Chapter 43 Madi
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
Madi
I’d never been to a football game.
Not one like this.
Homecoming wasn’t like anything I’d ever experienced. Everywhere I looked, June’s giant corsages could be spotted. Turquoise and black ribbons as far as the eye could see. Even the adults wore the team colors. I felt like I was stepping into a cult ritual.
It was a good thing my entire wardrobe was black, otherwise I would have stuck out.
My nerves flared as I checked my phone again. I hadn’t heard from Dallas or June today, and wasn’t sure if they’d even be here.
Me
Hi! My showing is tonight at homecoming and I’d love for you to see the animation I made. I just want to see you both again.
No answer.
They’d both read it.
God, what if they didn’t see my animation?
I’d made a few changes to it at the last minute. I’d stayed up all night after Dallas left, tweaking it until it was not just an animation about the small Texas town I’d come to love—but the two people I wanted to spend the rest of my life with too.
But that really would be all for nothing if Dallas and June didn’t show up.
Not hearing from them was killing me. I was hurt and upset about how things had gone yesterday, but I still wanted them to be here.
My chest ached as I pushed my way through the crowd of teenagers and families.
“Madi!”
A familiar voice drew my attention and thank god.
I spotted Evie in a turquoise dress and black cowgirl boots waving at me, a beacon of beauty.
She’d secured a section of bleachers at the front for us, and Austin was sitting next to her.
On the other side of him was another man I’d never met before.
It took way longer to get to her than I would have expected. Finally I jogged up a couple of the steps and plopped down next to her.
“Oh my god,” I said. “I didn’t know this many people lived here.”
“Yep,” Evie laughed. “We take football very seriously. Everyone shows up for the homecoming game.”
“I guess so. Hi, Austin.”
“Hey there.” His smile was warm. “This is Dr. Jacobs.”
Damn. Dr. Jacobs was hot. He waved at me. “You can call me Matthew. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too.” I frowned as Evie’s cheeks reddened. Whatever the hell was going on here, the vibes were throwing me off. I didn’t have time to find out why, though. I looked around, searching the crowd for familiar faces.
Two specific familiar faces.
“Have either of you seen June?” I asked. “Or Dallas?”
Evie shook her head. “No. I haven’t. Sorry.”
“Nope,” Austin said. “I haven’t heard from Dallas today actually.”
The ache deepened. “No worries,” I lied. “I’m sure he’s busy.”
I tried to keep myself from spiraling. I really needed them to be here.
Austin suddenly leaned forward. “Oh god. What is she doing?”
My attention went back to the field and I covered my mouth as a giant projector screen was dragged out into the middle of the field by Levi, Mateo, and two football players. Avery directed them, earning a cackle from Evie and I as we watched.
More nerves fluttered in my stomach. “She wasn’t kidding,” I said.
“About what?”
“This being a whole show.”
Evie smiled. “Nope. She never jokes about it. You should go down there.”
“What?” I gasped. “No. There’s no way.”
“Everyone will want to see you, so it’s either you go down there or else everyone will stare at you in the stands.”
Well, fuck. Okay. I glanced around, still searching for Dallas and June.
“See that set of stairs?” Evie asked, pointing at some down and to the right of the bleachers. “Take those down.”
“If you see Dallas and June, will you please send them over to me?”
Evie nodded. “Of course.”
Oh god. What if they hate it? What if Dallas and June think I’ve lost it? What if all of this was for nothing?
I made my way back down the steps, and then even further down onto the field. Avery spotted me and waved me over.
Nothing I’d ever done was as nerve-wracking as this. I glanced behind me and blanched at the number of people waiting for them to get it set up. My heart raced as I rushed over to Avery, trying not to think about how many folks were in the stands.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” I said as I approached. “Are you sure people will even care about the animation?”
Avery cracked a grin. “Of course. They’ll love it. We’re gonna kick the game night off with this, then the marching band will come through, and then the game will start. It’s a whole production, but it’s perfect. Also . . . I watched the animation.”
I swallowed hard. “What did you think?”
Her eyes watered. “I think it’s perfect.”
I wrung my hands together and forced a nod. “Thank you. Have you—have you seen Dallas or June?”
“No. I haven’t. I hope they see this.”
Dammit. I pressed my lips together, looking around again. I just wanted them to be here. I still wanted to try to talk through things again, hoping we could figure out what we wanted.
But more than that, I needed them to see what I made.
I didn't want to leave. I’d found more peace and happiness here than anywhere else in my entire life. Whynot felt like home. I’d made a lot of bad decisions over the years, but coming out to this small town was not one of them.
“All right,” Levi called. “It’s set up.”
Avery hooked her arm in mine and led me back to the sidelines, facing the projector screen.
“Madi.”
My breath caught. I spun around and there he was. Dallas’s boots hit the ground as he came off the last step, coming straight to me. I met him halfway, seeing the light in his eyes, reaching for him.
