injury to a second year player who was only just beginning to show his strength wasn't exactly breaking news. I tried not to be bitter about that, thinking of all the times the press had hounded us about stupid stuff since Leo had been in college. One of the journalists was live streaming the game on his phone, with the volume pumped. Apparently the Rebels had made the extra point after Leo's touchdown, but New York had come back to score ten points after that-a fast touch down and then a field goal. Th
Keeping Score Chapter 128: Number 22 is down
QUINN"There's my boy!" Joe clapped his hands and whistled as the Rebels took the field for their first possession in the second half. We were up by two field goals, but with a team like New York, that wasn't quite a comfortable margin. "I told him we wanted to see him score today." Lisa nudged me. "Both times, it's happened when we weren't at the game. It's starting to give me a complex."I laughed. "I missed one of them, since it was on the road. So don't take it personally." Down on the field, the center snapped the ball into Gideon's hands. The quarterback stutter-stepped backwards, looking for an open receiver and then fired a pass downfield to a wide receiver, who caught the ball and took off. The crowd jumped to its collective feet, cheering him on. He made it to the twenty-eight-yard line before he was forced out of bounds by a New York player. We sat back down as the chains moved, and Joe patted my back. "This is going to be it, this next play. You watch. I've got a
Keeping Score Chapter 127: Family reunion
QUINN"I never knew it got so cold down south." Lisa Taylor wrapped her scarf a little more securely around her face. "I'm glad I remembered my gloves."On the other side of me, her husband leaned over. "Well, it is December, Lisa. You can't expect beach weather. Virginia isn't that far south."I bit my lip and tried not to laugh. Leo's parents had been down here for the last three days, visiting on what Joe called a 'pre-wedding mini-vacation' and what Lisa referred to as 'Joe's attempt to keep me from killing people'. Although they never really argued, they sniped at each other all the time, which made it less than fun to be around them. Apparently, being the parents of the groom was almost as stressful as being the bride's family. Simon had called us last week, griping about the tensions between Justine's parents and his own."You've got to take them off my hands for a little while, Leo. Please, I'm begging you." Neither of us had ever heard Simon sound so desperate. "All of the
Keeping Score Chapter 126: This is our time
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
Keeping Score Chapter 125: For the rest of our lives
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
Keeping Score Chapter 124: Redux
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
Keeping Score Chapter 123: About time
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
