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Chapter 64: This. Every day. Forever.
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Keeping Score Chapter 65: Lipstick lessons
NATEFRESHMAN YEARMAY"Hey, Wellman. Give me a hand here, will you?"Tuck's voice held more than a little frustration as I came into our room, drying off my hair with a towel. He was sitting on his bed, his arms braced on either side of his body so that the muscles popped out. His jaw was clenched, and he was staring at the floor, where a thick hardback book lay."Sure. What's up?"A tic jumped in his cheek. "I was being stupid. Lazy. Went to grab the book on my desk without thinking about it, and it was too far out of my reach. Dropped it." He nodded to the wheelchair at the foot of the bed. "I should've gotten the chair, I guess, but . . ." He trailed off, and I heard what he didn't want to say. Whenever Tuck could ignore the chair that gave him mobility, he did. I knew how maddening it could be, not to be able to do the simple things other people took for granted. Living with Eli Tucker for the last year had taught me to appreciate what I was capable of doing instead of bro
Keeping Score Chapter 66: Priorities and wishes
NATEFRESHMAN YEARJUNESince I'd become aware of the possibility of having a shortened lifespan, I'd begun setting short-term goals. At first, they were simple: I'd wanted to live long enough to be taller than my mom. To survive until I'd learned to speak Spanish and figured out calculus. To finish high school. And now, with one year of college behind me, I felt like I could take on anything. My health was stable; it hadn't gotten any better, but it wasn't any worse, either. My parents were thrilled that the year had passed so uneventfully, and they'd even begun doing something unprecedented in our little family: they'd taken short weekend trips by themselves. A few times my mom had even made it through the weekend without calling me to check in. I'd adjusted to sharing a room, too. Tuck and I had ended up to be pretty compatible, and a few months before the end of our freshman year, he'd glanced up from his laptop one night while we were both studying. "Dude, you good to roo
Keeping Score Chapter 67: Feed it to the dogs
LEOSOPHOMORE YEAROCTOBERThe Carolina sideline was relaxed. It wasn't often that this was the case, but right now, we were up by three touchdowns with a little less than four minutes left in the game. And Arkansas had just punted after another three and out that had resulted in negative yardage for them. In other words, we were kicking some serious ass this afternoon.To put the icing on the cake, Coach was sending in Matt as QB on this play. The last year hadn't been easy for my friend; he and the coaching staff clashed more often than not, and he chafed in the role of back-up quarterback. Thom Wilkens was still going strong, and if things continued as they were now, he'd hold onto his job up through graduation, leaving Matt only one year to lead the team, if he didn't consider playing another position. For a guy who was hoping to parlay his college career into a top draft pick, this thought was discouraging. And Matt wasn't shy about letting everyone know how he felt. But r
Keeping Score Chapter 68: Memories
LEOI'd known Quinn since she'd slept in a toddler bed. I remembered her canopy bed with the pink ruffled bedspread, and I remembered when her walls had been covered with posters of boy bands. But at first glimpse, her college room struck me as the most quintessentially Quinn room yet. Her bed was made up with some kind of fluffy white comforter covered with a patchwork quilt I recognized from her bedroom at home. On the wall over the bed was a large framed poster of the sun coming up over the ocean, a shot I was pretty sure she'd taken herself. Several pictures sat on the top of her dresser, including one of her father, one of me from the summer before college, and one of the three of us: Nate, Quinn and me. Off to the side sat a small wooden box, a little worn-looking where some of the varnish had rubbed off. I knew deep down I should respect her privacy and leave it alone, but still, I flipped open the lid and examined the contents. I couldn't explain why, exactly, but over the
Keeping Score Chapter 69: Surprise
LEO"AHHHHHHHH!!!!!" Her scream echoed off the walls of her room as her hand flew to her throat and she backed up against the door jamb. "Oh, my God, Leo! You scared the shit out of me! What the hell are you doing here?" I stood up, hands on my hips. "Well, I told you I was going to celebrate a little different tonight. I thought maybe I'd do it with you." I drank her in, from the oversized hoodie that hung below her hips to the worn jeans encasing her legs. My girl was so fucking beautiful, it made my heart skip a beat.For a nerve-wracking minute, I wasn't sure if Quinn was annoyed that I'd taken her by surprise or overcome with joy. And then she launched herself at me, wrapping her arms around my neck and hugging me tight."I'm so glad you're here. Thank you, thank you, thank you."I pulled back enough to kiss her, my lips smothering the last few thank-yous. She moaned a little, opening her mouth to welcome my tongue with strokes of her own."How did you do this? And how lo
Keeping Score Chapter 70: Lion goes viral
QUINNSUMMER BETWEEN SOPHOMORE AND JUNIOR YEARS"Quinn, did you do laundry last night? I need a T-shirt for today."I rolled over in bed and groaned. "No. I was up late working on that article for class."Leo's voice became louder as he came back into our bedroom. "Shit. I need a shirt, and I'm running late." I opened one eye and caught sight of him running a hand through his damp hair. "Sorry. I thought you were putting a load in yesterday afternoon. You don't have anything clean to wear?""It's not that I don't have anything clean. I need my uniform shirt, specifically. I'll have to get one out of the dirty clothes and hope for the best." He dumped out the hamper in the middle of the floor and began sorting through it.Guilt threaded through me. "I could toss it in the dryer real fast. It might help.""No, I don't have time." Leo snapped out the words. "If I get there late, I have to park way out in the far lot. And then . . ." His voice trailed off. "It's just a mess."I h
Keeping Score Chapter 71: Delayed gratification
QUINN"So aren't you going stir-crazy?" Zelda sounded curious and mildly amused as I updated her on the latest Lioness craziness."Surprisingly, no. I don't mind being here, as long as I have something to do." Holding the phone between my shoulder and ear, I pulled a pile of wet laundry from the washer and dropped it into the dryer. "I'm not sure I'm cut out to be a housewife, but I really don't have anything to complain about. I can write whenever I want, and three of my articles have been picked up so far. No classes, no homework, and tons of privacy.""And quality time with Leo the Lion? That's got to be an added benefit.""Of course." I answered quickly, and I knew Zelda probably picked that up. "So everything's fine and dandy with you two? Sunshine, rainbows and sparkles?" She was teasing, but I knew enough of Zelda now to realize that her snark hid real concern. She just didn't want anyone to realize that she actually had feelings. "Mostly." I hesitated. "I love Leo, Zeld
Keeping Score Chapter 72: Making promises we can't keep
QUINN"This is the best pasta I've had south of Philadelphia." I laid down my fork and sighed. "And the company's not bad either."Leo flashed me a smile, but there was something under it, something not quite complete. All night, his laughter hadn't seemed to reach his eyes, and he'd been preoccupied. "All right." I rested my elbows on the table and leaned my chin in my hands. "Tell me what's going on. You've been giving me lip service all night. Did I not live up to your shower expectations?" This time, real heat flared in his eyes. "Hardly. As a matter of fact, you exceeded them. I'm lucky I can sit still here with the boner you gave me.""Hmm. Okay then, what is it? Don't forget, Leo, I've known you forever. You can't hide this shit from me."He fiddled with his knife where it lay alongside his plate. "I got a call today from a guy who works for Football Sunday.""What's that?" I frowned. "It's an online sports magazine. I think it still has a monthly print component. Any
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