Chapter 5
FOURTEEN YEARS AGO
DARREN
“Are you sure you didn’t want to go to the party? They’re celebrating you, after all.”
“They’re celebrating the team, Elle. I’m good doing that with you right here.”
Delaney rolls her eyes at me, but I know she likes when I say shit like that. The way she crinkles her nose and rolls her bottom lip between her teeth gives her away. Well, that or her instant blushing. Either-or.
She flicks the back of my hand. “That’s not a very quarterback thing of you to say.”
I let loose a gruff laugh. “And what exactly is a ‘very quarterback’ thing to say?”
“You don’t even like this movie,” she mutters, changing direction.
I drop my legs from where they were cupping her sides and lean back, creating enough distance between us that I can gently spin her around to face me.
Sitting in the bed of Brody’s truck at the drive-in, the same way we do every Friday night—football game or not—Delaney’s in her usual place between my legs.
Usually, she’ll use this position to say things she knows I won’t like, just so she doesn’t have to see my reaction to them.
Tonight, she’s spent more time looking back at me than at the movie playing on the giant projection screen.
It would worry me if I didn’t already have a gut feeling as to why she’s so antsy tonight.
“I don’t. But you do. And I think we both know that I’d watch paint dry as long as you were sitting right here.”
Squeezing my thighs, I keep her locked in place, trapped in my hold.
Pink explodes on her cheeks, making the generous splatter of light brown freckles harder to see.
I run the pad of my thumb down the bridge of her nose, over my favourite patch of them.
I’ve never met another girl who has the same number of freckles as my Delaney does, and I hope I never do.
One day, I’ll force her to sit with me while I count each one.
“Next time, you can choose the movie,” she offers.
“We’ll have to break into the projection room, then, so they don’t keep replaying the same five.”
“Oh, is good boy Darren going to do something reckless? For me?” she teases, raising a hand to knock my hat off my head.
She plunks it onto hers, squishing the pretty curls she did for the game tonight.
I gather the ends and pull them over her shoulder before cupping the back of her neck.
The purple tinsel threaded through her bright blonde hair matches the jacket I tried to set over her shoulders when we first got here. Now, it’s abandoned on the truck bed.
Her long cardigan and straight-legged jeans have her pretty covered already, but I’ve always loved the sight of her in my letterman.
I won’t deny that it’s a possessive thing.
Fuck, I’d have her wearing my clothes every single day if I thought she’d go for it.
No, Delaney likes her comfortable jeans, long skirts, and cardigans.
“I’m not that good of a boy, Elle.”
The corner of her mouth curls. “No? Not according to your perfect attendance and test scores. ”
“I’m intelligent beyond my years and motivated. Not good .”
“What if I like you a little good? And intelligent and motivated?”
I curl my fingers in the soft hairs at her nape and guide her close. “If that were the case, I’d tell you that I’m all of those things because of you.”
“Well, then, how lucky am I?”
I’ve asked myself how I got lucky enough to have Delaney Brooks in my life ever since I met her in the third grade.
She was reading a book far too advanced for our grade, but I asked her to explain it to me anyway.
Then, I begged my parents to get me the rest of the series for Christmas that year and gave them to her.
I still remember the fat, wet kiss she laid on my cheek as a thanks.
“I’m going to give you everything, Elle. There isn’t anything I’m not ready to do to make sure you get the life you’ve always dreamed of. Football is just another way for me to get us there.”
Delaney pushes off the truck bed and shoves my thighs flat before crawling on top of them. When she sits again, we’re so close she can easily press her forehead to mine as she asks, “What about your dreams? You need to make sure you’re leaving room for those too.”
“The only dream I have is you.”
I lift my chin and kiss her. Her skin is hot in my hand as I guide her closer and palm her hip, getting a handful of thick wool. My girl smiles against my lips and leans forward, using her soft lips to drive me wild. When I open my eyes, hers are the first thing I see.
“I love you, Darren.”
“And I love you, Delaney.”
Slowly, I release her hip and pluck at the chain I’ve been wearing around my neck for a few days now.
She watches as I pull it out from beneath my shirt and tug it hard enough for the clasp to break.
It was cheap and simple, anyway. Just something I needed to carry the real reason why I insisted we spend our night here when she nearly wavered and encouraged us to head to the party with our friends.
The ring dangling from the chain snags her attention. She squeezes my shoulder and tucks that lip back between her teeth.
“I knew it,” she whispers.
“Your dad would kill me if I asked you to marry me already, so this is the closest I can get right now. One day, when we’re both finished school and we’re back in this town, I’ll give you the real thing. Then, you’ll be my wife,” I declare, trying not to grin.
Her hand is warm in mine when I pull it from my shoulder and hold it between us.
She flicks her eyes up to hold mine, even as I slip the silver ring from the broken chain and slide it onto her finger.
