Chapter 40 #2
“You knew,” I manage, my voice not quite steady and my eyes never leaving hers.
Because somehow, even though I never said a word, my people knew I was struggling and held me up in a million quiet ways for all the years I’ve known them.
It seems crazy I could have thought that leaving the game meant losing this.
Them. I wouldn’t. I couldn’t. I understand that now. I understand a lot of things now.
“We did.” I feel Cam come stand beside me, but I can’t look away from Caitlin, and her eyes are glued to me too.
“She wanted everyone to be here for you,” Tyler says quietly, coming to stand on my other side.
“To show you family shows up, even on ordinary days. And we’re family, Drew.
Not just because you love my cousin or because we play on the same team, but because we were brothers the second I walked into the locker room almost five years ago.
Some things just are, and you were meant to be a part of us. To be ours.”
“You took care of me and my kids when I couldn’t.” Cam’s voice is thick. “Held us together when I was sure I would break. Brothers,” Cam says fiercely. “We’re brothers. Family. Nothing in the world could ever change that.”
I could wonder briefly how Tyler and Cam knew exactly the right thing to say, but the moment Cam finishes talking is the exact moment my eyes drift down and I notice the Renegades jersey Caitlin is wearing, number eighty-four emblazoned on the shoulders, and my heart leaps straight into my throat.
I’m halfway to her before my brain even realizes I’m in motion.
I dodge cameras and people, high jumping over a bench seconds before I trip over it and crash straight to the ground.
I hear Tyler’s loud whoop and my coach yelling my name, but I don’t care about any of it. My mind has only one track now.
Caitlin.
When I reach the stands, I vault up the concrete blocks that separate them from the field, my arms coming to rest on the railing directly in front of my girl.
I hear Maya mutter, “So fucking hot,” and Sarah lets out what sounds like a squeal, but I don’t look at any of them.
I only have eyes for Caitlin. When I wink at her, she flushes the prettiest pink, and I think I’ve never been this happy in my life.
“Hey, Princess,” I say, my grin so big my cheeks ache. “Whatcha doing here?”
Caitlin shrugs casually, eyes sparkling with fun. “I didn’t have any plans today, so I thought I would bring some friends to come see a football game.”
“Um, I’m pretty sure there are some people down there who really don’t like you standing up here.
” Avery gestures down to the field where I’m sure my coach is glaring up at me, but I don’t so much as turn my head.
Let them fine me for all I care. Bench me.
There’s nowhere I’d rather be but right here.
“Thanks for coming all the way to Florida, Aves,” I say, eyes still on Caitlin.
“Are you kidding?” Out of the corner of my eye, I see her grin.
“This is the coolest thing ever. I got to fly on Sophie’s dad’s private jet, and Caitlin’s friends and family are so awesome and I get to miss school tomorrow because we’re going to…
” Avery’s words are abruptly cut off when Emmy slaps a hand over her mouth and hisses, “Secret, remember?” Avery just shrugs with another grin, and I turn my attention back to Caitlin, pointing a finger up and twirling it around in the universal symbol for spin, my body practically vibrating with the need to see my name on her back.
Caitlin gives me a mischievous grin, reaching up to pull her ponytail over one shoulder before spinning around.
It takes my brain a second to catch up to what my eyes are seeing, but when it does, I bark out a laugh because on Caitlin’s back, right above my number, is the name Parker spelled out in stitched-on gold letters.
She turns back around with a grin. “When I told you I wasn’t wearing a man’s name on my back, I was serious as a heart attack, Pretty Boy. That bullshit has no place here. And who knows? Maybe one day you’ll take my name instead.”
My heart leaps at what she’s insinuating, and I want that future so badly it’s like I can reach out and touch it. Instead, I wrap a hand around her ponytail, using it to tug her closer until my lips are hovering over hers. “I’m not sure I’ll have a jersey to wear it on.”
Understanding fills Caitlin’s eyes, and she brings her hands up to rest on my cheeks, pressing the softest of kisses to my lips. “Yeah?” she asks.
I nod, leaning into her touch and relishing the warmth of her palms. “Yeah. I’ve got a whole life to live.
” Reaching up, I cover one of her hands with mine.
“The prettiest girl in the world to love.” I glance to the side and see Avery watching us with a smile.
The rest of Caitlin’s people. My people now.
“A family. I want that life, Caitlin. Our life.”
Her eyes bounce between mine and her lips curve into a smirk. “Okay but can you still take my name? Because I’m sure as hell not changing mine, and it would be cool to match.”
I laugh, feeling the kind of joy that nothing in the world can touch.
“Bet your gorgeous ass I will.” And when I give her ponytail one more tug, bringing her closer so I can lay my lips on hers, everything in my world rights itself.
She tastes like sunshine and sweetness and something uniquely her, a flavor I could live on for the rest of my days.
“Fuck, I love you,” I mutter against her lips before sealing my mouth over hers in a longer, deeper kiss.
“Thank you for coming here. For bringing everyone with you.”
Caitlin eases back, stroking her thumb over my cheek. “Every football player deserves family in the stands to watch him play.”
I close my eyes and soak in her words. “I’ve never really had that before.”
“Well, you do now.” I open my eyes to Ben’s voice and see him wrap an arm around Hallie, watching us with a smile. “Sorry in advance for how insufferable we’re all going to be.”
Hallie elbows her husband in the side. “We’re definitely not sorry,” she says with a grin. “Like we said before, you’re ours now.”
Rachel blows me a kiss. “Definitely ours now.”
Jack grins at me. “You’ve been Parkered, dude. There’s no turning back now.”
“Might as well just get used to it,” Oliver says with a shrug. “We’re all over your life now whether you want us to be or not.”
“Drew, you better get down here or Coach is for sure going to bench you. I stalled him as long as I could. Hey, Soph! Love you big, baby!”
Sophie glances down at Tyler with a raised eyebrow. “Drew just jumped all the way up here to tell Caitlin how much he loves her. How come you’ve never jumped a stadium wall to profess your undying love for me?”
The words are barely even out of her mouth before Tyler hurls himself up the wall right in front of Sophie, wrapping a hand around the back of her neck and pulling her lips to his, swallowing her bright bubble of laughter.
I laugh too, turning back to Caitlin and keeping my face close to hers. “I think I kind of have to go now. I really don’t want to get benched now that I’ve got a girl here to impress.”
“Gonna score a touchdown for me?” she asks with a smirk.
I drop a kiss on her nose. “I don’t know, Princess. What’s in it for me?”
The smile she gives me is all mystery. “It’s a secret, but I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”
“Sold,” I murmur, my lips grazing hers. “Meet me in the family room after the game?”
Caitlin leans in and kisses me. “Couldn’t keep me away. I’ve got plans for you, Pretty Boy.” She pulls back and props a hand on her hip, and it’s so fucking sexy I could die. “Now go play a game and make it a good one. I didn’t fly all the way to Florida to watch crappy football.”
I flash her a grin and a wink and watch her flush again, happiness and the biggest, most joyous love bubbling up inside of me. “Count on it.”
Caitlin watches me for a beat before she grabs my jersey and tugs me back in for one more kiss. “Love you,” she murmurs. “So much.”
I press a kiss to her forehead, feeling like everything is right in the world because I get to be hers and she gets to be mine. It’s the honor and privilege of a lifetime to get to love and be loved by Caitlin Parker. “Baby, you have no fucking idea.”
With one last kiss and a wave to Avery, I hop down from the wall and jog out onto the field to meet Tyler and Cam, feeling Caitlin’s eyes on me the whole time, and nothing in the world has ever been so right.