Chapter 25
Dawson
Adrenaline surged. Blood roared in my ears. My eyes sharpened. My focus whittled down to nothing but the turf under my feet, the sun on my back, and the unwavering need to win.
Not for myself, but for them. For my coach, my teammates, my dad.
For Theo.
I could feel him watching me and I wanted to pull off this win for him. He had been my biggest cheerleader back in high school, always front and center in the stands and chanting my name into the wind. Then chanting it again when he would bury himself inside me hours later.
Here’s to hoping history repeats itself.
We lined up and I could feel the energy pouring from my teammates. They were hungry for it, the taste of victory tantalizingly close. All we had was this one chance, this final play.
I caught the snap and through a frenzy of players, I saw Corvin open on the left and sent the ball flying into his arms and he ran straight into the end zone.
The stands erupted with noise, a sea of burnt orange and white rippling with deafening cheers that shook the earth.
For the first time that day, I felt elation sweep through me as I was surrounded by my team.
I tilted my head up and kissed two of my fingers before pointing them at our suite… at Theo. He would know it was for him.
It was always for him.
The next two hours were a blur of interviews, photos, and back slaps.
The high of the win faded quickly as reporter after reporter asked me about Dad and Grandpa like I hadn’t been asked the same questions a million times since I was sixteen.
How did it feel to follow in their steps?
How did it feel to be part of a football dynasty like the Matthews or the Mannings?
How did it feel to be the “prince” of college football?
How does it fucking feel? Like a goddamn noose around my neck, strangling me with a life I don’t want.
I ignored the bitterness that coated my stomach and instead thought of Theo and our date. Excitement buzzed under my skin as I wondered what he had planned for us. He’d be the first to admit that when it came to date nights or surprises, he could be cheesy as fuck.
I secretly loved it. Theo used to make me feel treasured, adored, loved in a way no man had a right to be.
There was a sliver of apprehension that maybe that part of him was no longer there, but I wouldn’t dwell on it.
Having him back was more than enough and if the sacrifice was some cheesy, romantic gestures, then so be it. I just needed him.
I waited a little longer than I wanted to steal the only private shower stall so I could be a bit more…
thorough in my cleaning. I’d thought about it for weeks now and I wanted him inside me again.
Craved it like nothing else. I was ready.
I had no clue if Theo was up for it, but I wanted to be prepared because I was ready to beg for it if necessary.
The energy in the locker room hadn’t dwindled by the time I was done showering.
Guys were yelling across the room, taking friendly digs at bad plays and tossing around plans for partying after.
I opened my locker to grab my clothes and checked my phone for any messages, finding one Theo sent twenty minutes ago.
THEO
I’m parked by the doors to the locker room. Don’t keep me waiting, Mercury
“Hayes! You’re coming out with us to celebrate, right?” someone called out.
“Sorry man, not tonight. I’ve got plans.”
“Ah damn! You got a hot date?” one of our tight ends asked. “I bet it’s that hottie with the pink hair you’re always hanging out with, am I right?”
“Actually, it’s with my boyfriend. But I’ll send Aly your compliments.”
A shiver of trepidation went through me at my casual mention of a boyfriend, knowing how locker rooms were sometimes a breeding ground for toxic masculinity bullshit, and I braced myself.
“Right on, right on. Well, go get your freak on with the boyfriend, but we’re dragging your ass out after next week’s game! Capeesh?”
“Yeah yeah, I hear you,” I chuckled. I sat on the bench to pull on my shoes and clocked Corvin plopping down beside me to do the same.
“Awesome fucking game, Hayes. That was a sweet play there at the end. I almost shit myself when I thought I might fumble it.”
I breathed a laugh through my nose. “Nah, you were solid. You did great out there.”
“Thanks, dude,” he shot me a crooked grin, then stood to grab his things. “Anyway, I’ll catch you later. And have fun with Theo tonight. I’m happy for you guys.”
My head shot up in surprise and I returned his smile, tipping my chin at him.
A sigh of relief left me as I grabbed my bag and headed out, feeling like we’d somehow turned a corner.
The air was muggy and warm outside as I reached the parking lot, swiveling around until I spotted Theo leaning against his car under a street light close by.
I made my way over, scanning the length of him hungrily.
His dark wash jeans molded to his long legs that were paired with wine red Vans.
His white t-shirt clung to his torso with a black button-down hanging open and the sleeves rolled up, showcasing his veiny, inked forearms. My mouth watered at the sight and arousal heated my blood.
A cocky smile graced his face when he caught me checking him out.
“That was quite a win, Mercury. Congratulations. Also you brought Dani to angry tears, so double win.”
“Yeah, I’m truly blessed,” I said dryly. “What are you hiding behind your back there?”
With a flourish, he presented me with a bouquet of white flowers wrapped in shimmery black paper, though I noticed something…odd about them.
“Are those roses…made out of sheet music?” I asked baffled.
Theo’s grin widened and he swaggered over, holding them out for me to take. My breath caught as I examined the petals, taking in the complex notes and time signatures as though I could somehow read the music enfolded there.
“You’re not going to feed me some horrible line like ‘I’ll love you until the last flower dies’, are you?” I snickered, trying to hide the emotion clogging my throat.
“Oh please, I’d never say something so corny.”
“I’m sorry, have you met you?”
“So damn cheeky tonight,” Theo smirked, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear, my pulse faltering at the contact. “Do you like them?”
The vulnerability in his voice squeezed my heart and I cupped his neck, pulling his mouth to mine.
His lips parted under my prodding tongue and I swept inside to taste him.
