CHAPTER 47 #2
“Okay,” I say, feeling like I’m back in high school where the hunky jock is talking to the nerdy girl who loves animals. “Should I be worried?”
He softly smiles. “No.” He glances over his shoulder. “I have to keep warming up or Keenan might have my head. He’s already grumbling about how I had to go back into the locker room to grab your note.”
“Well, don’t let me keep you.”
He takes a step back and winks, sending my heart into a tailspin.
“Enjoy the game.”
“Good luck,” I shout before he jogs off, looking so damn fine in those football pants that I can practically feel my tongue hanging out of my mouth.
“Dear God in heaven, why do I feel like I have an erect dick in my pants?” Scarlett asks.
I let out a laugh and a sigh at the same time, relief flooding through me. Turning to her, I say, “He talked to me.”
“He sure did. He even passed you a note. How about we get out of here, and you go and read it?”
“I couldn’t think of anything more perfect.”
She puts her arm around me and leads the way. “Then let’s get out of here.”
“Let me know if you need anything else,” Scarlett says as she sets down some water for me.
“Seriously, Scarlett, you don’t need to wait on me.”
“I know, but it’s more dramatic this way.” She winks and then takes off, leaving me in the small conference room she was able to secure for me.
I unfold the paper that Graydon gave me, and I smile as I take in his scratchy handwriting.
Adorable.
Leaning back in my chair, I read his letter.
Hey beautiful,
What the hell am I going to do with you? Here I was, thinking that I could just part from you, suffer the pain of losing you, and regret the decision for the rest of my life, but you just wouldn’t let me do that, would you?
You clawed and worked your way into my life, never giving up, never running away, never getting scared, and now I’m left here, in my house, needing to make a decision on what to do because I’m going to see you tomorrow, and I know the minute I see you, I’m going to break.
Crack.
Crumble.
Because yes, beautiful, I love you.
I love you so damn much that I would give you up, let you walk away, in order to keep you safe, in order for you to be happy.
And that has been my intention this entire time, giving you up, attempting to be selfless, but with every day that has passed that I haven’t talked to you, this consuming feeling of emptiness has filled me.
And do you know what? I realized that even though I’m trying to protect you from what this unlucky life has brought on me, I can’t just…walk away.
I can’t push you away.
I can’t be that selfless asshole, because I need you, Maple.
I want you.
I need you in my arms every goddamn day, where I can soak in your goodness. Where I can prey on your sweetness. Where I can devour every last inch of your intelligence, because I’m so fucking in love with you, beautiful.
So fucking in love.
So please…forgive me for doing this to you because I know this will be tough. I know there will be days when you hate being attached to me and when the media frenzy becomes too much or social media rips into our relationship, but I can’t be without you.
I don’t want to be without you.
And if you don’t want to be without me, then meet me at the end of the game, at the fifty-yard line, and kiss me.
Yours forever,
Graydon
Tears stream down my cheeks as I look over his words…again and again and again until I practically have the entire letter memorized.
He loves me.
He chose me.
That’s all I need to know.
That’s all I ever needed to know.
Because with that, I know we can battle anything together.
I wipe my eyes, stand from my chair, and open the door, where Scarlett is waiting on the other side. When her eyes meet mine, she says, “Please tell me those are happy tears.”
I smile at her and nod. “They are very happy tears.”
The game flashes in front of me in segments, my mind a fuzzy mess as I watch the Foghorns take the field, the entire stadium erupting for the start of a new season.
A foghorn blasts in the distance during kickoff.
Graydon runs down the opposing team’s quarterback…several times.
The Foghorns miraculously score, Hutton leading the charge with a phenomenal catch that brought them to the ten-yard line.
Halftime comes and goes. The boys are in the lead by seven, the score low, but the opposing team is unable to get near the fifty-yard line because the defense is phenomenal.
Graydon intercepts the ball in the fourth just by leaping in front of the quarterback, giving the Foghorns the ball back on their own twenty-yard line.
The ball is passed to Hutton, and he runs into the end zone for another touchdown.
The crowd roars as the time ticks down, and when the game is over, both teams meet in the center of the field and shake hands while Scarlett and I jump up and down, hugging each other over a first-game win.
The offense was shaky.
The defense was unstoppable.
And I think if they continue to tweak and work at it, they might have a fighting chance this season—coming from a girl who knows nothing about football.
“Ahhh, I’m so glad they won. God, Hutton is going to be all over me tonight.”
“Really?” I ask with a chuckle.
“Oh yeah, get ready for the postgame adrenaline. You will start looking forward to every Sunday.” She winks and then nods toward the field. “Your man is on his way. You nervous?”
I shake my head. “Not even a little.”
“Good.” She leans in and hugs me. “I’ll give you some space, not that you’ll really have it with everyone in the stadium watching you, but one less person is better, at least.”
