I planned on telling her that later.
Right now? I just needed to get to my appointment.
I couldn’t be late.
Not when the recruiter had already waited a couple of days for me due to Perry’s health.
“I won’t hold my breath.”
She pulled up to my place five minutes later and came to a stop.
Before she could tell me to get out, I leaned over, pulled her mouth to mine, and laid a wet kiss on her lips. “Take care.”
She grumbled something underneath her breath but looked at me with terror in her eyes.
“It’ll be okay,” I promised.
I would make it be okay.
I didn’t want her to think that this was the end for us.
I wouldn’t let it be.
When I got out of the car, she drove away without another word.
***
“Holy shit.”
I blinked and looked up to find the Navy recruiter looking at me with surprise on his face.
I’d just gotten finished taking the ASVAB, and my brain hurt.
Not because of the test, though. But because of Perry.
“What?” I asked.
“You scored a ninety-nine,” he said. “Do you know how many people score that?”
I had no clue.
I knew that my brother had scored a ninety. My dad a ninety-two. And I knew that those both were really good scores.
But ninety-nine was perfect. Well, as good as you could get.
It meant that I scored better than ninety-nine percent of the people that took it.
“No, sir,” I answered honestly.
He spoke some more, but I missed some of it as my mind once again wandered to what Perry was going to think.
“…what do you want to do? You can do anything you damn well want,” the recruiter, Kaleb Donahue, asked.
“I want to be a SEAL.”
He rolled his eyes. “Of course you do.”
***
It took another hour, more test scheduling, and a call to Perry before I finally took my first full breath again.
She pulled up in her mom’s car and smiled.
I couldn’t stop myself from walking to her side of the car, pulling her into my arms, and wrapping her up in my embrace.
“Missed you,” I said softly as I pressed my nose into her neck.
She sighed into my throat as she wrapped her arms around my belly and pulled me in tight.
“You scare the shit out of me, Banner Spurlock. The things I feel…” She shook her head against my chest. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore, okay? Just… let’s not mention it until we get through with next week.”
That sounded perfect to me.
“Let’s go get my car before they decide to start another carnival,” I murmured softly.
She laughed softly into my chest. “Sounds good.”Chapter 25
I’m not a control freak, but you’re doing it wrong.
-Banner to Perry
Banner
I threw the pass and knew without a doubt that it would be a touchdown.
This week had been perfect.
The game had been perfect.
My passes had been on point.
Hell, I’d even scored two touchdowns myself.
I was on fucking fire.
Slone caught the ball and dove into the end zone at the same time, his hands curling around the ball and holding it tight as he was dog piled.
I waited along with everyone else as the players started to peel off of him.
And, the moment that he stood, I knew we’d done it.
“Hell yeah!” I whooped.
The fans started to pour onto the field then.
I looked up just in time to see a cooler of Gatorade coming for my head.
“Son of a bitch!” I yelled as the cold drink soaked me to the skin.
Laughing, I whipped the hair out of my eye and pointed at the culprit.
“Fuck you,” I said to my now best friend.
Titus laughed. “You had it coming, man. Good game.”
I slapped his hand in midair and pulled him to me for a half hug.
“Thanks, you too, big guy,” I said.
He bumped me with his pads and then jerked his chin in the direction of the end zone.
“Your girl’s trying to get through.”
I looked up to find Perry trying to fight her way through the crowd toward me.
Grinning like the loser I was, I started to jog toward her.
The moment I reached her, I pulled her up into my arms and wrapped her up tightly.
“Ewww!” she cried out. “You’re sweaty and sticky!”
I was very much the both of those.
She buried her face into my neck and started laughing.
“How’d your game go?” I asked, pulling my head back to look down into her eyes without putting her down on the ground.
She scrunched up her nose. “We won. But I played like shit. Things hurt.”
I imagined they did.
It’d only been a week since Vance’s assault on her and things were still tender, as they would be for a while.
Though, she’d insisted on playing and nothing I said or her parents said could change her mind.
“It’ll get better,” I offered.
And it would.
With time, she’d get back to where she was.
“You did good.” She smiled. “I can see now why everyone wants you.”