He let out a guttural moan that I inhaled greedily.
The kiss was slow and deep, both surrender and control.
I reluctantly pulled back and my gaze roved over Theo’s spit-slicked lips and blown-out pupils.
“Clearly you’re disappointed. Noted,” he panted.
I huffed a soft laugh, trailing my nose slowly up his cheek.
“Thank you,” I whispered, unable to resist stealing another kiss. “They’re perfect.”
I could feel Theo’s smile against my mouth, but he stepped back and snatched the gym bag from my shoulder.
He tossed it in the backseat of his car, then moved to hold the passenger door open for me.
My teeth clamped down on my bottom lip to stifle the smile that threatened to overtake my face as I buckled myself in.
“So what are we doing tonight?” I asked once he’d climbed in behind the wheel.
“I’m sorry, that’s classified.”
“Are you for real?”
“Yep. Unless you know the codeword.”
“Please?”
“That’s not it.”
“You fucker…”
“That’s really not it.”
“You honestly won’t tell me anything?”
“Nope. That actually reminds me…”
He leaned over me to pop open the glove box and pulled out a dark swath of fabric. He dangled it between us and I gaped at him.
“A blindfold? Seriously? I thought this was a date, not an episode of I Survived.”
“It’s the only way to preserve the surprise factor,” he explained patiently.
“Or I could just, you know, close my eyes. But what do I know?”
“Dawson...do you trust me?” The soft plea in his voice drew me in and he held my gaze. “I won’t make you wear it if you really don’t want to, but I’m asking you to just go with it. For me?”
I knew before he finished that I’d cave for him, like the complete love-struck idiot I was.
“Fine…fork it over,” I muttered begrudgingly, but the way his face brightened made it impossible to regret as I slid the blindfold in place. “You’re excessively high maintenance, you know that?”
“You love me anyway,” he sang. He reached over and squeezed my upper thigh, rubbing his thumb in circles that sent tingles down my leg.
He started the car and we pulled out of the parking lot, and for a little while I was able to keep a general sense of direction, but by the third turn, I was lost. Theo rustled around for a few seconds until “Dangerous Night” crackled out of the speakers.
“Thirty Seconds To Mars. Nice choice,” I said while tapping out the beat on my knees.
Theo’s quiet laugh barely reached me over the music and I wondered if I’d said anything unintentionally dumb or funny.
Maybe it was how fucking ridiculous I looked in the stupid blindfold.
I decided to ignore it and relax for the drive.
When Sum 41’s “With Me” and Quietdrive’s cover of “Time After Time” followed, something scratched at my memory.
“Wait…this isn’t our old date night playlist, is it?”
Silence stretched and told me I was right on the money. Theo clasped my hand and brought it to his mouth, placing a firm, warm kiss to the back of it. My eyes stung under the black silk and I clamped them shut to keep the tears at bay. Jesus, why was I getting so damn emotional?
The playlist ran through all the songs we’d added over the course of months and months of dates, songs that held special meaning for us or that were just constantly stuck in our heads at the time.
The car slowed to a stop right as the closing licks of “Don’t Fear The Reaper” faded away, and I suddenly became aware that we’d been driving for a long time.
“You know, I wouldn’t have agreed to the blindfold if I’d known I’d be wearing it for over an hour,” I grouched.
“It was only thirty-five minutes, drama queen. I need to grab something real quick. Hang tight and don’t even think about taking that thing off.”
I heard the driver’s door close behind him before I could protest. My head slumped back on the headrest, my ears straining for any sound that might tip me off to where we were or what Theo was doing.
Faster than I expected, the door next to me opened and Theo guided me out of the car, instructing me to step up and sit on some kind of vinyl seat. It kind of felt like—
“A golf cart? What the…are we at my house?”
“Two minutes and you’ll see.”
The golf cart lurched forward, bumping along uneven ground while crickets chirped loudly around us. The musky scent of the Cedar Elm trees hit me the closer we got and my heart started to thump out an unsteady rhythm.
We slowed to a stop and Theo carefully pulled the blindfold off. I blinked hard to clear my vision, but I didn’t need to see it to know where he brought me. After all, it was our place, our hideaway. And the location of our very first date six years ago.
But my mouth fell open at the view that greeted me.
Lights were strung across the top of the barn like spider webs and battery-powered lanterns were placed strategically on the ground. A blanket was spread out in the center with a fancy-looking picnic basket sitting next to a small cooler.
I gawked at the space with stilted noises coming from my slack mouth as I tried to process what I was seeing. My chest ached from the overwhelming sensations running through me, and I rubbed at my sternum absently.
“How?” I gasped out. I refused to look back at Theo because I was ninety-nine percent certain I’d crack right down the middle if I did.
“Dad,” he answered simply. “A couple weeks ago, he and I had a long chat about….pretty much everything I’d kept him in the dark about.
It wasn’t pretty. Lots of truth, lots of yelling, some tears, but we ended in a good spot.
I called him last week and asked for his help setting this up.
He said it was his gift to us…for all we’d been through. ”
My head shook frantically and I couldn’t stop it, like my brain was rejecting the enormity of what he and his dad had done.
“You didn’t have to do all this for me. This is…”
Theo came up behind me, heat emanating from him and warming me all over. His hand grazed my arm in a featherlight touch, finally sliding down to weave our fingers together.
“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you, Dawson. I’d give you the breath from my lungs if that’s what you needed. All of this? It’s a fraction of what I want to give you. I wanted to go back to the beginning, do it right this time. Our story started here and so should our new chapter.”