“Hey, Malik.” He kissed the side of my hair. “What’s going on inside your head? You’re too quiet.”
Hell, I couldn’t tell him the truth. Would it cause him to want to stop this? I couldn’t stop. “I don’t know, just, uh, tired, I guess.” What a fucking cop-out. But I was terrified. I had to trust him and know that he was doing the best he could with a fucked-up situation.
“Tired? I’m the one who played in the game tonight.” A chuckle rumbled through his chest. “There’s something you’re not telling me. I know you too well, Malik.” He kissed my head. “But I also know you’ll tell me when you’re ready.” Draping his arms around me, he squeezed me. “Love you, man. Now let’s clean up and sleep. We have another big day tomorrow.”
“Love you too, man.” Fucking hell, it almost sounded stupid to say this with all we shared. I peeled off his chest, planted a quick kiss on his lips and made my way into the bathroom.
A month later,I was playing again with Coach, mixing it up, making sure Grey had some time at the end of our games when we were ahead. It ensured I remained injury-free and gave him much-needed time on the field.
I’d spoken with Dennis Brenner, Casey’s agent, and had agreed to sign with him at the end of the season if he’d consider looking at Grey. Since I was injured, he had already seen his footage, so it wasn’t a hard sell.
Halloween had passed with us traveling to play an away game in Texas. We’d settled into a nice routine of classes, studying and football, mostly keeping to ourselves at home, where we could spend time together without prying eyes.
He’d kept up with Ella while out of earshot from me, and I listened to the complaints about her, secretly happy about it. If he was unhappy with her, it gave me validation. I needed to wait this out.
A week before Thanksgiving and our eventual dates with Ella and Tiffany, I sat at our dinette, working on an assignment for my genetics class, when my phone rang on the table. I picked it up and glanced at Grey, sitting across from me.
“Who is it?” He creased his brows.
“Shimá.” I hadn’t heard from her since she had told me about her dream. I answered the call. “Hey, how are you, Auntie?”
“Malik, are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, why?” Hell, she sounded concerned again. I rose from the table. Should I take this into my room?
“I had another dream. It was just like the last one.” She huffed. “What’s happening out there?”
“N-nothing’s happening.” My pulse hummed through my body. She had to be wrong about this. “I hurt my ankle after your last dream, but I was only out three games and it’s fine now.”
Grey stood and stepped to me. “Is everyone okay back home?”
With a nod, I said, “Yeah.” I pursed my lips and into the phone said, “What are you seeing?” Could it be something between Grey and me? But we were good.
“It was the same. You were crying. Something bad happened, but I can’t put my finger on what.” In a softer voice, she said, “Is Grey okay?”
“He’s great. He’s playing well, and he’s acing all his classes.” I tensed the corner of my mouth. I couldn’t tell her about us and the stupid dates we had coming up. That would out Grey, and she’d think I was crazy. I was though, wasn’t I? Loving my best friend enough that I’d agree to a double date to make his dad happy? Fake date. It was a fake double date. But the girls didn’t know that.
“I don’t know, honey. You be careful out there. There’s a storm coming your way. I feel it, but I think you can overcome it. Just watch for the signs.” She sighed. “Maybe this makes little sense to me, but it could make sense to you if you keep your wits about you.”
“Yeah, okay. Way to be cryptic.” I choked out a laugh. I knew how these things went with her. The dreams sometimes left herwith feelings and not specifics. I glanced at my laptop. I had a lot of work tonight. “Hey, I was studying and?—”
“I know you’re busy. I just felt it necessary to warn you. This wasn’t about your ankle injury. I know that much.” She scoffed. “Please be careful.”
“I will. Love you.” As my chest grew tense, I gripped my phone tighter.
“Love you too. Bye now.” She ended the call.
“What the hell was that?” Grey combed his fingers through his hair.
“I don’t know. This is the second time she’s called to tell me something bad was about to happen.” I slumped my shoulders. Hell, now I’d be on edge for the next couple of days.
“If we only leave the house for classes and practice, nothing should happen to us.” Draping his arm around my shoulders, he kissed my cheek. “Being at home with you is my favorite thing, because we can be ourselves.”
“I know.” With a soft grin, I kissed him. Whatever this was, we’d fight it together.
We hada quiet Thanksgiving feast at home that Grey had ordered specially from a local restaurant comprising prime rib, mashed potatoes and gravy with pumpkin pie and the next day, made it to our last game of the season against the University of Arizona, our biggest rival.
The stadium buzzed with energy as we played, taking the lead early in the first half with two touchdowns, one by Bailey and one by James. I sat on the sidelines next to Grey, watching our defense hold U of A’s offense from gaining much momentum. The cool night air was a pleasure to play in. It finally felt likefootball weather. “Hey, so where are Ella and Tiffany?” I glanced into the stands. We’d gotten lucky this afternoon. Because Ella’s flight had been delayed, she hadn’t arrived in time for Grey to meet her before the game.