Trevor

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My heart was pounding, and I damn near felt like I was going to have a heart attack.

That wouldn't be the worst thing I felt. I was sore, aching, my muscles begging me to stop.

I wouldn't, though. Not until the game was won, and when it was, well, I still had work to do.

She was there. I really wasn't sure Stephanie would show. She didn't even know I was cleared to play.

I was already going to work my ass off, but seeing that she was there, well, it gave me a kick in the ass that I arguably didn't need. It turned a damn certain thing into an absolute guaranteed.

They were carrying me around the field. The crowd was cheering.

Stephanie was cheering. Stephanie was cheering her sexy little ass off, even if she was wearing that ridiculous outfit she thought was incognito again.

Fuck, the entire arena could have been empty besides her and I'd still be getting the adrenaline rush of a lifetime.

Soon enough, my team let me down near the cameras.

"Trevor Richards!" The newsman called out. I guess he was with some local outfit, business suit, coiffed hair, all that fun. "You're AU's most valuable player. How you feeling?"

"Pretty great, all things considered."

"Now your story has been a curious one these last few weeks. Rumors were shuffling that you wouldn't even make this game."

"Well, um..." I leaned in and whispered in his ear. "Sorry, who are you? I don't watch the local news."

"Blake McDonald," He whispered back. Apparently this was a common thing.

"Well, Blake," I said, much more audibly. "I'd fallen behind on my studies, but I had to work hard to make sure my grades were up to par. Isn't the primary reason we're in college to prepare ourselves for our careers?"

"Of course, and you're destined to have one fine big league career in the future."

“That's the idea." I grabbed the mic. "May I?"

"Um, of course."

I took the microphone into my hand, like I was going to cut a pro wrestling interview or something. "You know, it's sort of cliché for us to come out here, and give thanks for everything. Thanking God, my mother, my teammates. People do it all the time because you know what? It's pretty true. I wasn't going to succeed out there without my mom's support, or my boy Dustin being a clever boy right along with me."

It sort of must have sucked to be Dustin. He had the initial touchdown, and he was the guy I was bouncing the ball back and forth with during our little trick play at the end. I got all the glory.

So I was going to point that out. Maybe get him a higher pick too.

Dustin rushed out under me, and handed me something. I threw an arm over his shoulder and smiled at the cameras. "This is Dustin Neilson. I want all the talent scouts to remember this ugly face when it comes time to draft. This is a man you want on your team. Clever as all hell, he kept the Train safe as Franklin tried to derail me, if you know what I mean." I winked.

"You got this, man. Bring it home," Dustin said, giving me a solid punch in the arm. I nodded. I had finally discussed something with him, knowing that I would likely be dragged away from our sideline by celebration.

"Yeah, yeah, teammates, Mom, apple pie, whatever. Those are all very good, but I want to call out something very special. I want to address some controversy and rumors that have been surrounding me. I don't know how much it's spread beyond AU, but damn, I'm just doing it now, because the whole world needs to know this."

"What rumors would those be?" Blake leaned in.

"Allegedly, that I was sleeping with one of my teachers."

"Well, ESPN cares less about this, but we can always sell the footage to TMZ."

"That's proactive thinking, I like it, Blake. Anyway, I want to say, yes, everything you've heard is absolutely true. I've been sleeping with one of my teachers. A damn sexy fine woman known as Stephanie Casey."

I glanced up to where Stephanie was. I wanted to see her face when I did this. Even with the stupid sunglasses and scarf, I could see the shock she had. Her body language screamed it.

"This might be wrong in the eyes of the school's rules and regulations, but you know what? I just don't care. This woman is my life. This woman inspired me more than anything else. I love this woman, and I want her to come right down here so I can share her with the world."

"She's out there?"

"Yes, she's in the crowd. Way up there. She's the one who's dressed up like she's trying to be invisible or something."

The cameras shifted to way up in the stands. She was terrified. That much I knew.

"Come on down, babe. Secret’s out. There's nothing to be afraid of anymore."

Timidly she started her way down the stairs. I could tell she was scared shitless.

I gave Blake his microphone back and rushed to the wall and met her as she reached the bottom. I swept her up, and spun her around in an embrace, missing the feeling of her body against mine after so damned long.

The cameras, of course, followed me the entire way. I knew that this was too juicy of a story to pass up.

"What – what the hell are you doing?" She asked, whispering to me.

"Everyone," I said in a voice that was most definitely not whispering, "This is Stephanie."

"What are you doing?" She repeated. "This is a bad idea. Bad, bad, bad idea."

"Let's show the world that beautiful face of yours." I snatched away her hat, and her scarf. In futility, she tried to get them back from me, but they were long gone, and I snatched her sunglasses away from her too.

"Give those back."

"Why? There's some beauty that shouldn't be covered up." I looked into her eyes, and realized how much I had missed those two beautiful things, even if they seemingly stuck in a constant state of panic.

"Oh God, Oh God, Oh God..."

"This is the woman of my dreams. I didn't fall in love with her because she was my teacher. That had nothing to do with it. She's a perfect professional. No, I met her beforehand. Our love cares not for some stupid anti-fraternization rule."

"Please, just tell me what the hell you're doing, Trevor. You're scaring the shit out of me."

"Uh, yeah, beep that, Bob," Blake said. "Apologies for the young ones at home."

Me? I ignored it and kept at what I wanted to do. I knew she was getting anxious as heck, so I realized I needed to calm her down.

So I dropped down to a knee. I fished out the ring that I asked Dustin to go grab for me after we finished the last play.

I didn't expect that my kneeling would freak her out even more, though.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my fucking god..."

"Lady, you are on network television right now, could you hold your tongue?"

"Stephanie, ever since I met you, I've been invigorated with a clarity. An understanding. A desire for what's really important. What I'm out there playing for, what I'm risking my body for. It's for my future. It's for my family. It's for my love. It's love, Stephanie. If this isn't love, then I have no idea what is. Every second of every day I want you near and if you're not near, you infest my thoughts. This, babe, is why I need to make you mine, and I want the entire world to know it."

God, she was trembling. She was going to have a heart attack if I didn't hurry up.

"Marry me, Stephanie. Make it official. Let the world know our love is true."

All the color drained from her face.