I stood in the dressing room at the stadium and took a final look in the long mirror. This was my final game of the season, my rookie season. My life had changed so much since the day I had auditioned a little over a year ago. I’d been kidnapped, held hostage in Afghanistan, risked my life, and been brutalized. And I’d survived. Not many could say that. Nothing about the past year had been easy. I was stronger now, more confident, and mostly not afraid of anything. It was strange how almost dying changed your perspective on things.

Our squad mourned the loss of our director. We’d wept at Denise’s funeral, and organized a big fundraiser for her family. I still couldn’t believe what had happened to any of us.

Luckily for me, my ankle had only been sprained and not broken, so after rest and physical therapy, I was dancing again. The organization had provided counseling, which helped a lot. It had done wonders for Maya, who still blamed herself for me getting hurt. Which couldn’t be farther from the truth.

I spritzed some hairspray into my new bob, courtesy of the shearing of my hair at the hands of Crazy Eyes. When I’d come home, I’d considered having new extensions being placed in, but I realized I wasn’t defined by a haircut and decided to proudly rock my short hair. I didn’t want to hide behind my hair anymore. It didn’t make me who I was, or special. I knew what I was worth, and I finally wanted to go after what I wanted.

And what I wanted was Kyle. He was the calming to the storm of emotions I held inside.

He’d done his best to remain in contact with me, but he had been right, communication was hard with a deployed SEAL. There were a few broken satellite calls with the sounds of mortars going off in the background. But despite him calling me baby and making promises when he had rescued me, I hadn’t seen him yet, though he had explained to me that he wasn’t allowed to tell me when we would return. Operational security. “Soon” was the best I could get out of him. He had sent a dozen roses to my hospital room in Germany and flowers to my home. But I didn’t want flowers, I wanted him. Until I saw him again, the possibility of a relationship with him wouldn’t seem real to me. Had he just been caught up in the heat of the moment? So thrilled that he had found me? Claimed his prize? Or did he really want a relationship with me? Time would tell.

Insecurity crept up. Maybe he was back stateside and hadn’t bothered to contact me. I needed to give him the benefit of the doubt for a little while longer. There was the distinct possibility he was still deployed. I understood and valued his occupation more than ever now. So I’d give him a chance when he returned. One chance, but that was it. If he’d changed his mind or hid his feelings from me, I was through. I couldn’t keep doing that to myself.

I straightened in front of the mirror. I didn’t have time to stress about him now. Today was Military Appreciation Day, and all the cheerleaders were assigned special uniforms to honor our troops. I’d been assigned Air Force but swapped with Maya and wore the Navy uniform, just in case Kyle was somewhere watching. Old habits were hard to break. And even when I tried not to, he was always heavily on my mind. I missed him.

I pulled up my white boy shorts and tied the top into my bra, heading out to the passageway connecting to the field, poms in hand.

Today we were playing our biggest rival, the Oakland Marauders, which also just happened to be Kyle’s former team. When I closed my eyes, I could feel him next to me. Dropping my poms, I stood in line and held a animated expression until Maya whispered, “Thinking about a certain someone, buttercup?” Kyle, Kyle, Kyle, why was he on my mind so much? I chastised myself, letting out a slow breath, and prepared myself for the real possibility time didn’t in fact heal all things and he had simply moved on. The quiet was deafening. I’d come so far and yet through the silence my feelings hadn’t faded, if anything they had intensified. It was true when people said silence was the most powerful scream.

Jan, our interim director, grabbed the megaphone so she could be heard at the end of the line. “All right, ladies. We’re on Monday Night Football. Millions of people are watching you. Big smiles.”

My mood momentarily changed. I was all smiles. I couldn’t believe how blessed I was to be alive. And I couldn’t wait to cheer and celebrate the great men and women who served us. I grabbed my poms off the floor and sashayed out to the field and basked in the warmth of the cheering fans.

We lined the entrance as the players ran out and then took our positions around the field in four separate groups. Poms in the air above my head, I fed off of the crowd, riding their energy. Our rescue had been all over the media and though we had been forbidden by the Wildfire organization to do any interviews, the details of our rescue had somehow been leaked to the press.

I smiled at a “Run, Sara, Run!” sign. And while it was sweet, my short time with Kyle taught me one thing—the reward was saving Maya and myself. Kyle didn’t advertise his job, and he saved people every day. Despite the reputation of recent SEALs bragging about their kills and raids, Kyle was the ultimate silent operator.

Just as the singer finished her last note, we turned toward the sky. I was eager to see the Blue Angels flyover. I stared toward the sun as the six planes flew in precision formation. I’d always loved seeing them, but today witnessing our nation’s military made me so grateful to be an American. The crowd roared in heavy cheering.

“And now, a special treat. The Navy Leapfrogs.”

A helicopter hovered overhead, and for a brief moment I flashed back to being rescued, and Kyle holding me in his arms and handing me off to a Marine. Like angels from the sky, two black and yellow parachutes opened and two men came floating down carrying Navy flags. The audience roared as they executed a perfect landing.

My poms were still in the air when I noticed that one of the Leapfrogs was heading right toward my section.

My breath hitched. And I brought a hand to my chest as tears started to form.

It was Kyle.

My chest rose and fell, my breathing galloping like a wild horse, and I broke my formation, not caring whether or not I would get in trouble, and ran toward him. He sprinted across the field and before I knew it, he had scooped me up into his arms. Our lips met and the electricity exploded between us. Or maybe those bright flashes were the cameras goin

“I can’t believe you’re here! That was quite an entrance.”

“I had to pull some strings to swap with the guy who normally does this. But seeing you was worth it.” He smirked. “Baby. Let me look at you.” He pulled back, his teeth digging into his button lip. “Wow. You look amazing. I just wanted to see you in that Navy pinup uniform. I had a feeling you’d be wearing it. Of course, it will look better on my floor.” My cheeks flushed bright pink. He was what I thought about when I was alone. “I missed you, babe. I’m back. And I can’t wait to see you do your thing. I’m gonna watch you dance for me up in the box with some of my old teammates. But when this game is over, I’m taking you home. In fact, you’re never going home alone again.”