Chapter 42 Luca
Luca
WHEN CHELSEA REACHES me after talking to Ginny, she’s out of breath and wild-eyed. In a rush of excitement, she shouts her good news at me above the blaring music. First, about her successful conversation with her father and brother, and then about her mind-blowing conversation with Ginny.
Feeling overcome with euphoria, love, and joy, I wrap Chelsea in my arms and congratulate her, and we proceed to whisper breathlessly about our mutual elation and relief.
With her body pressed against mine, it’s taking all my willpower not to kiss her, right here and now in front of everyone.
But I can’t take that next step until I know that’s what she wants, too.
“Does this make me your boyfriend now?” I ask, leaning back from our embrace. “Officially, I mean. Or do I need to be your secret boy toy a little while longer?”
Chelsea beams a beautiful smile at me. “You’re officially my boyfriend. Everywhere and all the time.”
My heart rate quickens. “So … can I kiss you?”
“Please do.” Chelsea puckers and I gleefully peck her lips, just to be safe, even though I want to take her into my arms and kiss her passionately.
“Go talk to my father,” she says. “I’m sure he saw that kiss.”
I salute her and head off. Chelsea told me her father wants to talk to me when she shouted her good news at me, but I would have beelined over to him regardless, simply to assure him of the depth of my feelings for his beloved daughter.
When I reach my head coach, he’s chatting with his wife and both of my parents, conveniently. Everyone greets me warmly, including the man I came to see.
As the other three parents look on, Coach tells me everything I’d expect a good daddy to say at a moment such as this. Stuff about me treating his daughter right, or else, and I promise the man has absolutely nothing to worry about.
To my surprise, that’s it. The end of the stern talking-to, apparently, because I’m now being barraged by congratulations and questions from the three other parents.
“Who fell first?” Chelsea’s mother asks breathlessly. “It was you, wasn’t it? Chelsea’s always so buttoned up.”
“Yeah, it was me by a long mile.” I exchange a knowing look with my mother, since she knows better than anyone just how hard I fell for Chelsea.
Not only because of our conversation at Roman’s opening game this season, but also because she’s the one I asked to pack a certain something from my trophy shelf at home for her trip to Columbus.
Suddenly, it dawns on me this is the perfect moment to give Chelsea that certain something!
Right here and now, rather than waiting to do it later tonight in private, as I’d initially planned.
Actually, I’d originally wanted to give it to Chelsea last night when I sneaked into her teenage bedroom, but once I found out she didn’t write about me in her teenage diary, I lost my nerve and decided instead to keep it with me and do it another time, whenever the moment felt right.
Well, hot damn, that right moment is obviously right fucking now.
“Hey, I just realized I haven’t given a speech yet, Coach,” I say. All night long, people have been grabbing the DJ’s mic and making toasts and speeches to our guest of honor.
“Oh jeez,” Coach Parker says with a chuckle. “A speech from Mr. Personality? God help me.”
When I get to the DJ, he hands me the mic and turns down the music for me.
“Hey, everyone!” I call out. “I’d like to say a few words to Coach Parker.
” My gaze drifts to Chelsea in the crowd, and when I see her smiling face, I wink to let her know my conversation with her father went exceedingly well.
“First off, Coach, congrats on the Hall of Fame induction, and happy sixtieth to you. You’re an amazing coach and person, and I’m lucky to know you, let alone get to play for you. ”
I extol Coach Parker’s long list of virtues and talents for a bit.
And all of my comments are the truth. But after a bit, in segue to the topic I’ve got up my sleeve, I say, “So, it’s no wonder you’ve raised such an incredible daughter.
” I find Chelsea in the crowd again. “You’re a talented coach in your own right, too, Chelsea.
But as important as you’ve been to me as my coach, as of tonight, you’re even more important to me as my girlfriend. ”
Everyone from the Mastodon organization erupts at the revelation.
Everyone except Moriarty, I can’t help noticing.
He’s standing at the back of the party, clapping along with everyone else, albeit half-heartedly, but I know for a fact he’s not genuinely happy for me.
We’ve figured out how to work together as teammates for the greater good.
Especially during the last four games, since Coach implemented a new defensive scheme that put us both onto the field at the same time.
But even so, I’m sure Moriarty would love nothing more than for me to get traded before training camp begins again.
Fuck him.
I return my gaze to my girlfriend, and her bright smile makes me forget all about my rival and everyone else. “I’m sure it won’t surprise anyone to find out I’m the one who fell first. I fell for Chelsea, first and hard.”
Everyone laughs, confirming they’re not at all surprised by that revelation, knowing me.
“But what Chelsea doesn’t know is exactly when I fell for her.
” With adrenaline suddenly surging inside me, I reach into my pocket and pull out the item my mother so kindly brought to Ohio for me: the mathlete medal Chelsea gifted me all those years ago.
And the second Chelsea realizes what’s in my hand, she clutches her heart, moisture pricking her blue eyes.
“You gave this to me when we first met as teenagers, and I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it.
In fact, I’ve kept it all this time in a place of honor on my trophy shelf back home.
And I did that because meeting you made me feel a rush like nothing I’d felt before and I never felt again.
Not until our paths crossed again at training camp, that is.
At which point I felt that same rush all over again, and then some. ”
The moisture in Chelsea’s eyes swells and morphs into soggy tears, and the sight of her looking so overwhelmed chokes me up, too.
