Redemption

SOMETHING SHIFTED

I wasn't looking forward to going home. Not when she's perched in my passenger seat, smiling at the window as I drive through every backroad in town. Maybe she doesn't realize and if she does, I'm not sure she cares. I'm hoping she wants this drive to last as long as I do.

She's probably wondering why she's been sitting next to me for forty-five minutes, pondering if she should ask when we'll make it home. I'm memorizing the details of her face as I'm losing my eyesight and this is the last time I'll ever see her.

I don't want to forget what she looks like when there's a hint of a smile on her lips and she's staring out the window while the overhead streetlights create shadows on her face. It's highlighting the tip of her nose and the tops of her cheeks, but it's revealing every thought I've tried suppressing.

I'm in love with this girl.

With the way the wind is whipping through the cracked window and how her hums are setting my soul on fire, I can't remember the last time I felt this alive.

My eyes are fucking aching because I keep staring out the corner of my eye to see the air sending Sawyer's curly hair into a tornado of tousled tangles, and yet she's never looked more beautiful. More damning.

I can't stop myself from reaching down and brushing my fingers over her knuckles. Because she's not trying to pull away from me anymore, and something about that gives me hope that she trusts me. Over the soft music, I can hear her breath hitch, but she's giving me that fucking smile that lights up every cell in my body, and I'm afraid I'll have to pull over before I have a heart attack.

"You're being awfully quiet," she murmured.

I cleared my throat. "Yeah – I'm uh – do you want pizza?"

"You always pay – "

"Don't start this with me," I flicked on the turn signal. "I'm not offering to buy you things with the idea that you're gonna pay me back, so stop. I offer so I can spend more time with you."

She didn't say another word as I pulled into the parking lot of the pizzeria. I hated it. I hated her silence because I knew her mind wasn't being kind to her.

I watched her slip down from the passenger seat. When she reached up to shut the door, I placed my hand over hers and laced our fingers. She snapped her head to look at me as I tugged her closer.

"I hope you're feeling pizza," I kept my hand in hers as we stepped through the entrance.

She still didn't say a thing, and when I turned to look at her, I noticed the pink tint on her cheeks.

"Are you blushing?"

Her eyes went wide as we slid into a booth. "What? No. Of course not."

"Are you lying to me?" I compared the size of her hand to mine. "You have incredibly small hands."

"Maybe yours are just big."

I looked up from where our fingers were intertwined on the table between us. "Maybe."

"What're you thinking?"

Her question caught me off guard, but I shrugged and continued caressing her knuckles. "I don't know what the deal is with Tory, but I'm happy you ended up with me tonight."

"Nothing is happening between me and Tory. He came into the weightroom while I was training and asked me to help him with an assignment. Then he asked me to go on a date with him just to see if I was sure I didn't like him."

"If you were sure? You've had this conversation before?"

"A while ago."

"And?"

"And I told him I liked you."

I felt the heat creeping up my neck. "Oh."

"So, for whatever it's worth, I'm happy I ended up with you tonight too."

I couldn't keep my eyes off her. Not when she was talking to the waitress. Not when the waitress was asking me for my order. Not when people approached the booth to wish me luck for the next game.

She pulled her hair back into a low ponytail before she picked up a piece of pizza off the tray. I could feel her kicking her feet back and forth beneath the table as she ate.

I was still irritated, not with her but with the man who was already told no once. He went from asking for help on an assignment to asking her out. It made me wonder if he'd ask again and if she'd say yes.

She chose me tonight without hesitation. She left her date with Tory to find me, and now we're here, together.

But I don't know what I'd do if she talked to him again or if I heard from my teammates that he came over. I wanted to believe she'd tell him she wasn't interested again, but how consistent is he going to be? Sawyer isn't one for confrontation. I refuse to let him make her feel weak.

As I tossed down a twenty-dollar bill on the table for the waitress, I followed behind the curly-haired girl talking to me about the adrenaline coursing through her veins from the game.

I hated interrupting her, but I couldn't stop myself.

"Don't give him another chance."

She turned to look at me as she arrived at the passenger side of my truck. "What?"

"Tory. Don't give him another chance."

Her breath hitched as I caged her against the side of my truck. I promised no interruptions if this happened again, so I kept her hidden away from the rest of the world, and I begged her.

"Don't choose him," I cupped her cheek. "Choose me."

Her breath fanned across my mouth. "It's always you."

I captured her lips with mine. She inhaled sharply, her body melting against mine as she kissed me back, and when her arms wrapped around my neck, something shifted.