Junior Year Box Set

“I love our Sundays,” Zoe said.

“I do too. I think they keep me sane,” I said.

Then I got worried. Zoe was religious, and I wasn’t sure how the Mennonites felt about premarital sex. We were quickly working our way there, and what we had done so far would probably be frowned upon.

“Do you have a problem with the sexual things we’ve done?” I asked her.

“What we do is between us. I’d rather we didn’t share that with others, but if you’re asking if I’m okay with it, the answer is yes. I’ve never felt this way about another guy before, or felt I could trust him.”

“You do realize that I may never marry you,” I said with some concern.

I didn’t want her to confuse us having a little fun with love and commitment.

“I’m not sure I’d want to marry you,” she said.

I thought for a minute. Did I ask why or not? My first reaction was to ask. Tami said that my first reaction was always wrong, so I just let it drop. Why risk hurt feelings trying to fix whatever she felt was wrong with me? We were nowhere near the point where I had the kind of feelings for her that would warrant that discussion. I could live in ignorant bliss.

As we walked back to get our clothes, Zoe got a concerned look.

“Next week you have to stay for dinner.”

This must be the ‘get to know the family’ dinner. I wasn’t scared. My mom wouldn’t be there to torment me. Zoe’s parents would be a piece of cake.

“I’d like that.”

“Really?” she asked and smiled.

“Yes, really,” I said, and kissed her forehead.

We got dressed and rode back to the farm. Roc must have owed his sister something because he volunteered to put the horses up. Zoe walked me to the car and kissed me goodbye.

Spending time with her was the perfect way to end my weekend. I was starting to really like her.

◊◊◊ Monday September 28

Walking out of my apartment to take my morning run, I could feel the first hints of fall in the air. Duke ran to the backyard where Precious was waiting for him. Mom had taken him to the vet for a checkup, and he weighed in at seventy pounds now. She’d bought him a new crate for my apartment and a doggy bed. I think Mom spoiled Duke more than I did.

I stretched in the driveway when Rachel and Buster came up. Rachel let Buster off his leash, and he joined the two rowdies in the back yard. I was sitting on the driveway when suddenly there was a cat in my lap. For being so tough, I had to chuckle that Precious was scared of Buster. Pit bulls had a bad reputation for a good reason: terrible owners. If you trained them and showed them love, they could be great pets.

I was about bowled over when Duke wanted to check on his friend. Right behind him was Buster. I stroked Precious’s fur to calm her as Buster came up to sniff her. Neither of us expected the big lick he gave her. That was too much for her dignity, and she decided to go home.

Rachel and Buster showed up most days and ran the first mile with me. Now that Rachel had the training collar, she could control Buster. She told me that she was in eighth grade and wanted to run cross-country when she got to high school. While we ran, she would ask me what I did, and she’d found out I knew Peggy Pratt, her hero. Peggy had apparently gone to the middle school and talked to the students about her pregnancy, and in the course of educating them about safe sex had talked about cross-country. Angie and the charity had arranged for the talks, and the schools where they had done them seemed very happy. The way Angie explained it, prevention was far cheaper than helping another girl who was in trouble.

When we got close to where we would split off, Rachel needed to ask me something.

“The girls in my class don’t believe that I run with you. Could I take a picture of us together?” she asked.

I remembered how harsh other kids could be in middle school.

“Would it help if I took my shirt off?” I teased her.

I’d seen how she looked when I took it off. I think Rachel had a secret crush on me. She blushed when I pulled it off, but didn’t hesitate to get her cell phone out to take our picture. On the first one she chopped my head off, so we had to snap another.

When Buster and Rachel left us, I lengthened my stride and fell into my rhythm. I was happy that I felt so good after the first three games. In past years, I would be nicked-up by now. Our offensive line had done a much better job this season, and Ty was a hundred times better at picking up blocks than Bert ever was. At the very least he would holler out if someone broke free. The unexpected shots really took their toll. If I knew a hit was coming, I could move or brace myself, but my best option was to turn and deliver the blow. Any of those options was better than being blindsided.

Looking ahead at our schedule, the only games that concerned me were the rematch with Springfield and the game ESPN was putting together. This week we played Lakeview, who had lost their first three games by a wide margin. Coach Diamond had said that he wanted to balance our attack this week.