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“I want to be Hailey’s man,” he winked as he wrapped his arms tightly around her.

“You can turn a serious conversation quicker than anyone I know,” Hailey laughed, snuggling against the warm comfort of his sweatshirt.

Grant gently brushed away her hair and kissed Hailey’s neck. “Well, I am incredibly gifted that way…”

Hailey giggled as Grant pulled her onto his lap. “Grant, I am being serious here,” she insisted, thinking that he was indeed incredibly gifted in more ways than he knew as his kiss tugged at the base of her shoulder.

“So am I,” Grant grinned.

“Okay, well, Hailey’s man has to have a plan. It’s a little minor requirement I have…” she rolled her eyes.

“That’s a bummer,” Grant smiled as he wrapped her up and rocked her back and forth. “You getting warm?”

Hailey rested her head easily against Grant’s shoulder. “Yeah, thanks…this is perfect.”

“I think so too,” Grant whispered.

Hailey was quiet for a long moment. Then, sitting up to look into his eyes, she frowned. “You just got done talking about how you’re throwing your life away and squandering opportunities by staying here. So, be honest…” she paused as she gathered her thoughts. “When you see the future…what do you see?”

“Tomorrow, next week, five years, ten years…what are we talking here?” Grant sighed. “I distinctly remember having this conversation with you before. My goals haven’t changed; they’re not going to change. Why are we doing this again?”

Hailey gently kissed Grant’s forehead. “I guess all I’m asking is…when you see your future…do you see me in it?” she whispered.

Grant frowned. “Can’t we just live in the now, Hails? What would be so wrong with just enjoying what we have right this second?”

“People don’t always leave, Grant; it doesn’t always have to happen that way,” Hailey sighed.

“Yeah, Hailey, people do,” Grant sighed. “If you don’t believe me then ask your dad. Ask him what it felt like when the girl he thought he would marry moved away and started a life with someone else. People move away. People start over. I learned a long time ago that you’ve got to be able to let go of people, or the pain will drive you crazy. That’s why I acted like I did after basketball camp…that’s why I couldn’t respond to any of your letters…that’s why I’m scared now.”

“I know. I get that,” Hailey tried to hold back tears. “It’s just that you and I don’t have to end up like your mom and my dad. They weren’t right for one another…there was a different plan for both their lives, and I am so thankful because if everything had turned out the way they thought it would, neither of us would be sitting here right now. But you and I…we can be different…”

Grant frowned. “What about a couple months from now when college comes calling? You’re gonna be in Tennessee, and…”

“And you’re not,” Hailey nodded. “Just because we’re at different schools and separated by a few hundred miles doesn’t mean we have to forget about each other.”

“What if it does?” Grant asked. “What if life just gets in the way?”

“Then come to the University of Tennessee,” Hailey begged.

Grant shook his head. “I’m sorry…”

They were quiet, both holding on to the other, both aware that their lives were headed toward a crossroad that would inevitably tear them apart.

“Come to Harvard with me, Hails,” Grant blurted.

Hailey laughed and cried at the same time as she moved her hands to her face to wipe away a trail of tears. “You know I can’t do that.”

“Why not?” Grant sighed.

“Harvard? The name alone scares me! Regular people don’t just get into Harvard, Grant!” Hailey cried.

Grant rolled his eyes. “What? Like it’s hard?” he offered a frighteningly accurate Elle Woods impression.

Hailey laughed, but her tears flowed harder.

“So, if you don’t want to go to Harvard, and I don’t want to stay in Tennessee, where does that leave us?” Grant sighed.

“The same place we started I assume,” Hailey sobbed. Hailey shook her head as she stood to her feet. “And, I’m sorry, Grant, but I’m not interested in keeping up this little arrangement we have going on here if it’s not going anywhere.”

“I know,” Grant said, his brown eyes sparkling as he stared up at her.

“What are we doing?” Hailey gulped. “Are we breaking up?”

“Don’t be mad at me, Hailey; I’m just not ready for this,” Grant replied. “Right now other things have to take precedence. That doesn’t equate to me caring for you any less…it’s just about making decisions now that could benefit us in the future if we ever wanted to…you know…try again.”

“I’m not mad,” Hailey cried. “Harvard is where you belong. I guess I’m just a little sad that college will be here before we know it.”

Jack stared at the scoreboard, amazed that his team was up by twenty with only minutes to go in the forth quarter. At halftime, he had been sure his team’s undefeated season would fall victim to the intense, childish game of Keep-Away that he witnessed unfolding in front of him. Grant and Hailey, though wearing the same uniform and shooting at the same basket, both seemed to refuse to acknowledge the other as a teammate. Hailey, who generally displayed a superlative ability to see a play unfold, dribbled into triple coverage, despite the fact that Grant was left wide open at the three point line. Grant, likewise, dribbled between his legs and around his back, experimenting with fancy moves and taking and making difficult shots instead of setting up the plays he and Hailey had run all season long.

When the game was over and the victory was secure, Jack watched as his two best players walked from the locker room and turned in opposite directions. Hailey, surrounded by her childhood friends, went to her right, headed, no doubt, across the street to Maude’s for the traditional post-game victory celebration. Grant, alone, his hands buried in his pants’ pockets, turned left and, without glancing back at Hailey, made a quick exit out the side door of the gymnasium. Jack frowned, and, reluctantly, followed his daughter and the rest of his team across the street.

At Maude’s Jack watched Hailey as she twirled a French fry in ketchup, never bothering to take a bite. Despite the animated conversations around her, she remained quiet, and her thoughts seemed far away.

“Hailey, what’s the matter?” Misty insisted, balling up her paper napkin and throwing it across the table at her friend.

Hailey rolled her eyes. “Nothing,” she smiled pleasantly, tossing the napkin back at her girlfriend.

Are sens

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