For the Game Read Free

nickname. No one here called me that, and hearing it from her lips ushered me back home.
    “I miss you.” The words slid from my mouth almost involuntarily. Seeing her always did this to me. It reminded me of how much I longed for her; how much I wanted to sweep her into my arms, kiss her lips, stroke her face. It was almost unbearable to see her on the screen and know I couldn’t touch her; to know that she was so far away.
    “I miss you too,” she responded, her lyrical voice floating through the speakers. “Did you have fun today with the guys?”
    I nodded. “It was okay. I just went to lunch with my roommate Justin and a couple of his friends.”
    “Guy friends?”
    “Huh?” My brows furrowed in confusion.
    “You said you went to lunch with Justin and his friends. Guys or girls?”
    “Is that jealousy I detect in your voice?” I teased, but when her cheeks flushed I wished I hadn’t. “Guys, of course.”
    The relief in her expression was evident, and I was glad that I had decided to stay home tonight. London was obviously having a hard time with me being at college, and I didn’t want to give her any more reasons to worry.
    “It’s good that you’re making friends,” she said.
    Shrugging, my lips curved at the edges. “I don’t know if I’d call Justin a friend. He’s mostly just my roommate. I have a feeling I’ll get along a lot better with the guys from the team.” I paused, studying her face through the screen. “London, you know you can trust me, right?”
    Biting her lip, her head gently bobbed up and down.
    “We may be apart physically, but in my heart I’m right beside you. My feelings for you are just as strong today as they were before I left. You have nothing to worry about, okay?”
    “Okay,” she spoke softly. “I’m sorry, Coop. I do trust you. I don’t know why I was acting so weird and suspicious.”
    “It’s okay. I get it. This whole long distance thing is new to us. But we figured out how to be together when the odds were against us, and we figured out how to survive your illness. We’ll figure this out too.”
    Her smile broadened, and a sense of satisfaction swelled inside of me. “So are you excited about practices this week?”
    “Yeah, I am. What about you? How are you feeling about starting school tomorrow?”
    She wrinkled her nose as if she’d just caught a whiff of something stinky. “Why did you have to remind me?”
    I chuckled. “It’s not like you can stay in denial forever. Tomorrow morning’s coming quick.”
    “Thanks. That’s super helpful.”
    “I’m sorry, baby.” Out of habit, my arm shot out and my fingers brushed the screen, trailing over her face. God, what I wouldn’t give to feel her flesh against my skin. “But you’ll be fine.”
    Her eyelids fluttered as if she could feel my fingertips. “I wish you were going with me.”
    “I do too. You have no idea how much.”
    She giggled. “You do not. You’re finally out of high school. You’re living your dream. The last thing you’d want to do was come back here.”
    Her words cut to my heart. “That’s where you’re wrong. I’d give anything to go back home and be with you, London.”
    She froze. “Don’t say that.”
    “It’s true.”
    “But this is your dream. It’s what you want more than anything. You’ve worked your entire life to be there.”
    “That was before we met. Now there’s nothing in this world that I want more than you.”
    “You better stop talking like that or I’m going to beg you to come back.” She grinned.
    “I’d come back in a heartbeat if you asked me to.” It scared me how serious I was. As much as I wanted to be here, I meant what I said. London meant more, and I’d get on a plane and head home without ever looking back if she needed me. “You’re feeling okay, right?”
    The smile vanished from her face. “Coop, I’m not sick. My last appointment went well. I feel fine. You don’t need to worry. God, is that why you were