Chapter Nine
As the game played out, Mia’s mind was somewhere other than the football field. Sure, she was staring straight ahead, her eyes fixed on the game, but it was like there was an invisible curtain between her vision and her thoughts. Had she really asked Cam Hartson to join them for dinner? What happened to avoiding him?
She scooped up some popcorn and pushed it into her mouth, but the kernels tasted like ash as they hit her tongue. Wrinkling her nose, she washed it down with a big gulp of soda, then looked at the family next to her.
“Would your little girl like my popcorn?” she asked the mom, who was wearing an Eagles shirt, a blue stripe of paint smeared across her nose. “There’s nothing wrong with it, I’m just not that hungry.”
“Can I, Mom?” the little girl asked, a smile bursting out on her face.
“Okay. But be sure to say thank you.”
The girl took the carton in both hands, holding it like it was some kind of prize. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“You’re welcome.” Mia winked at her.
As the Eagles made a play, her mind was still a mess of thoughts. How could the man get more attractive every time she saw him? It was so unfair. Her body needed to be put in a time out. Because she had no time or inclination to deal with this attraction she felt toward him.
Not even if her body heated up every time their eyes met. He was so damn tall it was stupid, dwarfing her five foot three frame. For a moment, she pictured him sliding his hands beneath her, hitching her body against his. She could almost feel the iron of his muscles against her soft skin.
Stop it! He’s your son’s coach.
When the game finally ended – with the Eagles winning 26-20 – Mia rushed down the steps and waited at the bottom for Josh. Families filed past her, young children hitched on their dads’ shoulders or clinging to their moms’ hands, laughing and talking as they made their way to the parking lot.
For a moment, her heart clenched, because that had been her family once. The four of them, walking away from Michael’s games, talking about where they’d be going out for dinner.
She pushed the thought away. That was old news. And the good times had been so few and far between, anyway. Instead she painted a smile on her face, nodding at the friendly glances she was sent.
“Mom! Mom!” Josh came barreling down, and her smile widened. “Noah says I can stay over at his house tonight. They’re getting pizza. Can I go? Please?”
“What does his mom say?” Mia asked dryly. She was too experienced a parent to think that plans made between kids were set in stone.
“It’s fine by us.” Noah’s mom put her hand on her son’s shoulder, offering the other to Mia. “I’m Alice Rickson. We live on Shawson Circle, about a ten minute walk from your place. I’ll send you the details if you give me your number.”
“Please, Mom?” Josh said again.
Okay, so it would just be her and Michael with Cam. That was fine.
“Sure. Do you need me to drop some things off?” Mia asked Alice.
“No, we have everything. Josh can borrow some PJs from Noah, and we have spare toothbrushes. We can drop him off in the morning on the way to Noah’s pee wee practice.”
“That would be wonderful. Thank you.” Shooting Alice a grateful smile, Mia hunkered down in front of her son. “Be good, and make sure you brush your teeth before bed, okay?”
Josh sighed. “Okay, Mom.”
She leaned forward to kiss his forehead. He wrinkled his nose, but submitted. She knew it was only a matter of time before he started rejecting her public displays of affection. She could remember the first time Michael stepped away from her, telling her he was too old for kisses.
Why did they have to grow up?
She waited in the car for Michael, listening to a country station as she watched boys spilling out of the door, talking and laughing. Not
that you could really call them boys. They were men in all ways but age. Tall, strong, and most of them had at least some kind of facial hair.
She wasn’t sure she was ready to admit her son was becoming a man.
It was ten minutes later that her phone lit up. She looked at the screen, her brows dipping when she saw Michael’s name. “Hey honey, everything okay?”
“Yeah, all good. A couple of the guys are heading over to Mark’s place to grab some food. They asked me if I could go.”