Chapter 37

Sam kept his head down, but even with his ears covered he could hear the bombs going off. The fireworks. They were bright, star-spangled fireworks. If he repeated it enough, he’d make it through the five- or ten-minute show, right? When King sat down and put his arm around him, Sam turned slightly and rested his forehead on King’s big thigh. King was rubbing his back, but Sam couldn’t really feel it through the pads. It was a nice gesture, though, and he could feel it enough that it grounded him.

Shit, how long are these fireworks? he wondered. They were taking longer than it took American troops to take Baghdad.

He wanted to see Jane. This whole fireworks thing was a bad idea. What piss-poor timing. He knew Melody Ann had only been trying to help his image with the whole Veterans Day celebration thing, but he was totally going to kick her ass when this was over.

“Hey, man,” Jo Jo yelled, pointing down the field. “I think your girl’s coming to see you.”

“What?” King yelled. The crowd was going crazy over the fireworks.

“Your girl,” Jo Jo yelled. “Look.” Sam lifted his head and turned to follow Jo Jo’s pointing finger, but he couldn’t see anything. Most of the team was surrounding them, as if they could protect Sam from the booms in the sky. Next to him, King stood up. He turned to Sam, grinning.

“Come on,” he said, pulling Sam up. Another firework went off and Sam flinched, pulling away from King. He shook his head. What he really wanted to do was go far, far away and curl up in a ball.

“Get out of the way,” King said, pushing a few guys aside and pulling Sam out of the protective circle. That’s when Sam saw her. Jane was trying to hurry down the sideline, Randi McInish pulling her along. But Jane was wearing a clingy dress and high heels, and she was having a hard time. When she saw Sam and King, she started waving wildly at them. She yanked her hand from Randi, then reached down and flipped off the heels. Then she began to run. Without thinking, Sam started to run, too.

They met halfway. Jane threw herself into his arms and kissed his face all over, her arms wrapped tight around his neck as he lifted her off her feet.

“I missed you so much,” she said, her voice cracking. Sam realized she was crying. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ve been an idiot. I made you do it all alone.”

“Shut up so I can kiss you properly,” Sam said, yelling to be heard over the crowd. He didn’t care that they were in the middle of a group of strangers on the sidelines in front of sixty thousand people.

“Do you forgive me?” Jane asked. She was a wreck. Her hair, which looked like it had been pinned up, was falling down around her shoulders, and her face was blotchy from crying, and he didn’t care. She looked beautiful to him.

“For anything and everything, but there’s nothing to forgive,” he told her. “Seriously, let me kiss you.”

“Oh,” Jane said and Sam’s heart did a flip. He kissed her exactly the way he wanted, as if he were starving for her. When he broke the kiss, she looked a little dazed and her cheeks were flushed.

“I’m sorry to put you through all this,” Sam said, resting his forehead on hers. “This isn’t what King and I wanted at all. You know that, right?”

“I know,” she said. “And I’m sorry I couldn’t handle a little negative press. I mean, who cares, right? As long as we’re together.”

“And I’m sorry I missed that kiss,” King said from beside them. “I watched it on the jumbotron.”

“King,” Jane said, starting to cry again. She reached out one arm and wrapped it around his neck, pulling him close. “I’m sorry. Again.” She sort of hiccupped and Sam wasn’t sure if it was a laugh or more crying.

“Enough of that,” he said. “If I know you two, you’ve just spent the last couple of minutes apologizing.” Jane stretched up to kiss King, and Sam adjusted her in his arms. “Everyone is watching,” King said against her lips.

“Let them,” Jane said firmly. “I don’t care. They’re all just jealous, anyway.” King’s laugh was cut off by Jane’s kiss. Sam nuzzled her neck while she kissed King.

“This crowd is really jacked up tonight,” Sam yelled over the noise. “They take their fireworks very seriously.”

“They’re cheering for you, you idiot,” Cass Zielinski yelled, striding up beside them. “The fireworks ended a few minutes ago. Shannon said take it back to the locker room.” He smiled. “Hi, Jane.”

“Hey,” she said shyly. “Sorry about all the fuss.” Cass just grinned.

Sam lowered her to the ground. She was blushing furiously. A second later, the team swallowed them all up and they were forced to move with the tide toward the tunnel. King scooped her up in his arms right away. “No shoes,” he reminded Sam. Sam just nodded, smiling like a fool.