By the Playbook

By the Playbook (31)

                  

There were two things in America that remained consistent no matter where I went:

1.       Emily would always be there for me if I needed her.

2.       Everclear, California, was a tiny little town that would always be my home.

Fourteen hours on a plane couldn't kill my excitement to be going home. Even though I shuddered all the way through turbulence and played catch with Gavin for roughly seven hours straight, I could feel the pull of the ocean growing stronger with each hour that passed. By the eleventh hour, I was shaking with excitement as well as fear, much to the bemusement of the team. Ryder slept for most of the flight, the dark circles that had been plaguing his eyes fading with each hour he slept. I had a feeling he'd stolen one of the pills the doctors had prescribed me, but I just hugged him to me as I shook, unconcerned.

The last hour passed uneventfully, even though the rocky landing had me cowering into Ryder's chest with my headphones on as loud as they could go. I waited until Gavin threw the tennis ball at me to uncover my eyes, strangely thankful for the sudden pain in my forehead, and stood up as soon as the taxiing stopped in order to stretch my legs. I peered out the window, filled with excitement when I recognized the crystal skies and lightly swaying palm trees of Long Beach.

Ryder's eyes were slightly cloudy from sleep, and he jammed the heels of his hands into his eyes like a little boy to clear them up. "You ready?"

I could barely speak for fear of squealing, so I took his hand instead. Amused, he slung our bags over his shoulder and led me off the plane. Stepping out into the bridge was like being slammed with a heat wave and I beamed, instantly wriggling out of my light blue sweater and exposing the white tank top I'd worn underneath. There was grumbling from the team as they started sweating in their jackets, which they'd been strictly forbidden to take off until we got on the bus to show "team unity", and Ryder slapped three boys over the back of the heads as I bounced with excitement.

"How far is it to Everclear?" Francois asked, eyes skimming over the walls of the bridge.

I scanned the tiny posters on the walls in adoration. "Three hours," I said. "You better hope the bus has air conditioning."

He grumbled. When I laughed, Coach shifted impatiently and looked over his shoulder at me. "You going to be alright?"

He wanted to know if I was going to have another breakdown. I frowned. "I don't know."

He nodded once, accepting my answer, and then pushed open the doors. "Get your bags and meet by the vending machines," he barked. "Baggage pickup is at roundabout thre-"

"ADDISON!"

My head snapped around as I recognized Felicity's voice, loud enough to draw the attention of everyone in the terminal. I screeched with excitement as I caught sight of her sprinting towards me, her light-brown hair flying behind her and a wide smile on her face. I ran to meet her in the middle, both of slamming into each other without slowing down, and we stumbled with the impact, arms around each other.

Felicity grabbed my face and kissed me on the mouth, shoving her tongue in my mouth when I laughed. Giggling, I pulled away and hugged her tight, hitching up one leg to wrap it around her waist. She grabbed my ass, making me squeal, and then hugged me so tightly I lost my breath. "Are you surprised?" She demanded, still yelling.

"I thought you were supposed to meet me at the hotel?" I yelled back, stumbling as she leaned into me.

Ryder put his hand on my back to steady me and Felicity slapped it away without looking at him, her blue eyes bright with excitement. "We were," she said, her toothy grin making me laugh. "But then we were waiting and I got bored and then we all started fighting and we ended up in the car and then we figured we'd just come meet you."