His arms circled me and he lifted. He’s here. Oh god, he’s here. He held me tight, and a wave of relief hit me. All my nerves melted away.
“You’re here,” I cried, holding him tighter.
“Of course I am,” he said. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world. I’m sorry I didn’t text back today. I had to see June.”
I drew back enough to meet his eyes. “June?”
His eyes crinkled as he smiled. “Yeah.”
“Where is she? Is she—”
There she is.
My knees felt weak as Dallas put me down. He kept me standing as June ran down the bleachers in front of everyone. I choked back a sob the second she made it to us, her arms wrapping around us together. We lifted her with ease, the three of us hugging.
“I’m so sorry,” she cried. “Madi, I’m so sorry. I was such an idiot. I am an idiot. I’ve been so scared—”
“It’s okay,” I said quickly. “It’s okay. I know you’re scared—”
“I’m falling for you. For both of you. It scares me, god it scares me, but I want this,” she said. “I want this. Please stay. Please stay with us.”
Dallas’s hold on us tightened, his eyes turning glassy. I opened my mouth to speak, but she kept going, her words spilling out.
“I said really terrible things yesterday, trying to push you both away, and I shouldn’t have done that. I should have talked to you, and I’m sorry. But I’m—”
I need to kiss her.
“I’m sorry that I was being so stubborn and—”
“Shut up, June,” I demanded.
Then I kissed her hard enough to steal whatever words were about to come out next.
She laughed against me, her arms pulling us tighter until I finally released her.
Dallas pushed his fingers through her hair and gripped hard, kissing her next.
Then he was kissing me, and then she was kissing me, and everything finally clicked into place.
This was right.
This was home.
It was only then that I realized people were cheering for us.
June looked back, completely dazed. “Oh god,” she rasped. “I didn’t even think about the fact that we have an audience.”
“We’re gonna be the talk of the town,” Dallas said.
We were.
“Hey, the three of you are really cute,” Mateo called. “But we have to start the show.”
June ignored him. “Are you staying?” she asked, her gaze searching mine.
Tears rolled down my cheeks. “Just watch the animation.”
The screen flashed. I exhaled slowly as the sound started, my voice echoing across the field.
“As a girl who grew up in the city, coming to a town like Whynot felt like a wild idea.” A tumbleweed blew across a desert scene, a bird swooping down. “What could possibly be in a town like this for someone like me? It’s small. It’s in the middle of nowhere. But . . .”
The screen changed and June sucked in a breath as the animation of her shop bloomed to life.
Flowers opened up as it moved on to Evie’s bakery.
Snippets from all of my favorite places, things that I’d spent time carefully pulling together rolling into each other, until the bird from the beginning came back.
“Whynot is a community. Whynot gave me a chance at connections with new friends, new ideas, and an appreciation for the world around us.”
The mountains I’d been staring at every single sunrise spread across the screen, the skies behind them vibrant. The tumbleweed rolled along the bottom, the landscape bursting with moving pieces. Coyotes, foxes, rabbits, and yes—I’d even added a scorpion.
“I even met two people who changed my life here.”
Our animated selves came up on the screen and Dallas’s mouth dropped. “Holy shit. You animated us.”
“Yeah,” I laughed, the tears still streaming.
June sniffled next to me, her eyes shining. “You drew all my tattoos.”
“Of course I did. I’ve memorized every single one.”
On the screen, we pulled June into a hug, the three of us holding each other. Flowers started to grow on the screen again, chasing away everything until we were left with the desert.
“What I’ve found is that Whynot is not only a special place, it’s a home. And as they say here—why not fall in love with Whynot?”
The animation ended and I buried my face against Dallas’s chest as everyone cheered and clapped. My cheeks burned, but I found myself grinning.
I’d done it.
Dallas kissed me again. “You are so insanely talented, Madi. I can’t believe you animated us.”
“That was beautiful,” June hiccuped.
Avery’s voice echoed across the field. “Thank you again to Madi, our visiting artist who’s now—I think, I hope—here to stay.”
Dallas, June, and I held onto each other with grins. I jolted as the sound of a tuba followed, strangling a laugh as the band started across the field.
“I think that’s our sign,” June called.
“I think so too,” Dallas agreed. “Do we . . . actually have any interest in football?”
“No, but I do have interest in balls,” I said.
June beamed as Dallas’s expression turned to pure amusement, his cheeks reddening.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said.
I smiled to myself.
We had a lot to figure out. I had a lot to figure out. Seeing if ABBA Studios would still take me, figuring out how in the hell I was going to get my stuff here, deciding where I was going to live. Or where we would live.
But, I was staying. When I came to Whynot, I’d made a promise to myself. I wasn’t going to hide the real me. I wasn’t going to pass up the chance for something good.
Dallas and June were better than good.
I stole one more kiss from each of them, knowing that this was really where the rest of my life would begin.
Because why not let love bloom in the most unlikely of places?
“Let’s go home.”