American Honey

“Come here.” I hold my arms out half conscious. I just need to hold her. Laney climbs up over my naked body and snuggles up against me. “Mmmm.” I love having nothing between us. Laney and I just lounge, stroking and caressing each other in comfortable silence.

“We better get dressed,” Laney says after a while.

I know she’s right, my mom will be home soon, but I’m just not ready to let her go. “One more minute.”

She humors me.

“Laney?”

“Yeah, Kam?”

“If I never played football again, would that be okay with you?” I don’t know what spurred the question. Old demons maybe.

Laney stops tracing my stomach and lifts her head to look at me. Her hair is a bit messy and there is a red streaked strand falling over her right eye. “Of course it would. I don’t care that you play football, Kam. I only care that you’re happy.” I nod. I only care that she’s happy, too. “And I have complete faith you’ll play football again. The question is, do you want to?”

“More than anything.” I don’t even hesitate.

“Then you will.”

“I hope so.” I stare at the ceiling. I don’t know how one aspect of my life can be so perfect and the other be such a mess.

Laney lies back down and hugs me tight. Her touch alone is medicinal. “My father was watching this football movie the other night. I don’t know the name of it, I was only half paying attention. But I remember the coach being interviewed by a reporter. She asked what his team was missing. I guess they weren’t very good or something.”

“What was his reply?” I ask intrigued.

“Heart. He said they were missing heart.” She looks up at me. “Do you have heart?”

I stare at Laney. Do I? I thought I did. But ever since the aneurysm, heart seems to be missing.

“I used to.”

“Where is it now?”

I smile at her stupidly. “In my arms.”

Chapter Six

I walk down the empty hallway.

It’s my first day back at school, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. One, because it gets me out of the house- I was starting to get cabin fever. Two, because I get to spend first period with Laney, then lunch, then I get to enjoy watching her bounce around in little shorts during volleyball practice. Sometimes it doesn’t totally suck to be Kam Ellis.

I stroll past the lockers toward chem when someone grabs me by the arm. “Whoa!” I’m yanked into the storage room and attacked. A pair of sugary, sweet tasting lips smash against mine, and I’m momentarily stunned. I push her away. “Darla?! What the fuck?” Seriously did this chick not take the hint? I haven’t called or text or even breathed in her direction, and yet here she is shoving her tongue down my throat.

“I’ve been waiting for you. I wanted to be the first to welcome you back,” she purrs.

“A simple hi would have been fine.” I wipe her sticky lip gloss off my mouth. Yuck. Darla pouts. I’ve been back at school for five seconds, and it’s starting already.

“What’s wrong with you, Kam? You’re no fun anymore. ”

“I’m plenty fun, sugar. I’m just not interested in having any with you. I tried to be nice, but that didn’t seem to work. So, let me be clear. I don’t like you. I don’t want to fool around or hang out. I have a girlfriend now. And I don’t think she’d take too kindly to you accosting me in the storage closet.”

“A girlfriend?” Darla questions, and then it registers. “Laney Summers?” She almost sounds disgusted.

“Yes, Laney Summers. You have a problem with that?”

“No.” Darla backs down. “She just doesn’t seem like your type.”

“Yeah, well opposites attract. Now back off.”