Jason

Billy drives his fists down on my shoulders. “All done.”

All suited up in my old football uniform, I say, “It’s been a long damn time since I wore pads.”

“You’re a big dude, you know that?”

Chuckling, I bend down to tie my shoes. “Yeah. I’m aware.” When I stand up, the cleats add some height. “Shorty.”

“At six one, I’m not usually considered short.”

“Eh, don’t worry. We’re not playing football anymore. What time you got?”

“Ten till eight.”

“Okay. I’m gonna head out there.”

We shake hands, but I bring him in for a chest press. He asks, “Are you hugging me, man?”

“Maybe. Just go with it.” He remains and I inwardly laugh. “Thanks for everything you’ve done to take care of Delilah through the years.” We step back and I grab the football helmet. Holding it under my arm, I make sure I have everything else I need. “Thank you for tonight too.” I want everything just right for her.

Giving me a middle-finger salute, he replies, “Aye. Aye, Captain.” Some things never change. The smartass. When we enter the tunnel that leads to the field, he stops. “Good luck out there.”

“Thanks, but I never need luck.” I just need her. We walk in opposite directions. By the time I reach the field, the sun is starting to set. I scan the field and then the bleachers.

Six field exits.

Three on the far side.

Three behind me.

Ten exits up the bleachers.

Five on each side.

I make my way to the fifty-yard line, put my helmet on, and take a knee to wait. This afternoon, the rest of the pieces of my life fell together . . .

The paperwork has been signed. I’m here to pick it up. Delilah and the farm are free from Cutler forever. It didn’t take much to get him to sign. I recommended it might be safer for him in jail than roaming free if he didn’t. I simply rubbed my neck and bam, he signed that afternoon. I don’t need to see him again, but apparently he wants to see me again, so here I am.

Sitting across from Cutler, I don’t say anything. I’m not sure what to say anyway. But he says, “You were a good friend to me, Jason.”

I scrub a hand over my jaw. “I was.”

“I’m sorry.” The fucker knows nothing about love. Never has.

“What you did to me was nothing compared to how you hurt Delilah.”

“I loved her.”

“No, you didn’t. If you did, you wouldn’t have laid a finger on her. If you truly loved her, you would have wanted to see her happy, which she was with me.”

“Guess the best man won.” Idiot.

“It was never a game with her. There weren’t winners or losers until you made it into a competition.”

“I’ll tell her I’m sorry.”

“Don’t.” I stand. “Don’t ever contact her again. This paperwork is all she needs from you.”

I push the button. It buzzes as I wait for the door to open. The guard releases the door and I walk out. With glass dividing us, he yells, “I’m sorry.”

He will be sorry. He will be sorry. Where he goes exists with no hope, no friendships, alone, no future or direction. He will understand a little of what I went through. Then maybe, he’ll be sorry. But right now, the asshole doesn’t have a clue.

. . . The lights flick on, lighting up the stadium and surrounding area. The scoreboard comes on next. The final score from that night years ago lights up the board. I spy Billy looking over the field from the announcer’s booth and give him a thumbs up.

When he returns it, I know he’s seen Delilah. The second she comes through that tunnel, it’s as if the night became brighter.

Shelby was supposed to coach her about the setup. When Delilah sees me, she stops, a wide smile seen clear across this field. As much as I want to greet her, I don’t. It has to be perfect. For her. So I stay. When she heads to the spot she used to cheer for the team, I know the plan is coming together. I continue to wait on my knee, and she keeps peeking my way.

I take a deep breath when she stands on the sidelines with her pom-poms in hand and exhale. I’m nervous. This isn’t about second chances. We already have that. Tonight is about righting wrongs.

Dragging my tongue over my bottom lip, I fix my eyes on her, get up, and start walking. I glance up to see Shelby next to Billy in that booth. She’s clapping, and it’s great to have their support.

When I look back at Delilah, she shifts her weight between her feet. She’s nervous too. For some reason that makes me feel better knowing we’re both invested as deeply in each other. Then I focus on my target—a strawberry blonde with big blue eyes, wearing her heart on her sleeve.

I take the helmet off and carry it by the face guard at my side. Just ten feet separate us when the world comes back in color—vivid and electric. And there in the center of my universe stands the only girl I ever loved. She’s as gorgeous as she always was. That uniform is a fantasy come to life. Damn, she knows how to work her assets to her advantage. My mind goes blank just seeing her. I had prepared a speech, but fuck it. I walk right to her and pick her up by the waist. Her legs wrap around my middle and her laughter echoes around us. She bends down and kisses me.

“You’re all I ever wanted, Delilah Rae Noelle.”

Setting her down, her laughter is replaced with glassy eyes as she struggles to hold back her tears. “Me too. You’re all I’ve ever wanted, Jason.”

I drop down to my knee and take her hand. “Three thousand fans crowded into this stadium every Friday night to watch our team play and hopefully win. We usually did. I was named MVP all four years at school, but it’s not the trophies or accolades I remember. It was great to be held on the shoulders of my teammates in high praise after winning state. But when I look back on my life thus far, my highlights reel plays our love story.