“I’ve always hoped our paths would cross again one day and I’d get the chance to show you this medal and explain how hard I looked for you after Bloomington.
How much I pined for you, Chelsea. I truly believed back then, and still believe now, that what I experienced that magical day in Bloomington was nothing short of fate.
” My Adam’s apple bobs. “At least for me, as crazy as it sounds, it was love at first sight.”
Chelsea palms her forehead, as everyone in the room reacts loudly.
“Randomly, this medal has ‘Rushmore Engineering’ printed across it. And I feel like that’s a sign from the universe, because not only is being with you a once-in-a-lifetime rush, you’re also the only face that’s ever been on my own personal Mount Rushmore.
” With that, I hand the microphone to the DJ and stride with purpose through the applauding crowd toward my woman.
When I reach her, I finally do the one thing I’ve been dreaming about for so fucking long: I kiss my girlfriend, Chelsea Parker, Chelsea the Mathlete, without holding back, with all the passion and love I’m feeling for her, in front of the whole world.
When we break apart, I ceremoniously slip the medal over Chelsea’s neck, making her laugh. And with my gaze locked with hers, I solemnly declare, “Chelsea Rowan Parker, this medal hereby makes you: Luca’s girlfriend.”
“Open it to the bookmarked page,” Chelsea instructs, pointing at the diary she’s just handed me—the one marked on its spine with the year we first met.
After receiving an enthusiastic stream of hugs and congratulations downstairs from well-wishers about our newly revealed relationship, followed by Chelsea and me briefly explaining our first meeting in Bloomington to Chelsea’s parents and brothers—oops, I definitely let the last remaining cat out of the bag when I pulled out that medal tonight—Chelsea excitedly grabbed my hand and led me upstairs to her teenage bedroom.
Not to fuck me in her teenage bed like last night, unfortunately.
Hopefully, that bit of fun is coming later.
But, instead, to look at something in this particular diary.
I open the diary as she’s instructed, and the bookmark stashed between its pages makes me gasp. It’s a dried red rose, its stem tied with a ribbon the colors of the University of Chicago.
I look up, feeling flabbergasted and emotional at the sight of the old, dried red rose, and Chelsea looks as emotional as I feel.
“I kept it for the same reason you kept the medal,” she says softly. She touches the medal around her neck. “Because meeting you was a once-in-a-lifetime rush for me, a feeling I’d never had before. And one I never had again, until I saw you again at training camp.”
I shut the diary and kiss her tenderly. “Thank you for showing me this. It means the world to know we both felt the same thing back then.”
“Well, if you like the dried rose, my diary entry about you is gonna blow your damned mind.”
I furrow my brow. “You said you didn’t write anything about me.”
“I lied because I didn’t want to scare you off. Teenage Chelsea was intense.” Chuckling, she touches the medal around her neck again. “I’m not too worried about scaring you off now, though. I think you can handle Teenage Chelsea’s most intimate thoughts.”
I’m practically vibrating with excitement by now. Barely breathing, I open the diary to the bookmarked page again and eagerly begin reading Teenage Chelsea’s swirling, girlish script.
OMG!!! I feel intoxicated! Drunk and high, even though I don’t have anything in my bloodstream except cookies ’n cream ice cream and a million butterflies!!!!!
I look up. “Teenage Chelsea was a fan of exclamation points.”
“Not usually. Only after meeting Teenage Luca.”
Snickering, I look back down.
I’ve never swooned like this in my life. WHO AM I RIGHT NOW? TONIGHT WAS MAGICAL!!!!!!! No, HE was magical!!!!!!!
“Wow, exclamation points and all caps? I’m honored.”
“She was out of her mind. You were my first kiss, Luca. You made me feel things I’d never felt before.”
“You had the exact same effect on me. I could have kissed a million girls before you, and that night still would have felt like a first for me.”
“You didn’t?”
“Almost, but not quite.”
We share a chuckle before my gaze returns to the diary.
I don’t believe in love at first sight like my parents always talk about.
I don’t think that’s scientifically possible, sorry, no matter what they say about it happening to them.
But if I did believe in it, which I don’t, then I’m sure I’d say I experienced it tonight with Romeo Montague.
Would a rose by any other name smell just as sweet?
Why yes, it definitely would! I know this for a fact now.
Thank you, Romeo, for the best night of my life!
! This Juliet will never forget you, as long as she lives! !!!!!
I look up from the diary again, smiling so big my cheeks hurt. “Do you believe in love at first sight now?”
“Hell no.” Chelsea laughs. “Do you?”
“Hell yeah. What else could it have been?”
Chelsea bats her eyelashes. “Extreme lust/acute like at first sight? Which then slowly morphed into passionate love that’s rocked my world, knocked me onto my ass, and made me believe that fairy tales can come true?”
“Works for me.” I place the diary onto the shelf and take Chelsea into my arms. “Thank you for showing me that. I love the diary entry even more than the medal, which is saying a lot.”
“Good, because I love you.”
“I love you, too, baby. I always have.” I’m this close to adding, “And I always will.” But since I’m not completely sure Chelsea would reciprocate that sentiment—not yet—and because I really don’t want to push my luck and ruin this amazingly magical moment, I nuzzle my nose against hers and say instead, “As a fellow mathlete, I can now report with mathematical certainty: The limit to my love for you, Chelsea Parker, truly does not exist.”