I don’t slow down.
I’ve got ten seconds to be on time, and I’m going to fucking be on time for my commitments.
Especially the one I made to Brooke when I told her I was falling for her. Part and parcel of that is I won’t want to cool off again.
She spots me, looking at me as if I’m as unexpected as a housecat wandering through thestadium. Her head tilts, her brow furrows, and her face is unreadable. Her poker face is tight, but her brown eyes are full of questions and, I think, hope.
I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s gorgeous in her black skirt and red blouse, her blonde hair twisted up on her head.
But it’s her heart that I want most—the heart that wanted to give me space.
Fuck space.
I don’t want that anymore.
I’m about to run past all these reporters when a guy in glasses speaks first, stopping me. “Hey, Drew. We didn’t think you were going to be here.”
A redheaded woman with freckles goes next. “Are you joining the tour after all, Drew?”
Then Clements strides forward and gives me a fist bump. “Always showing me up,” he says with a smirk.
“Thanks for being my backup,” I say, but I’m not in the mood to joke.
I’ve got eyes for one person and one person only.
“I’d love to show you all around,” I say to the reporters, my gaze locked on Brooke’s. “But there’s something I have to do first.”
I walk past them all, and they part, letting me reach her quickly.
She purses her lips and waits for me.
I reach into my pocket, take out the charm necklace, and press it into her hand. “I love you. I wantyou to leave this at my place any time, and I’ll keep finding it and bringing it to you.”
Instantly, her bluff vanishes. She smiles like a Jumbotron caught us kissing.
Which sounds like a damn good idea but I’m not done. “I want footballandromance. I was a fool to think we couldn’t make both work. I don’t want any space from you. I want to see you every night, and every morning.”
But before she can speak, I realize my faux pas. “Oh, shit,” I whisper. “You probably didn’t want me to say all that in public.”
With her free hand, she grabs the collar of my shirt. “I do. I did. All I want is you.”
I loop my arms around her neck. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. “But thank you for giving me another chance.”
“Drew,” she says, her voice soft and feathery and just for me. “You’ll have bad days at work, and so will I. But we’ll have good days too. We just can’t let the bad days dictate how we feel about each other.”
I nod, still a little guilty, but that’s okay. I should feel guilty. I fucked up when I freaked out. But I can learn from it. “I know. I believe that. I didn’t think there was room for love and football, but I was wrong.”
“I want love and football too,” she says.
“Oh my God, just fucking kiss her,” Clements breaks in with an aggrieved groan.
The guy with glasses chimes, “Yes, yes, yes!”
The woman cheers me on too. “Right now.”
I look at Brooke, asking permission. “Are you sure?”
She laughs. “Trust me, it’s no hardship to kiss you in publicorprivate. But first, maybe put this on me?”