“The first time I ever saw you, you were wearing a purple shirt, a denim miniskirt, little socks that had frills, and blinding-white sneakers. You walked into the school with your sister, and I was dumbstruck.

“You were the prettiest thing I’d ever seen. Prettier than any flower I’d picked for my mom or picture of any model in a magazine.

“You may not have realized that every time our team scored or I won any kind of award, I looked for you. Nothing really mattered like your approval, your support, your love.

“Life may have taken us in different directions. We may have taken a few detours knocking us off course, but it carried me right back to you. This is the redo you wanted. This is our chance to put things back the way they were always supposed to be. Delilah Rae Noelle, marry me. Travel the world with me. Have babies with me. Hold my hand even when you’re mad at me. And I promise I’ll kiss you even after we fight. I’ll take the middle-of-the-night feedings so you can sleep. I’ll protect you. Always. But . . .”

I get choked up. I take a deep breath and exhale. “I’ll love you more with each passing day. I’ll love you until we’re old and gray. I’ll love you in this life and the next. I’ll give you the world and the universe, the stars above, and will make love to your body and heart. Will you marry me?”

Throwing her arms around my neck, she sits on my bended knee. Her head is tucked between my head and shoulder pads, her shoulders shaking with sobs. When she wipes her face, she lifts up and I hear her.

Loud and clear . . . “Yes. A thousand yeses, Jason.”

Jumping up, I bring her with me and turn around with her in my arms. We kiss again and when our lips part this time, Billy and Shelby are cheering over the loud speakers and shout in unison. “Congratulations!”

The song, “Someone to Stay” by the band, Vancouver Sleep Clinic, starts playing through the speakers. I set Delilah down, still holding her hand, and say, “C’mere.”

Moving into my arms, we start a slow dance. “You went to a lot of trouble for a girl who already said yes.”

“You once asked for a redo. I want to make all your dreams come true.”

She tilts her head to the side with a sweet smile on her face. “You always did look good in a uniform.”

“You look amazing.”

Spinning from me, she shows me the back. “It’s all rigged with safety pins. This skirt is way too tight.”

I laugh seeing how she’s pinned the back zipper together. There’s at least two inches keeping the sides from meeting. “You’re sexy as hell anyway.”

“I’ve put on a little weight since you’ve returned, a few love pounds. I’m not worried, but it will be more.”

“More?”

She grabs one of her pom-poms and bends over, flashing me her fine ass. Man, I’m getting hard looking at her. She’s going to have to bring this ensemble into the bedroom for a little role play later.

When she turns back, she comes over and says, “Yes. More.”

I’m so confused until I see the stick. A white stick in her hand between us. A white stick with two pink lines that she’s holding out for me. I take it, my thoughts fumbling to register what this is, even though I know exactly what it is. “Jason?”

“Yeah,” I reply, glancing to her and down to the stick again.

“We’re having a baby.”

It wasn’t just one time we didn’t use condoms. We stopped using them altogether, because we wanted this. We want this. I drop my head, but keep my eyes on her. “You’re pregnant?”

“Yes.” Her smile is even prettier than seconds before.

“We’re having a baby.” I take a knee before her again. “We’re having a baby.”

She laughs. “Yes, we’re having a baby.”

“What about the wedding? Do you want to get married sooner?”

“It doesn’t matter when. It only matters that we’re together.”

Sitting on my leg, she cups my face and looks me in the eyes. “I was in town earlier, and I overheard Karen Taylor spreading gossip at the pharmacy.”

“And what gossip was she spreading?”

“Well,” she starts, raising one eyebrow, “rumor has it that you’re bad for me.”

“Shouldn’t believe everything you hear. Sometimes a little bad can be good for a girl.”

“I’d say.” She kisses me and I kiss her with all the love she deserves.

“You know they’re going to gossip about me knocking you up before marriage?”

“Let ’em. They don’t matter. Only we do. And this baby. We’re going to give this baby the best life ever.”

Standing her up, I lean forward and kiss her bare midriff. “Hey baby, it’s your daddy.” Delilah’s fingers run through my hair, holding me there. “Do you know how much I love your mama?” Looking at her, I confess the last of my secrets. “I have more money than what’s in McKinney National Bank. Your name is on all four accounts. I was going to give it to you as a gift when the paperwork came in, but I guess we should figure out how to manage it together to make sure our family is always taken care of, and we can re-file all the paperwork.”

“More money?”

“I don’t really have a lot of faith in small-town banks. I was protecting our financial interests by spreading it out across the U.S. and one account in Switzerland.”

“Wait, your name is on the accounts too, right?”

“Yes, but you have full access. No more secrets. That’s it. You know everything now.”

“I guess I should confess my final secret to you, too.”

I stand, suddenly shaken. “What secret?”

“You know my tattoo?”

“My number eight that’s nowhere close to twenty-two?”

“Yes, that’s the one.”

“What about it?”

“I wasn’t drunk.”

A grin grows across my face. “Have I ever told you how sexy that tattoo is?”

“Nope.” A little hip wiggle punctuates her reply.

“How about I show you?”

I do. I show her three times before the rooster crows.