Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 82543 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82543 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 413(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
It takes away all my doubts about going for what I want.
And what I want, what I’ve always wanted since that night on my rooftop back in Chicago, is Peyton.
“So does that mean you’re staying here?” Brady asks me. “Do we get out of moving boxes?”
“Oh, fuck no. Do you know how expensive this place is? I’ll stay with you guys until I can get into a dorm or find cheaper accommodation.”
Brady smiles, but it looks sarcastic or like he’s doing it through gritted teeth. “Fun for us, then.”
I give him a look that screams, I know your secret, and your pops is right there. Not that I’d ever do that to him, but he doesn’t know that.
Brady claps. “Let’s get these boxes loaded up in the car.”
Living with him is going to be so much fun.
That’s if Peyton will still have me.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
peyton
The cool wind whips at my face as Dad and I hit the beach. He’s been following me since I stormed out of Levi’s apartment, but he finally pulls me to a stop after five minutes of me kicking at the soft sand with every step.
He grabs my arm. “You cool down enough to talk yet?”
I pull out of his grip and keep trudging in the direction of home. The sidewalk or even the harder sand near the water would be easier, but this is cathartic.
“I’ll take that as a no,” Dad mumbles behind me.
It’s not until we pass campus and are not far from Shenanigans that my muscles start to burn, and I figure I should stop because if I get a knee injury from throwing a hissy fit, Coach will be pissed.
He’s been riding us hard since we got the news we were in the playoff, which is probably why I didn’t even notice the signs that my boyfriend was unhappy. He has seemed stressed, but I figured that was about money. Not … us.
When I slow to a stop, Dad pulls me down, and we sit side by side, looking out at the water.
He doesn’t speak, just waits for me to be ready to talk about it, and considering my dad is not known for being patient, I almost want to drag this out to see how long it’ll take for him to crack.
“He’s not wrong to be worried, you know.” Didn’t take that long at all, then. “Sure, it was the worst possible timing—”
“Well, that’s not entirely true. He could have told me right before I went onto the field tomorrow. With a sign. In front of the whole crowd.”
“Okay, okay, so there could be worse timing, but that doesn’t mean what he did back there didn’t make me ragey as much as it did you. What you need to do is find a way to not think about it. At least for the next few days. It’ll be a good lesson in separating your private life from your career, which is something you’re going to have to do if you want to make it in the NFL.”
“I know. And I’m ready for tomorrow. I was just blindsided by Levi’s idea of a solution. He had a problem, I found a way to fix it, even if it was temporary, and then he ignores it and says he’s going to go back to Chicago instead?”
Dad presses his lips together. “If it makes you feel any better, it didn’t seem like he actually wanted to go back to his father.”
“That’s the part I don’t understand the most. He hates his dad. He hated his life back in Chicago. And the one he had in Boston. Here … I thought he was finally happy, and stupidly, I liked that I had something to do with that. But if he’s willing to ditch it all for money—”
“I don’t think he was doing it for the money. You basically offered him a free ride for the next six months, but he didn’t want to take it because he was worried about how it would affect your relationship. It would be one thing if you’d been together for years, but you haven’t. I can see how it would be daunting for him. You both have amazing futures open to you, and I think he was possibly feeling trapped by needing to financially depend on someone else instead of doing it himself.”
That … makes sense. I guess. “He could have at least picked a better time to tell me.”
“I won’t argue with that. Just so you know, if you two get married, I’m going to go to Levi the day before the wedding and say I can no longer walk my son down the aisle because it’s too much pressure. It will be fun, and I’ll get Pop to film Levi’s reaction.”
“And for that, we’re never getting married.”
Dad nudges me. “But it made you realize you still want to be with him, didn’t it?”