Chapter 47
Tessa
I bounce up and down. “Do you see him?”
Quint chuckles. “No. For the forty-seventh time, if I see him before you do, I will point him out.”
“There are so many stinkin’ tall people here,” I mutter to him.
We’re standing on the sidelines because Slater promised he’d come see me before the game.
I figured it would be easier to just be down here, so he could see me and then get right back.
But apparently, every tall dude in the state had the same idea. I can’t see the field, like at all.
“I told you we can go back to the stands,” Quint says.
“No, this is where I told him I’d meet him; I’m not going back on my word.”
He puts up his hands. “Okay. Just a suggestion.”
“We should have brought Reid,” I mutter.
“Hey, I’m a tall guy,” Quint complains.
I look up at him. “You are, but you’re not as tall as Reid.”
“Nobody’s as tall as Reid,” he says in response.
“That’s kind of true,” I mutter. I bite my lip and jump up and down a little, trying to see.
It’s killing me not to reach out to him, but I promised I wouldn’t today.
He told me it was fine if I did, but I won’t do that to him.
He needs to completely focus and having me on the other end of his mind is the opposite of total concentration.
It’s been the most freeing thing being connected to him.
I still can’t get over the fact that I can talk to my guy any moment of any day.
Shoot, I can’t even get over the fact that the Slater Thorne even is my guy.
I still feel like I’m going to wake up and realize it was all just a dream, a delicious dream but a dream, nonetheless.
“There he is.”
Quint’s words jerk me from my thoughts. “Where?” I demand.
He laughs. “Come on. Grab the back of my jersey.” I do, and he uses his broad shoulders to make a way through the crowd.
And then suddenly, there he is. I take in the tall, broody athlete headed my way and suck in a breath.
I don’t think I’ll ever get over the fact that this guy is mine. Quint elbows me. “You’re drooling.”
“Yeah, well, he’s droolworthy,” I respond without looking away from those dark gray eyes that are trained solely on me.
Quint makes a gagging sound. “I think I just threw up in my mouth.”
I laugh but don’t look away from Slater. He gets closer and closer, and it takes everything in me not to run out onto the field to him. He finally stops in front of me. “Hey, Shorty.” His voice is low, and his words rumble through me.
“Hi, Hotshot.” I step forward, and those strong arms come around me.
I lay my head on his strong chest and wrap my arms tightly around him.
I am very aware of the fact that people are whispering Slater’s name and taking pictures.
More than one flash goes off, but I ignore it all.
I pull back just enough so I can look at him. “You ready?”
He nods, and I can tell he is locked in.
It makes me happy to see. He’s so much more settled than he was before we bonded, and it makes me feel good to know that I have a part in it.
Because he’s ready, I don’t want to pull his concentration.
“You’ve got this.” He nods, his eyes intense.
“I’ll see you on the other side.” I reach up on my tiptoes and brush my lips across his.
It was meant to just be a quick, chaste kiss; but his arm drops behind my back and pulls me close.
He deepens the kiss. It’s just a few seconds, but it’s enough to make me forget my name.
I blink and try to keep myself standing.
“Now, I’m ready,” he says in a low voice. He winks at me, and then he’s gone. I stare after him as he runs back across the field.
“Uh, Tessa, I don’t think he’s coming back. We could probably go back to our seats now, but if you want to continue to stand here and pine after—”
I elbow Quint, cutting off his words. “I am not pining.”
He laughs. “You sure?”
This time it’s me who leads us through the crowd of people and back to our row. Evie grins when I see her. “So, how was Slate?”
I grin back. “Perfect.”
She laughs. “Well, I’m pretty sure you destroyed several girls’ hopes and dreams with that kiss. There were some very unhappy groans when Slater kissed you.”
I shoot to my feet and turn around. “Who?”
“Oh, my word. Sit down.” Evie yanks on my hand, pulling me back down into my seat. “What are you going to do? Go fight them?”
“If I have to, yes.” I hear Zane chuckle on the other side of her.
“My money’s on Tessa,” he adds.
Evie turns to him. “Do not encourage this.”
“Hey, Slater is my man, nobody else’s,” I remind her.
Quint stands up. “I’ll be your backup, Tess. Let’s go.”
“Oh, my word. Sit down,” Evie says, shaking her head. “Never mind.” She hooks her arm through mine and pulls me to my feet.
I pull my arm from hers. “What are you—”
“National Anthem,” she mutters.
“Oh.” I barely pay attention during the rest of the pregame events. I just want this game to get started. Finally, it’s time. I don’t sit; I can’t. I squeeze Evie’s hand. “This is it.”
“I know.” Her voice is just as nervous as mine.
