Page 56 of Hometown Halftime

I shake my head. “Nope. That’ll do it.”

She says goodbye, and as I check out at the receptionist's desk, I stare at the note. Suddenly I have a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that this isn’t going to be anything simple.

Chapter twenty-five

Riley

The weight room at Cedar Falls High always smells the same—the rubber of the mats, and the trace of sweat that never fully leaves the place, no matter how often it’s cleaned. I like it that way, though, the familiarity of it. The steady rhythm of plates sliding on bars and the quiet buzz of the overhead lights.

Most days, lifting clears my head. Today it’s doing the opposite.

I lie on the bench and press the bar up from my chest, before lowering it again. The metal dips toward me, and like clockwork my brain decides that’s the perfect moment to replay Saturday. It shouldn’t be affecting me like this. It was the second time we had kissed, but it was so much better than the first.

I rack the bar harder than I should and sit up, elbows braced on my knees while I drag both hands over my face.

It’s been a full four days since that kiss and my head still feels like it’s running in circles.

The door to the weight room swings open with a loud metallic creak.

“Damn,” Lee says as he walks in, his voice echoing across the space. “You’re here early enough to scare the ghosts.”

I glance over my shoulder. He’s wearing gym shorts, a faded Pride T-shirt, and a water bottle tucked under one arm.

“You said seven,” I remind him.

“Yeah,” he says, dropping the bottle beside the squat rack. “But I figured you’d interpret that as seven-ish.”

He stops when he gets a good look at me, and his eyes narrow.

“You look weird.”

“Yeah, thanks,” I say sarcastically.

“No, seriously,” he says, studying me like I’m a puzzle he’s trying to solve. “You look stressed.”

I take a drink of water. “I just have a lot on my mind.”

He slides a couple of plates onto the bar, claiming the bench next to mine and then glances back at me, suspicion settling into his expression.

“Did something happen?”

“No.”

Lee snorts under his breath and tightens the collar on the bar.

“You either got life-altering news or a woman is involved,” he says matter-of-factly. “And judging by the way you’re sitting there staring at the floor, I’m leaning toward the second option.”

I hesitate long enough for him to read the answer written on my face.

His eyebrows shoot up. “Well, hell. Did something happen with Kinsey?”

I lean back against the bench again, staring up at the ceiling lights.

“We kissed again.”

Lee lets out a low whistle and leans against the rack, folding his arms.

“When?”