“DUDE, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody dodge and run like you do.”
I turned and grinned at Frode Williams, another running back from Ohio State. “Thanks, but you beat me in the weight reps and Quirnio kicked both of our asses in the broad jump.”
At least I could be sure that it was all me in the contests and not some souped-up version of me. If I didn’t make it, I’d at least have my pride intact. Still, I was pretty damn stoked about my scores.
“Want to grab a beer?” Frode gestured to the hotel bar where a number of other guys were already headed.
“Sure.” The idea of going back to an empty hotel room was too unappealing even if it did call to me. It wasn’t too late. A couple beers wouldn’t slow me down in the morning.
All the stools around the bar were taken up by other college hopefuls and the pool room off to the side teemed with players. The click and clack of balls smacking each other filled the air. We found a little table crowded in the back and gestured for the waitress.
Frode studied the notes he’d made of individual scores, a line forming between his brows. “Looking at this stuff drives me nuts, but I can’t seem to stop myself.” He took several large swallows of his beer. “What do you think?” He pushed the paper toward me.
I shook my head, ignoring the notes, and pulled out my planner. “I’d rather go with my gut.” I crossed out today’s date. Sixty-two more days until draft day. Sixty-two more days for Kristair to show up. I’d had a few more dreams about him, but nothing like the one I’d shared with Kayla and Steve. It was beginning to wear on my patience.
“What does your gut tell you?” Frode asked.
“That I have nothing to worry about. Neither should you.” I’d never been accused of being humble. It was more than that, though. I’d poured out everything I had in the drills today. It was the best I could do and it was damn good. Now, all I could do was wait. Frode, I bet, was going to obsess over every Web site report until he had an answer one way or another.
Me, I kinda wanted to check out the tests for the linemen tomorrow. It would at least keep me occupied. I shut the planner and took a sip of my own beer.
“I’ve never met a guy with a planner before, except for maybe my dad.”
“Yeah, the guy I was with, am with, he’s obsessed with organization. Rubbed off on me, I guess.” I set my beer aside and pushed my chair back, too restless to stay still. I’d thought I was in the mood for hanging, but I just wanted to be back in my room. I’d take a shower, maybe see what movies were available and just relax.
My room called to me.
“Hey, don’t leave yet.” Disappointment flashed across Frode’s face. “You haven’t finished your beer.”
“I guess I’m just more bushed than I thought I was.” I laid some money on the table to cover my drink. “I’ll see ya tomorrow.”
“Want to get together for a workout in the morning?”
I paused, studied the expression on Frode’s face, and then smiled and shook my head. “I’m taken. Practically married.” There was a time when I would’ve taken Frode on his unspoken offer and nailed that ass if for no other reason than to release the tension of the day. I smiled again to ease the sting. “See ya.”
I made idle chat as some of the other guys stopped me on my way out, not paying too much attention to what I was saying. Mostly congratulations, or good luck, or what my opinion was on the meets today. Eventually, I made it out the door and breathed a sigh of relief as I got onto the elevator.
My room called me with a siren’s song, its pull getting more potent as I walked down the hallway. The day must have taken more out of me than I’d realized. Forget the movie. I’d get naked, lose myself in a few memories, and then let them carry me until morning.
As I went to unlock the door, I knew, somehow I just knew, who was waiting for me on the other side. A tremor shook me so hard I almost dropped the key card. Holding my breath, I opened the door, my heart twisting once, hard, as my eyes immediately went to the bed.
Kristair lay in the center, naked, his long legs drawn up and tucked in close to his body, his forehead touching his knees and his arms clasped around them. His chest rose and with each indrawn breath and fell again. And even though it had been several months since I felt his heart beat inside his chest, I knew it was beating for him now.
Really beating like someone who lived.
My throat was so tight that my chest ached. And as much as I wanted to sprint over to the bed, all the power and speed I’d shown earlier in the day for the coaches had deserted me. Instead, I stumbled over to him and fell down on the bed.
He was here. Somehow, he was here and he was breathing, really breathing, not just going through the motions so he could talk. Kristair stirred, his head turning toward me, and his long, sooty lashes fluttered open. After a moment, his dazed eyes focused on me and a slow, brilliant smile crossed his lips, lighting my life with its promise.
“Kristair.”