Justin
Summer was always my favorite time of the year. I played baseball back in the day and it was a lot of fun to travel around the south with my friends and hit baseballs all day then come home and eat ice cream at night. We tore up the hotels and shut down the pools. Those kinds of memories I hold dear to me. I'll never have times like that again, I'll never be a kid again, it's hard to let that go. I had it real good. And even though I don't play baseball anymore there's still something about that summer air that makes my heart so happy.
Today wasn't anything special. It was a late June afternoon in the Midwest, there's many other days just like this one. There's no school and I've already done my workout for the day. I showered and made a snack before convincing Lilly to go on a walk with me. She hadn't left the apartment for a while simply because there was no need to but with so many people being out of the city for a while the nature has really taken over and it would be nice to go around town. No one would bother us and she wasn't just rotting away in the apartment.
So we walk on the sidewalk, her hand in mine as I hold her close. We share conversations like always and I learn something new. I wish life was always this simple.
"You're gonna be a senior next year" I mention as I pull her even closer. Our feet step in time as we continue along this shared path of our life.
"Crazy isn't it, I don't even know what to expect. Especially with Covid" she claims.
"Do you have any job ideas lined up" I wonder.
"That depends on you" she says.
"Me" I gasp.
"From what I can understand when you are done playing in college you go into a draft where the professional teams are given a order to pick in and based on wants and needs any draft eligible player can be picked up at any point" she starts.
"Look at you" I smile. I never taught her that, either someone in my family told her after she asked about it or she looked it up by herself. Either way she had to make the effort to find this information and I found it cute to see how hard she was trying.
"But this means you can go anywhere right" she wonders.
"There's 31 teams so 31 cities. But that's even if I declare for the draft after this season. There's nothing in this world like college football, and I've found a home here in Ohio. You don't want to be too old going into the draft for football isn't like baseball or hockey where you can play until you're in your late 30's or early 40s. Well, unless you're Tom Brady. But I'm still young, I have a lot of football left in me. I'll just be a junior after all, and I'm getting my degree whether it be me completing college now or later. There is no rush to leave" I insist.
"It's hard to believe you would play another year here. I might not know a lot about football but even I can see that. As great as you are here the NFL has always been the goal, right? Dreams should never wait. I mean you were amazing last year and this year you should be just as good if not better. It would make sense for you to go" she shrugs.
"What if I just wanted to stay here with you, for as long as I can" I try.
She stops walking as she turns to me. Those hazel eyes staring right through me. "I would never want you to pause or postpone your future because of me. You've worked your whole life for these moments and I only want to be a part of them, not to change them entirely. I made it so no matter where you go I can follow. Whatever future you make, as long as you make room for me I will be there too. And not as some girl just following you around, I will stand beside you. Through thick and thin. You have to understand that the only reason I get a future is because of you. And now I'm lucky enough to spend the rest of my life doing whatever I can to thank you for showing me that there is a reason to stay. And I want to stay with you" she explains.
Before I could say anything I just grab her and pull her into a long kiss. When we break apart I grab her hand and we once again go on our merry way.
We get about 20 yards from the previous spot when I look across the street and see a bunch of lilies. They were in full bloom right now and really brightened up the campus. I'm sure they wouldn't mind much if I took a few.
"Stay here" I tell Jillian as I make sure I leave her a safe distance from the street. I look both ways before jogging to the other side. After making sure no one was looking I grab three lilies and run back to where she was. With a smile on my face I hand her the flowers. "Here" I say.
"Did you just run across the street to pick some flowers and give it them me" she asks as she holds the flowers under her nose.
"Of course I did! It's nothing" I try. I know she loves flowers and I saw flowers. There wasn't much more to it than that.
"Maybe to you. But to someone who has been around flowers her whole life and no one ever thought to pick one for me... it means the world" she explains.
"Well you're the one declaring to follow me around the country just so I can play football, this is just a small thing" I try.
"Small things sometimes take up the most space in our hearts" she claims.
"I guess that's true, you're not that big either" I tease as she rolls her eyes.
"What would I do if I didn't hear your cheesy jokes all the time" she asks.
"You would be just fine without me" I try.
"I know that isn't true. You being here makes me happy. That's all it takes. And without you... well that flower bed would have a few more in it" she giggles.
"It'll survive without them. But I wouldn't survive without you" I say.
"You're being dramatic" she accuses.
"Me, dramatic" I gasp. She rolls her eyes making me laugh. I would say anything to get her going.
"Luckily it's one of my favorite things about you" she says.
"At least I have that going for me" I tease.
YOU ARE READING
Only Us (Justin Fields)
FanfictionJillian had lived enough life to see that things weren't getting better. She knew the future she wanted was never to be. A life long struggle with depression and far had taken its toll. Right as she was about to put an end to the suffering a man ap...
