"I've pretty much narrowed the offers down to three." Two, really, because even though American University was a good school and a good wrestling team, he didn't particularly want to up and move to the other side of the country from her. Staying in Arizona was right out, and Iowa was almos...

"I think I get it. It's not really something I can afford to think about in my sport, but I see where you're coming from." His sport was much easier than her career path, in a way. You just showed up to practise every day, you just got on the mat and did it. No second guessing, no panickin...

"Why would you feel like a failure?" What an odd thing to say. He could name a bunch of failures here off the top of his head, but Nadia wasn't one of them, and he didn't just say that because she was his girlfriend. She had passion, drive, talent, the tools needed to get out of this sand ...

"Love you, too." Though she knew that, as much as she probably knew how his heart was thrashing around in his chest from those words despite how gently he continued to play with her hair. He'd wondered about that now and then, during long nights staring at his ceiling or lifting weights or...

"Been for years." Assuming she meant Kingman and not the specific stretch of desert they were sitting in at that moment. Which she probably did given they still smelled of sex and they'd hardly left themselves any time to enjoy the desert or the stars. They'd both be headed to cities, soon...

"I think I'll actually miss it a little. The view's always been something else, out here." They'd gone east into the desert, off the main road and beyond a hill away from Kingman's blazing lights, almost specifically for this view. The Challenger wasn't strictly designed for desert paths b...

Latanna had a tendency to lay out bait for him, little barbs or peeks at her more typical-Kingman worldview she knew would set fire to his blood and get him to bite not unlike a fisherman casting a line. Or perhaps a schoolboy tugging on a girl's pigtails unsure how else to get her attention, given ...

What a strange look to give him in response to a bit of encouragement. Roderick met Latanna's gaze with calm, slightly befuddled dignity, no real steel in his expression but presenting a mountain unwilling to bend before the wind. Whatever, a corner of his mind whispered. Latanna was an odd one even...

"Girls have asked me but I haven't really thought about it. After State I can decide or ask somebody." Some of them had been... pushy. Others had at least understood the monumental task before him and where his focus had to be until he returned from Prescott. It was nice to know on some le...

((Roderick Kanuho continued from Ceremony , although appearing earlier in the timeline)) Roderick would arrive when he arrived. This was understood. As inevitable as Earth rotating round the Sun. Soon the 2014 Arizona state wrestling championships would be here and Roderick, who had not lost a match...

The rest of the hike was uneventful.

((Continued elsewhere))

"Sounds good to me." She would've gotten pissy about it whether he caught her or didn't, so the implied annoyance in the look she shot him slid right off. If Jane was determined to be irritable about something, Cris had learned, she would be. Really, it wasn't like she'd gotten hurt or any...

You didn't get where Cris was in his sport without developing excellent reflexes. You needed to be able to react in an instant to pick off a runner or catch a fly ball, or to get your bat near an opposing pitch. Compared to a baseball, which could be moving at times nearly a hundred miles an hour, J...

It stung just a little, how she seemed almost uninterested. Sure, he knew not everyone had his passion for the game, but "'kay"? Really? He never dismissed her talking about her interests. Her attitude usually slid right off him, partly because he didn't particularly care and partly becaus...

Cris had been contentedly humming along as he strolled until the question reached his ears, at which point he didn't stop but he did go quiet for a moment as if picking his words. "Well, the seniors are gone. Some drafted, some not. Mets jumped on Taro like he lays golden eggs so he's off to Ve...