66. Jenny
JENNY
“We are absolutely going to kick their ass,” I said. “They’re fromMiami. They don’t even havereal ice in Miami. We’re going to step on their throats!”
“Have I told you lately that I love you?” Cole asked, putting his hand on my thigh and squeezing it.
“You have. You tell me all the time, and I love it.” I leaned over and kissed him, loving the taste of my boyfriend, who was also my best friend and the best guy in the whole world. “Now, can you please get me some nachos and a Diet Coke? I need my snacks to focus!”
Our seats were in the owner’s box at theThunderversusPanthersgame, and I was so excited. It was the first game of the season, and we were absofuckinglutely going to step on our opponents’ throats. Hockey players from Miami, pfft .
This was shaping up to be the best week of my life. We had the game tonight, and I wore my favoriteThunderhoodie. We had reservations atAlfonso’sfor dinner tomorrow night with Shirley and her husband, Mike, and then we had the rehearsal dinner for James and Audrey, and their wedding was that weekend. We would be hanging out with Todd and Evie and all the usual suspects—except for Celia Preston because her bony ass was still hiding from the paparazzi. She still got invited to the wedding, though. I tell you, that Audrey was too classy for her own good sometimes.
My auntie Theresa was still in jail. No one had paid her bail, could you imagine? So hopefully, she was rotting in her cell block with all the other traffickers and people who had done bad shit. Maybe some other inmate had made her their bitch.
A girl could dream, right?
Cole’s father had fled to the Cayman Islands, but apparently, they were extraditing him or some shit. All his assets were frozen and were being watched over by none other than Cole himself.
Life was good. Life was unexpectedly, ridiculously good.
The game started, and Cole came back with my nachos. I scarfed them down, guzzled my Diet Coke, and cheered my freaking head off. At the end of the first period, the Jumbotron started showing pictures of couples kissing. This was literally my ultimate dream to be on the Jumbotron kissing Cole at a Thunder game.
“Oh my God, Cole! You have to kiss me!” I turned to him, but he was gone. “What the heck?”
But he was on the floor in front of me, doing what I had no freaking clue. “What the heck are you doing? It’s the Jumbotron kissing camera—we’re missing it!”
Cole looked up at me, and I saw that he wasn’t fumbling on the floor for some weird reason. He was down on one knee.
I blinked at him. And then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw us on the Jumbotron.
“Jenny,” Cole said, bringing out a small black box. “You are the love and the light of my life. I can’t imagine living without you for one day—one second. Babe, will you marry me?”
He opened the box and revealed a boulder of a diamond engagement ring. Its sparkles were so mesmerizing I couldn’t speak for a moment.
“Babe?” A little crease formed between Cole’s eyes. The audience seemed to be holding its breath. “Shirley picked the ring out. Don’t you like it?”
“Ho my frickin’ God,” I said, finally snapping out of it. “Yes, I like it! It’s freaking gorgeous!”
Cole blinked at me, looking a little nervous. “Is there another ‘yes’ coming? Like, in answer to my other question?”
“What’re you, crazy? Yes, of course, I’ll marry you—yes, yes!”
The audience cheered as Cole slid the ring onto my finger and kissed me for the Jumbotron.
And for me. He also kissed me for me. And for him.
For us.
I closed my eyes as he wrapped his strong, protective arms around me. I felt safe, loved, and secure. So, I allowed myself to picture the things I used to think about when I was trying to escape: the dogs I might get—the Pitbull or the Rottie and the fat BFF mutt sidekick—picket fences, well-tended yards, kids playing on a swing set, sunshine, and lemonade.
I let myself picture them because I was going to have them.
And I was going to have those things with Cole.
There was a happy ending for a girl like me.