“This is going to be you in just a few days,” I tell her. Zane and Quint’s playoff game is this weekend.
“Oh, please don’t remind me.”
“We’ll focus on that when it’s time. Right now, soccer.”
She nods. “Soccer.”
My eyes are trained on my guy as both teams take to the field. I know he’s ready; he’s got that focus back—that legendary calm he’s known for. “It’s time, Hotshot,” I mutter under my breath. “Let’s do this.”
I don’t sit for one minute. At just three minutes in, Slate dribbles around a defender and then another one. He jukes his way around the last guy between him and the goal, besides the goalie, and he lines it up and sends it sailing into the far corner of the net.
Goal!
The fans all around us erupt, and I jump up and down and watch the guys run together.
And then it’s right back to it. It’s back and forth and back and forth.
They get several looks at the goal, but Ben and our defenders keep them out.
The clock starts to wind down. And then with less than five minutes left on the play clock, Diego gets a look at the goal.
Their goalie stops it and sends it back out.
It’s not but a minute later that we’re back at their end.
Bruce passes it to Diego who sends it to Slater.
And then in a feat of agility that only Slater Thorne could pull off, he does a reverse high kick and sends the ball over the head of the goalie.
Goal!
The fans around us erupt, and I jump up and down with Evie. And just like that, it’s halftime. “You want food?” Quint asks as he stretches.
I glance up at him, incredulous. “How can you eat? I’m way too nervous.”
He grins. “I’ll eat your portion. Evie, Zane? Anything?”
“No thanks,” Evie says, waving him off.
“I’m good,” Zane calls out.
I bounce my leg while I wait for halftime to finish up.
It drags and drags. “Finally!” I mutter when it’s time to start again.
The first few minutes of the second half aren’t quite as exciting.
There’s a lot of back and forth. But then, they work the ball down the field and line up to take a shot.
Ben gets a piece of it, but it’s deflected.
They go to kick it, and I scream because Ben is too far to the side.
“No!” Through a feat of pure athleticism, Ben launches sideways, arms outstretched.
The fans around us scream as Ben blocks the ball. I can’t even cheer. “How did he do that?” Quint demands in a shout, pulling his hat off his head.
“That was insane!” Evie screams next to me.
Ben gets the ball out to our guys, and they work it downfield.
Several minutes pass, and nothing much happens.
The clock ticks below ten minutes. Then five minutes.
I’m squeezing Evie’s hand now because this is all but theirs.
And then, with just two minutes left in the game, number seven gets a breakaway.
I scream with the hundreds of other fans as Slater makes his way to the goal.
I watch as he does what he does best...dazzle the crowd.
I stop screaming. I can’t even make a sound because what I'm watching right now is pure beauty. And then it’s just him and the goalie.
He fakes and goes to the right; the goalie goes to the left.
And then he kicks.
Goal!
I do nothing to stop the tears as they come. And then, when the whistle sounds, I watch as my man leads the run of victory. I listen as fans scream all around me, and I soak it in, hoping that Slater is soaking all of this in as well.
“Come on,” Quint yells over the noise. He grabs my arm and pulls me forward.
“What are we doing?” I yell over the crowd.
“We gotta get you down there,” he yells back.
I follow him down our row and then grasp his shirt as he pushes his way through the crowd.
We make it to the sideline, and my eyes scan the field for my guy.
As if he knows I’m here, he turns. From halfway across the field, I feel his eyes lock on me.
Then he’s running towards me. I run towards him, not even caring that I don’t run.
Ever. I figure this is a really good time for an exception.
And then I reach him and launch myself into his arms, knowing he’ll catch me.
There’s not even a doubt in my mind. His arms close around me, and my legs lock around his waist. I meet his eyes. “You did it!”
His eyes are full of pure joy. “We did it!”
“I can’t believe you did a hat trick!”
He grins. “Just wanted to make sure I was worthy of my nickname.”
“Always, Hotshot.” And then, he kisses me; and I forget about everything else in the world except for him. When I pull back, he glances over my shoulder and freezes. I turn to see what he’s looking at. A smile fills my face when I see his parents standing on the sidelines.
Slater looks down at me in shock. “You did this?”
“Not really. I just made a phone call.”
He lowers me to my feet and squeezes my hand. “Thank you.” We walk over to his parents, our hands still connected.
“Slater, Tessa,” his mom says. Then she smiles. “Good game, Son.”
Slater’s dad puts a hand on his shoulder. “Proud of you, Son.”
I blink back tears for the both of us since Slater won’t be the one to cry. But I know this means the world to him.
Thank you, he sends to me.
And when his mom turns to me and pulls me in for a hug, I think that we might just make this work.