14. Blake
BLAKE
Iwoke up the next morning before my alarm went off, still holding Addie in my arms.
She rarely slept in, so I couldn’t bring myself to move and risk waking her up. But the clock beside her bed warned me that if I didn’t leave soon, I’d miss my mandatory meeting with my coach.
Reluctantly, I extricated myself from her bed, sliding off the edge to kneel beside it. I brushed her hair away from her face, unable to pull away until I was sure she wouldn’t wake.
It felt wrong, leaving her, and I’d have to admit why that was sooner rather than later—not just to myself, but to her.
Even if it meant she might leave again.
I hated that thought. But after last night, I couldn’t pretend I didn’t want more.
So, I needed to tell Adam, too. Even if it changed things with me and the Barrows.
Not wanting her to wake up alone and wondering where I went, I wrote a quick note, telling her I wanted to let her get some sleep, but that we should talk when I got back. I set it on the bedside table before turning back to her.
Unable to help myself, I pressed a kiss to her forehead.
Addie sighed in her sleep, and a smile drifted over her features as she snuggled into the pillow I’d been sleeping on and tucked it against her body. The effect that one barely conscious action had on me caught me off guard.
But I forced myself to leave the room before I woke her and confessed everything. I needed to be smart about this, not spook or overwhelm her after what she’d just been through. I couldn’t do anything that might send her running from me again.
And I needed to know what I’d done that hurt her so much the first time.
Mostly, to be sure I never did it again.
She and I were long overdue for an honest conversation, and even though she couldn’t hear it, I vowed silently that when I got back, we’d have that talk.
After I got dressed, I went up to the loft and did my best to wake Adam. When I told him I was leaving and to keep an ear out for Addie, he mumbled in response. When my phone buzzed, I nudged Adam again.
He gave me a thumbs up, and I left for my meeting.
When I arrived at the stadium, my coach, a gruff man in his fifties who doled out praise as rarely as Willy Wonka passed out golden tickets, looked surprisingly happy to see me.
“Blake, my boy!” His voice echoed inside the concourse, and it amplified his greeting.
“Hi, Coach,” I called as I jogged over to him.
At his side, he clapped me on the shoulder. “Let’s go to my office. I’ve got news, and you know how the sound carries out here.”
He shot me a wink, and then he led me into his office. Pointing to a chair to indicate I should take a seat, he sat at his desk. “So…how’s my star player doing this morning?”
I chuckled nervously, taking a seat. “I’m good, Coach. Curious now, I guess.”
Steepling his hands in front of him, he assessed me like he’d won the lottery. “Then I won’t beat around the bush. Danvers officially put in his request to transfer this morning.”
My brows shot up.
Coach hummed a sound of affirmation, letting the news hang in the air between us.
Danvers was our starting quarterback, the only guy between me and a starting position on the team. I’d been playing behind him, taking playing time when I got it and learning everything I could before he left at the end of next year.
Everyone expected him to head to the NFL draft a year before graduation.
The last thing I’d expected was this.
“I don’t understand. Why’d he transfer?”
Coach shrugged. “Family stuff. That’s all he said. Wouldn’t give any more details than that. Just said he needs to finish his degree closer to home and turned in his jersey.”
“But…he was going to the NFL. He—”
“Doesn’t matter, honestly. His decision’s been made and all we can do is adjust accordingly, right?” He sat back in his chair, one arm propped on the armrest and a hand on his chin. “That’s why you’re in my office this morning. Now…should we talk about Danvers or should we talk about your future?”
He pointed to the whiteboard behind me, the familiar Xs and Os drawn out in one of my favorite plays. The Quarterback Sneak. My eyes fell on the marker for the QB, and I read my name beneath it.
“You’re officially QB1 now. If you want the job, of course. The rest of the plan doesn’t change. Only difference is an extra year as a starter for me, hopefully a national championship or two, and a Heisman Trophy in there for you, if you live up to that strut you’ve been walking around here.”
He smirked, and I flushed. My ears burned with embarrassment, and I rubbed the back of my head to ease the sensation. His good-natured laugh assured me he was only teasing.
But I still planned to tell Addie she’d been right.
“You’ll be primed for the NFL draft if that’s the direction you want to go.” Leaning forward, he rested his arms on the desk and looked me dead in the eye. “What do you say, Hawthorne? Are you ready for all that?”
I nodded, too blown away to form coherent words. If I could do it—go out on that field as a starter during my sophomore year and bring home a championship for my team—football would be more than just a hobby I’d look back on one day. A waste of my potential, like my father had always said.
It could set me up for life.
I’d never need anything from him again. I’d be able to make a serious name for myself. It’d be enough to turn me into the man I wanted to become.
And maybe…
Shaking my head before I got carried away, I refocused on my coach. “Hell yeah. I’m ready for it.”
“Then let’s make our dreams come true.”
We spent the next hour going over the finer details, and the whole time, I itched to get back home and share the news. I was finally on the path to pursuing my dream future, just like they were.
I couldn’t wait to tell Addie.
It surprised me how much I wanted to share it with her first.
As much as I wanted to tell Adam and the Barrows, neither had been my first thought.
Addie was.
I couldn’t pinpoint when that changed.
Maybe in high school, when I’d become the guard dog she’d never asked for and swore she didn’t want. Or prom night when I faced the realization that she’d chosen someone else. Someone she thought deserved her.
Even though I’d been right.
Todd Weebly had been a fucking tool.
Or maybe it had been one of a million moments before or after that, occurring so slowly and naturally, it became part of who I was before I realized the truth.
I wanted my best friend beside me, sure he’d be both proud and equally put out by my new position, given the social interaction and extra attention that came with it.
I wanted the Barrows there, too, sure they’d show up for me the way my parents never had. Their approval, their trust, their love—I wanted those things as much as I always had. Because they were, and always would be, my family.
And Addie…
From day one, I’d looked out for her as Adam’s cute but slightly annoying twin sister. I’d protected her because of how much I loved them.
She had always been theirs.
That didn’t sit right with me anymore.
Somewhere along the line, my feelings for her—the need to take care of her, to always show up for her—they had changed.
I started seeing her clearly. Too scared to face it. Terrified, it risked losing them all. I hadn’t been able to admit it.
But now?
When my coach extended his hand, I shook on my new future as emphatically as he did. I allowed myself to consider the possibility of everything coming together. That I could be enough for her. Enough to let myself want her. Enough to have her beside me.
For more than what she was to them—even if it risked losing them.
Because she wasn’t just theirs anymore.
She was mine.
It had taken me far too long to realize it, but I’d do whatever it took to earn that place in her life. To be the man she trusted enough to always keep her safe. The one lucky enough to be allowed to love her.
And the one who finally deserved her.
Everything had changed.
I just had no idea how much at the time.