imagines

•pasts collide• {jimmy garoppolo}

I somehow find
You and I collide

"And here comes your starting quarterback for the Eastern Illinois Panthers.... Jimmy Garoppolo!" The over enthusiastic announcer said over the speakers that spread through the whole stadium. My heart instantly skipped a beat hearing that name again. I clapped as though our pay didn't hurt me anymore, even though I still wish I could change it.

"There he is!" My friend, Maya, said beside me. She nudged my arm as Jimmy ran past our section. I gulped, there he was. He was still as gorgeous as he was in high school. His picture flashed on the scoreboard as he ran out of the tunnel. Memories from high school ran through my brain. My prom date. My first kiss. My first love. My first time. My first heartbreak. All of these things happened years ago and I could still remember them as if they happened yesterday. Seeing his picture brought me right back to high school, when we were together and everything seemed so simple. "Tenneh? You okay?" Maya asked shaking me out of my nostalgia.

"Yeah I'm fine," I quickly assured her. Jimmy and I dated all through high school. He graduated as I finished up my sophomore year. He broke up with me the week before he left for Eastern Illinois University. He had said that he didn't want me to be held back by him and that he wanted me to enjoy my last two years of high school. I could still hear him clear as day saying these to me sitting in the bleachers of the football field as the sunset. We hadn't seen each other since that day in late August 3 years ago. Maya dragged me to this game because she attended EIU too and she was my best friend.

The game went well for Jimmy. He threw for 2 touchdown and rushed for 2 more. I always thought he was destined for greatness, the thing was that he didn't believe in himself. In high school, I was his biggest cheerleader, cheering him on for every yard he lead his team to. Now, here he was getting draft buzz. I was proud of him, I mean I loved him even now and wanted nothing but the best for him.

Maya and I stood from our seats at the end of the game and started making our way towards the exit. We got sidetracked and we're looking at pictures of alumni, such as Tony Romo, hanging on the brick walls. The stadium cleared out really fast and there were only about 20 people in the corridor in which we were standing. "There are some of the players," Maya said pointing as 3 large men walked past us, I assumed that they were offensive linemen that protected Jimmy in the pocket.

I turned my head and I saw the tall, gorgeous, tan man that once held the key to my heart come out of the home team's locker room. "Come on," I grabbed Maya's hand and rushed off the opposite way that Jimmy was coming from. I would have done anything at this point to not see him and for him to not have seen me. But unfortunately we were in a wide open hallway with nowhere to hide.

"Tenneh? Tenneh! Wait!" Jimmy said. He started running towards me, futzing with the duffle bag that was falling off of his throwing shoulder. I turned bright red but I decided to be mature and stop running from him. I took a deep breath.

"Hi," I said giving him a small wave as I turned around to finally face him. It amazes me that he could still take my breath away.

"What are you doing here?" He asked with his brightest smile playing across his perfect lips.

"She invited me," I pointed to Maya, standing next to me with a closed lip smile and wide eyes.
"Oh. I see," he said. He sounded disappointed that I wasn't here for him. "Hi Maya," Jimmy acknowledged her. We all were really close in high school so I wasn't surprised.

"Hey Jim," Maya said perkily. She knew this was the last thing I wanted to happen and she was enjoying every minute of my suffering. Jimmy shifted his attention back to me.

"You played great," I said bashfully, rocking on my feet back and forth uncomfortably. His deep brown eyes shined like stars in the sky.

"Thanks," he answered running a hand through his messed up hair. His hair always looked perfect, even after just getting done with a football game. His smile hadn't left his face since we had started talking.

"I totally understand if you don't want to but do you want to ummmm maybe go somewhere? Talk things over?" He asked nervously. It was cute how he was antsy. He was shifting his weight between feet waiting for an answer. I switched my gaze from him to Maya trying to decide what to do. Maya motioned her hands telling me to go with him.

"Maya, I'll meet up with you later. I think I have some catching up to do," I said smiling and wrapping my arms around Jimmy's non throwing arm at the bend of his elbow. I had unconsciously been waiting for three years to talk to him or even see him again and I decided not to blow my chance and be immature. He looked at me with an expression of complete shock like he had expected me to say no. I walked off with him and away from Maya.

"How have you been?" He asked me once we were away from Maya.

"I've been good. College is everything I thought it would be," I said. I removed my arms from his and he looked down kind of hurt because of it.

"Can I be honest with you?" Jimmy asked stopping in his tracks and stopping me with him.

"Always," I said barely above a whisper.

"Tenneh, I think about you, us, everyday. I don't know what I was thinking when we broke up, I miss you terribly. Not a day goes by that I don't regret ending what we had," Jimmy pleaded. I slightly smiled at him.

"I miss you to Jimmy, but it's not that simple," I answered.

"Why not? Why can't we go back to us? Back to the good old days?" Jimmy practically begged. He was right. Why couldn't we? Before I could answer him his lips met mine and I was instantly reminded of what we used to be. I didn't want to leave that spark in the past, I wanted it to reignite. So I kissed him back, and the rest is history.

Thank you for requesting mMr.-edelmandola I was so glad to see when you requested because you wrote me my first imagine and I have absolutely loved all of yours 😘