I kiss him hard.
When I pull away, I say, “I missed you.”
“I missed you so much,” he echoes.
“Don’t leave me again,” I tell him.
“I won’t. I’ll be back tomorrow for the next show. And every one after that.”
I smile. “Good.”
I don’t know how I got so lucky.
I get to have it all.
And I get to have it all with him right here beside me.
I kiss Blaze again.
And this time, I don’t pull away.
Epilogue
One year later
Blaze
I’m terrified to get back out on the field today.
As the only Trist brother on the team now, everything rides on this first game. Zephyr is off to the NFL like Rayn.
I am the solo representative now.
I wake up early in bed beside Melissa. Her perfect blonde hair is stretched in every direction across the pillow. There’s still the faintest bit of lipstick on her lips, even though she tried to scrub it off her face last night.
That’s theater makeup for you.
Last night, I got to do one of my favorite things in the world: watching her onstage. There is no one more magnetic under those theater lights than Melissa. She was born for the stage and I am just happy that I get to watch alongside her.
Melissa stirs, stretching her arms above her head.
“Game day,” she whispers, her eyes still closed.
“Game day,” I repeat.
I feel nauseous.
Melissa sits up beside me and drapes her arm around my back. She kisses me shoulder gently.
“You’re going to be amazing,” she tells me.
I wish I could believe her.
I don’t know who I am without football, but I know that with her next to me, everything is going to be okay.
“I’m going to try,” I tell her.
Melissa rubs my back, kissing me again. “I am going to be the loudest one in that stadium. And when you’re done, I can’t wait to get you right back here to this bed.”