Eagle River by Isabelle Kane

by any means. She had always been very possessive when it came to Galen, her only other real boyfriend. Thinking about it, she had also been far more sexual with Galen than she was currently with Cam. She’d actually been quite horny. They’d worn each other out. But not anymore. What had happened to her? When had sex become a chore?
    And it wasn’t just Cam. It’s not like he’s a bad lover. It was something with her, too. She remembered that at first with Cam it had been fireworks and earthquakes. But not anymore, not in quite a while. The truth was that she just didn’t get into it with Cam. It was something to be gotten through and then lay on the bed awkward, wary, wondering what he was thinking, and, as she admitted for the first time, hoping that he wouldn’t stay the night. We never know what to say to each other afterwards. Unfortunately, that often ruined the act, itself.
    Impulsively, she went down on her knees beside the bed. She pulled out a plastic box from underneath her bed. She opened it up. It held a couple of framed photographs of her family members and some high school shots. There was one of Ben, Galen, and herself, arm in arm, at her graduation. So much has changed. Kjersten set it aside. She had brought them with her from her home to adorn her dorm room. For the first few months, they had, even after she and Galen had broken up. The pictures had come down when Cam had entered her life. He had taken the pictures down, tossed them on her desk. “It feels like all of Eagle River is watching us,” he’d said.
    There was an element of truth to it, so Kjersten had dutifully left the pictures down and then put them away, but after that the room never felt like her own. That was the start of the compromising.
    Next, she pulled out a thin stack of opened letters that Galen had written to her during her high school years when she’d been away at summer camp or for spring break in Vale or Aspen. It still hurt too much to read them. Next, she removed a couple of newspaper clippings and a folded magazine. It was a Wisconsin State Journal . The cover shot was of Galen, his arm was drawn back in the classic quarterback pose, his face was lean and determined, and his eyes, targeted on some distant receiver. Finally, there was a dried corsage. She held it in her hand, running her fingers along the pink satin ribbon. It slid smoothly through her fingers. It was from their first dance together, at that long ago homecoming. That first dance. The first time they’d held each other.

Chapter Nine
     
    Anticipation
     
    ~ Galen ~
     
    The day had finally arrived. Galen had thought about, dreamed of it for so long, it didn’t seem possible that it was finally here. The Eagle River Warriors were set to play in the Division Two State High School Championship game in Camp Randall in Madison against the Milwaukee Jefferson Wildcats. It was by no means a perfect day for football. The November afternoon was chilly and the overcast sky promised rain.
    The night before, when Coach Murray had walked his team through the gates of the storied football stadium for their pregame practice, Galen’s heart had pounded.
    “I can’t believe that we’re going to play here!” Troy Kendy, one of the Eagle River receivers who was frankly impressed, voiced Galen’s own thoughts.
    “This place is huge,” one of the other boys echoed. “And there’s going to be TV stations here, too. Think about how many people are going to see us play.”
    “This is where the B-b-badgers p-p-play,” Seamus Duffy, whose stuttering worsened significantly whenever he was nervous, managed to get out.
    “No shit, Sherlock. You must be some kind of genius or something,” Troy mocked. “Hey, Galen, you’ll probably play a game here next year when you’re a Bearcat. I woulda chosen the Badgers myself. Who wouldn’t want to be a Badger?”
    Galen didn’t respond. Be cool. He was very aware of Tom Murray’s eyes on him. The rest of the team is