She takes off with a wave, and I turn all my attention to the man walking toward me, his helmet in one hand, his sweaty hair not styled in his fauxhawk but more falling over the top of his forehead.
His jersey clings to every inch of his torso, and his football pants truly leave nothing to the imagination.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything hotter.
Behind me, I can hear people scream, whisper, and talk about how I’m the girl from the zoo, but I block them all out as Graydon walks up to the wall separating the fans from the field.
He looks up at me and says, “Hey, beautiful.”
“Hey.” I smile, unable to help myself. “Great game.”
“Thanks, I had someone watching who I wanted to impress.” My cheeks blush, and he nods. “Get over here.”
“You want me to climb over this railing?” I ask.
“Yeah, I got you.”
And those three words undo me. I know there has never been a truer statement. So I climb over the railing, sit on the side of the wall, and fall into his arms. I wrap my legs around his waist, and he pushes me up against the wall. His smile is so freaking big that it almost brings tears to my eyes.
He caresses the side of my cheek and then presses his forehead to mine.
“I love you, Maple.”
I cup his cheeks and whisper, “I love you, too.”
“I’m sorry—”
“Don’t,” I say, my thumbs stroking his cheeks. “Not here…not ever. I understand. I understand everything.”
He lets out a sigh as his eyes squeeze shut, and he leans into me even more. “How did I get so lucky?”
“Not lucky, Graydon, just meant to be.” Then I tilt his head back and wet my lips before gently kissing him, letting our mouths mold together as the stadium erupts into cheers.
I pull away while Graydon chuckles, his eyes staying on me the entire time.
“I think we gave them a show.”
“I think we gave them more than a show. I think we fed them storylines, drama, and everything in between.”
He kisses my lips again. “As long as I have you, I don’t care what the hell they do.”
And then he starts walking toward the tunnel.
“Uh, Graydon, you can put me down.”
“Fuck no, you’re mine now.”
I laugh as he carries me all the way to the tunnel and slightly out of sight of the crowd, then pins me against the wall again and says, “Let me apologize.”
“You did in your letter.”
“Let me apologize in person.” His eyes meet mine, pleading, so I nod. “I know you deserved better than to be avoided all week and I wish I could be smarter, stronger, more emotionally intelligent for you, but it’s going to take time for me to learn, to understand just how goddamn strong you are.”
“You’re not giving yourself enough credit.”
“Please, Maple, please just let me say this.” I nod and let him continue.
“I didn’t understand that I’ve been going through life with this empty hole in my chest. I just assumed it was from the loss of my mother, and yes, that was part of it, but I also think that hole has been waiting for you to come along this entire time, and when you filled it, I got scared.
I got scared because I know I’m not perfect.
I know that I have anger problems, and I know that I can be too possessive and protective, and that’s something I’m going to work on.
But I didn’t know that the girl in the high-water pants was going to steal my breath away and show me what true love is all about.
I promise, moving forward, I will trust you, your instincts, and protect you—when you want me to.
All I ask in return is that you love me, beautiful.
You continue to love and accept me for everything I am, everything that comes along with my name, and the baggage trailing behind. ”
I sift my fingers through his hair and look him in the eyes.
“That’s not something you ever need to worry about because this love I have for you, it’s unconditional.
You and me, we will fight the good and the bad together, by each other’s sides, because that’s what true love is, Graydon.
What we have is true love, and I will battle through everything that comes at us because that’s how much you mean to me, how much I care about you…
and I need you just as much as you need me. ”
He slowly nods. “Fuck, I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
And then his lips are on mine again, but instead of the soft, hesitant kiss he gave me out on the field, this is more intense as his hand cups the back of my head and his pelvis drives into mine, a growl parting his lips…
“Hate to break this up,” Gretchen says from the side, causing us to pull away. “But the cameras can still see inside the tunnel, and you’re giving all of America quite the show. Maybe take the make-out session somewhere else?” Her smile stretches across her face as she looks between the two of us.
“Right, sorry.” Graydon sets me down but quickly grabs my hand.
Gretchen’s phone dings, and she glances down at the screen. With a giant roll of her eyes, she starts tapping away on her phone.
“OC is watching your make-out session and said I was standing in his way. God, that man is so freaking annoying.”
Graydon chuckles. “I don’t know…maybe he’s not all that bad.”
Gretchen raises a brow at him, causing us both to laugh.
“You’re right, sorry,” he says. “What was I thinking? He’s fucking terrible.”
“That’s more like it.” She thumbs toward the hallway. “Now go get showered and changed. I know you have more important things to attend to now.”
She wiggles her eyebrows at us and then takes off down the hall.
Graydon turns to me. “Did she just infer that we are going to go have sex?”
“You would be surprised to know that she can actually be pretty chill when you give her the chance to be.”
Graydon chuckles. “I’ll believe it when I see it.” Then he loops his arm over my shoulder. “Let’s get out of here, beautiful. There are a million things I want to do with you, and none of them involve a crowd.”