“Are you always this nervous at games?” Gabby asks, causing V to cover her mouth and suppress a laugh.

“I can’t help it.”

I wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans. It’s the last home game of the season and Wes is taking the floor with his team one last time for warmups. Things have been great the past month. We’re spending all our time together, and Wes seems to be back to his old self. I know he’s still struggling to stand on the sidelines, but he’s showing up. And he looks damn good doing it.

He looks over as he prepares to shoot, gives a wink, and then brings his right hand up to his mouth and kisses the blue sweatband. My heart does a pitter patter in my chest.

“Blair, why didn’t you tell me how hot Wes’s teammates are? Who’s number thirty-three?”

“That’s Joel.”

She scrunches her nose. “The one that sleeps with everything that moves.”

Vanessa doesn’t get her hand over her mouth in time, and she spits the soda she’d just taken a sip of.

“One and the same,” I confirm. “Nathan is number twenty-four, and Zeke is wearing jersey fifty.”

Zeke picks that particular moment to glance up at us. His eyes narrow, brows furrow. A look of confusion and interest crosses his face and then disappears just as quickly. Gabby ducks her head and shivers. “He’s hot too in a really intimidating way.”

“We could set her up with Shaw. That’d drive Wes crazy.” Vanessa grins.

The game starts, and I have a blast cheering on the team with my best friends. I haven’t seen Gabby this happy in years, and it makes me think about how much fun we’re going to have next year. And fingers crossed that Wes will be here too. He hasn’t officially been offered the job yet, but Valley would be crazy not to keep him. He’s their secret weapon even from the bench.

Valley is on fire, and we pull ahead by twenty early on and UCLA never recovers. Gabby and I have stopped watching the game all together and are planning out all the awesome things we’re going to do when she moves to Valley. That is why I don’t see Wes until he’s standing right next to me.

“Hello.”

The crowd around us is patting him on the back, and I swear I can almost feel the cameras zoom in on us. I wave my hands wildly in front of me and shriek over the noise, “What are you doing here?”

“I’m trying to watch the game. Move over.” He leans in front of me. “Hey, Gabby. Good to see you.”

I can’t stop staring at him. I’ve never seen him up close like this in his jersey. He smells of leather and sweat and it’s giving me a contact high.

“These seats really do suck. Good thing I’m gonna get to watch from the bench again next year.”

“You got the job?” I yell and draw more attention to us, but I don’t care.

He nods, and I launch myself into his arms.

“Wes, that’s amazing. Congratulations. You’re going to be amazing.’”

The words are true. I can already picture it. Him standing on the sidelines with that confident and determined set to his jaw. Maybe I can convince him to wear a suit like Coach Daniels. I like this idea better and better.

As we pull apart, he leans down and rests his forehead against mine. “Didn’t really have any other choice. This girl kept busting my balls about helping my team and being there, and turns out, I’m good at it.”

“Of course you are.”

I throw myself at him again and hug him tightly. The buzzer sounds, signaling the end of the game. Wes pulls back, but neither of us move as the commotion around us becomes background noise.

“I love you, Blair.” He has to shout to be heard over the applause and cheers. “I thought not being able to play ball was my biggest fear. It isn’t. I can live in a world where I’m not Wes Reynolds, college athlete, but I can’t live without you. Or, if I can, I just don’t want to. I should have locked you down the first day I met you. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

I lean up on my tiptoes and wrap my arms around his neck. “Stop. Just stop. You had me at hello.”

“Jerry Maguire?”

I nod.

“That’s what you’re going with? In front of twenty thousand people, your friends, ESPN cameras, you’re going with a cheesy Tom Cruise line?” He smiles despite his teasing.

Is this guy really busting my balls about this? And I thought he was a smart jock. “How about this? I love you, Wes Reynolds, you dumb jock.”

“I can work with that. Convinced you once I wasn’t dumb, I’ll take that challenge again.”

“Possible outcomes include convincing me and not convincing me.”

“Nope. Not convincing you isn’t a possibility. I have talent and heart and I know your weakness.”

“Oh yeah?” I ask, wondering if he means the fact I’m absolutely insanely in love with him.

“Yep. Chewy Sprees and my reading glasses. I have both waiting for you as soon as we get out of here.”