The Fumble Of A Quarterback

Chapter 24: Coming Again

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The next day, I rubbed my newly calloused hands. Black soil still clung under my fingertips as if their life depended on it. As I picked at my nails, my mind drifted back to my time on the farm. There was something so relaxing about it but yet my body was still sore from the work I did. Everett's father was nice yet Everett seemed cold and stiff. Between the glances and inside jokes, his dad wanted to talk to Everett but he seemed to shut it down every time.

"So Nora, what happened yesterday? You got home late," Dad asked as we drove to practice.

"Nothing much, just worked on his dad's farm for the day," I shrugged as the Woody came into view.

"He doesn't really talk much about his old man. What's he like?"

"Friendly. And a diehard OSU football fan."

"And I've never met him? Now what kind of blasphemy is that? Such a shame!"

And there was a reason for that. Everett never brought him around for a reason, probably a thousand reasons.

"Yeah. It is," I mumbled as Dad pulled into a parking spot. Instantly my eye locked with Everett who waited at the front doors like he normally did.

With a smile, I waved to him from the car.

"Just a heads up, Charles is coming again for practice," Dad mentioned carefully as he got out of the car.

My eyes darted to his before looking back at Everett. "Does he know?"

"Told him before we left the house."

I nodded, knowing there wasn't anything else I could say. "Ok." With that, I got out of the car and ran to greet Everett, wrapping my arms around him.

"Hey. Morning," he said with the smell of coffee thick on his breath.

"Morning." I smiled up at him.

"Wasn't sure I would see you today after all the work we did yesterday."

I shrugged even though the simple motion caused aches to run down my back. However as sore as I was, I wouldn't change it for the world. I even thought about doing it again. Crazy, I know.

"Your girl is tougher and fitter than you think," I said as I lifted my arms to show my muscles.

He smiled. "I can see that."

"Everett! You never told me your old man liked football," Dad said as he walked up to us.

Everett dropped his hands around my waist and gave a nod. "Yeah, he's a fan."

"You should bring him in after practice one of these days. I'll give him a grand old tour."

"That's kind of you. I'll relay the message."

Dad patted him on the back then left. His shoes echoed the floor and as he walked into the building.

In the silence of the early morning, Everett turned to me. He opened his mouth then closed it as his eyes glanced around us, making sure the coast was clear. "I reached out to my professor who has contact with the Columbus dispatch," Everett said.

I raised my eyebrows. I didn't know he would do such a thing. We hadn't talked much about our action plan, so it surprised me how he did this on his own. Maybe he had thought about writing an article for a while. "And?"

"I've already received an email from them. They want to run the article."

My hand met his and gave it a squeeze. "And you want this, right?"