Second and Long

EMERYI broke Noah Tucker’s heart on purpose.Seven years ago, he was my brother’s best friend. My first love. The boy who looked at me like I hung the sun.Then one phone call took almost everything from me.Overnight, I became the only person my little sister had left, and Noah would have given up anything to stay beside me-his dreams, his future, the career he’d fought so hard to build.So I made him hate me instead.Now he’s the Atlanta Raptors’ star tight end, and I’m trying to hold my life together. I have a job I need, a sister I still worry about, and a youth outreach program that could change everything.The last thing I need is Noah walking back into my life.But when his team partners with my program, avoiding him becomes impossible. He’s in my meetings. In my memories. In every place I never stopped missing him.I told myself leaving him was the right thing to do.I’m not sure I’ll survive him coming back.NOAHEmery Carter was my once-in-a-lifetime.The girl who made me believe I could have more than football. More than survival. More than the empty spaces I learned to live around.Then she left like I meant nothing.For seven years, I built a life that worked as long as I stayed focused, stayed in control, and didn’t look too closely at what was missing.Then Emery walks back in with guarded eyes, sharp edges, and more pain than anyone should carry alone.She wants boundaries.I want answers.But the closer we get, the harder it is to pretend the past stayed buried. Because the girl who broke me is still the only person who ever felt like home.And this time, I’m not letting her decide what I can handle.Some plays are built on impossible odds.I’ve spent my whole life fighting for yards no one thought I could get.