The full weight of her attention makes my heart soar the way it does every day I get to spend with her.
“What do you think?” I ask softly, stroking the band.
Without looking at the ring, she says, “I love it. I love you.”
“You don’t think it’s too simple?”
She steals a look at the ring for half a second before staring at me again, shaking her head. “A piece of string would have been enough to make me happy.”
“And are you happy, Elle?”
Pressing her lips to mine, she gives me the answer I need. I guide her hand to my chest, over the thin material of my tee and the thrashing heart beneath it. She spreads her fingers and leans into the touch, her kiss growing fiercer.
“Yes. I’ve never been happier,” she declares against my lips. “You’re my forever man.”
I lean back an inch and dart my eyes between each of hers. “When did you first see the ring, you beautiful little snoop?”
“You had it on when you were running laps on the field yesterday.”
“I knew you weren’t on the bleachers just to study. Did you even get any work done with your creeping?”
“I’m surprised you noticed me amongst all your admirers. You should have heard the things the girls were saying about you.”
I take my hat off her head and put it on mine backward before running my fingers through the full length of her silky hair. “I hope you told them to fuck off.”
“And ruin their day? No, I don’t mind it, really. Not anymore.”
“Good. The only girl I’ve ever noticed is you. On and off the field,” I say.
Delaney rubs her nose against mine. “Besides, they don’t know that you won’t be pursuing football as a career. It sounded like they were interested in finding a pro.”
“They don’t know me at all, baby.”
“Your sister said something along those lines to me the other day, you know? She’s going to freak out when she sees the ring.”
“Oh? She’s playing matchmaker again, then. I was threatened that if I messed up and lost you, she’d disown me.”
Poppy’s a spitfire. Yeah, she’s only fifteen, but she’s got the spirit of a grown woman.
My sister isn’t afraid to speak her mind to anyone about anything.
I’ve always loved that about her, but shit, good luck to the man she marries.
He’s going to need a spine of steel to avoid being railroaded by her.
“I believe that. She’s my girl,” Delaney sings.
“I never thought I’d need to fight off my sister when it comes to my girlfriend.”
Her smile is soft as she drags two fingers along my jaw. “Don’t be jealous. I like how it looks on you too much.”
She yelps when I grab her by the waist and lean us back until I’m hovering above her and the letterman jacket she snubbed tonight is squished beneath her. The thick blanket I laid out keeps the bed of Brody’s truck from getting her cardigan dirty.
“I can be more jealous if you want,” I offer, voice dipping as I brush my lips against hers.
She smooths a hand up my back. “Do it at your own risk. ”
“You make it sound so good, how am I supposed to ignore that?”
“In that case, I was considering asking Jayden if he could lend me his jacket for a few days. It’s been quite cold, you know, with fall coming and all,” she drawls, naming one of my teammates.
“His football jacket?”
“Mm, that’s the one.”
I narrow my eyes and nip at her jaw. “The only jacket you need to be wearing is the one beneath you.”
Slipping a hand underneath her, I give the jacket a yank and free it. The heavy material is purple and beige, with a big number seventeen on the arm and back. My number.
“Well then, what are you waiting for? Put it on me,” she teases.
We move back until we’re sitting nearly on top of each other, and then she extends her arm for me. I guide it into the first sleeve before doing the same to the other. Once both of her arms are inside of it, I whistle, giving my head a rough shake.
“Fucking beautiful, Elle.”
She waggles her brows and shimmies both shoulders. “Yeah? I don’t look like I’m wearing a sack?”
“Nah, but even if you did, you’d still be hot as fuck.”
“Yeah, I guess I could settle for this one,” she says with a sigh, shrugging.
“Settle,” I echo, wetting my lips. “That’s one word for it.”
“Do you have one more fitting?”
“I’ve got three. Meant to be.”
“You’re a cheeseball tonight, babe.”
“Well, it’s a good fucking thing you aren’t lactose intolerant,” I joke, scooping her into my lap.
She chokes on a laugh. “Stop it before I get the ick.”
“The ick? Fuck out of here with that, Elle. There’s no such thing as ick between us. ”
“Oh, I’m not too sure about that. Maybe ten years down the road, you’ll be singing a different tune.”
My pulse skips. “Ten years down the road, I plan on already knowing everything you do that could ick me out. And I’m completely sure that I’ll still love you.”
Her expression softens, the teasing gleam in her eyes quickly replaced with a warmth that I can feel brushing my skin. She holds her hand up between us and wiggles her ring finger.
“I’d hope so. I mean, look at this ring.”
“It’s a pretty nice placeholder, right?”
She nods and snuggles into my hold like there’s nowhere else she’d rather be, and I know that right here, right now, there isn’t anywhere better for her.
For either of us.