Camryn Quinn is finally getting what she wants...sort of. Moving into a dorm and away from her not so supportive father is a good first step, but like everything with him-it comes with strings. She must attend the college of his choosing for at leas...
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The locker room erupts with hoots and woos as we file inside when the clock hits zero. A wave of high fives and handshakes are exchanged between myself and my boys as we begin to celebrate a well earned victory. My heart is racing, but the adrenaline is welcomed. It's just a long lasting side effect of having one of the best games of my career.
I played the entirety of the minutes our team had the ball. I haven't checked the official stats, but one of the assistants told me I had at least ninety receiving yards, over a dozen catches and three touchdowns. It's almost the most I've had in my entire college career. I let out another shout in victory for how damn good it feels to be back. This rush is the exact feeling I've been chasing for months now.
Coach files in and gives his post game speech, congratulating us, but reminding us that this is just one stop in our road to the playoffs. I don't care though, it's a damn good stop. Maybe even the one that puts us back at the top of the ranks going into next week.
I shower quickly, eager to get out of the sweat soaked locker room and continue the celebration. When I emerge from the door outside the locker room, a crowd has formed behind the tall black gates. The cheers continue as myself and a few other players spill out. I pull my phone out to call my mom. I have about a dozen missed messages from her already, and one from Camryn. I check the ones from my mom first. She apparently wanted to perform her version of live texting during the game. Each message is filled with comments about a play or call that was made.
I open Camryn's message to see a gif, telling me not to suck. I know it is a heartfelt message coming from her. I should have probably texted her last night, or this morning to explain why I had to leave her last night. I didn't want to leave her, not after I finally told her something true. Not after she comforted me in only a way that she could. And definitely not after she kissed me. But I had to create distance between us before I made a stupid mistake that would end up costing us both something. I couldn't last night, and I still can't explain that to her though. It would mean telling her about my arrangement with her brother. Something, that if she found out would leave her with no feelings towards me but hate. Then I would never know what it's like to hold her like I was last night, or to kiss her again like I really want to.
I ignore her message and instead pull my mom's contact back up. I press the Facetime button, but pull my face away from the camera when I feel someone tapping my back.. I turn to see Camryn standing there, a smile filling her whole face. I let my expression match hers and impulsively sweep her into a hug, apparently ignoring the distance I told myself I needed to create a moment ago.
She speaks against my body, but it's muffled. I don't pull away to hear her better though. I only sink in further, letting the coconut from her hair products move through my lungs. I didn't realize how much I needed this. She's a reprieve from the endorphins running through my body. It would normally be my mom or Nora helping comfort me in this moment, but Camryn feels just as good.
