THE LINE BETWEEN US

careful not to trip over the uneven path outside our front porch. My glasses kept sliding down t

tle amusement she always seemed to have when she caught me fussing over Damian. S

ing not to sound too g

I said hi,"

ishly, cheeks w

The air was warm, carrying faint scents of grass and sunbaked earth. Every step closer to the schoo

ile in that boyish, heartwarming way. I'd been buried in textbooks for weeks now, trying to get ready for midterms, and I hadn't gone to watch him play in almost as long. I told myse

it. Damian was impossible to miss. Even from here, I could tell it was him, the way he moved, the sur

beside me, my gaze locked on him. The sound of sneakers pounding against grass, the sharp calls between tea

d that eff

ing the back of his arm across his forehead. He started toward the edge of the field,

ped my hands around my m

his expression dissolved. A smile,wide and so full of warmth, spread ac

and met him halfway, our steps quickenin

till smiling, still catching his breath

ed, brushing a stray strand of hair beh

softening into something that made my sto

nodding toward the field. "I didn't want

bag in my hand, and his eye

ensity of his excitement. "Your favorite cookies. And f

a long drink before he even sat down on the bleachers. Then he ope

ful. "These are perfect. You've ruine

beside him. "That wa

s training schedule, my midterm prep, the ridiculous prank someone had pulled on one of his teammates. Every now and then, he'd say

. He didn't need to know how my pulse sped up whenever his knee brushed

across the field, calling them back.

you after

iling. "Go wi

on the head-something he'd done since we

he'd never left. The rest of the world faded while I tracked his every move, the way he weav

pletely absorbed. That's when I saw movement at the far end of the field, not on t

lking with unhurried steps but an unmistakable air of purpose. Something a

o view and I s

osely around the edge

s she do