WILLIAM

 

Another bottle of champagne pops open and is thrown over our heads. Mud and grass stains cover my uniform, and I’m soaked in sweat and sweet liquid.

New York Knights are Super Bowl Champions.

Un-freaking-believable.

It all feels like a dream. But it’s a dream I don’t want to wake up from. After years of hard work, after all the ups and downs, we are finally here.

On the top.

Adrenaline is still running high in my blood. I could probably climb Mt. Everest with my bare hands. That’s how much energy, how much adrenaline, is running through my body.

This has been my dream since I was a little boy. Just a kid who could barely move under all the pads and equipment. To lead my team to the championship and win. Now we are finally here.

Winners.

But no matter how happy I am, I can’t escape this feeling that I’m missing something.

Someone.

Her.

What I wouldn’t give to have Bel here with me to share this moment. To hug her slender frame to my body. To kiss her senseless and lift her to my shoulders.

The victory is sweet, but it would taste even better if Bel was here.

Shelton finds me in the haze of players and staff. His hands grab me and pull me in for a hug. Pads and helmets are in our way, but we don’t give a damn about it.

This is our moment.

“Freaking champions, dude. We are freaking champions.”

I shake my head, sweaty strands falling into my eyes. “I don’t believe it.”

“Believe it, dumbass.”

Other guys start to gather around us and, somehow, I find my way onto their shoulders, my hands raised in the air.

My eyes are closed, and I just let myself enjoy the moment for a little while longer. This feeling of accomplishment and victory. The feeling of comradery and belonging. 

“Price,” somebody calls my name, and when my eyes snap open, I see her.

My heartbeat slows until I’m not sure if it’s even beating. My mouth hangs open, but I don’t feel like I’m able to breathe.

I blink a few times, not believing what’s in front of me. No matter how many times I blink, or how long my eyes are closed, she’s still there. Standing at the railing, her hands gripping cold metal with Sienna and Grace wrapped around her. She’s wearing my too-big-for-her-small-body jersey, and her black hair is falling in soft waves.

I hope that whoever’s holding me in the air is doing it properly because, if not, I’ll fall right on my ass and embarrass myself in front of everybody around including the cameras and people watching TV at home.

Even from the distance, I can see her face clearly. Her lips are curled in a big, bright, goofy smile. It’s blinding even from the distance, and I have a feeling I can see tears shine in her eyes.

She’s here.

The lump in my throat is so big it’s hard to swallow.

She came.

Even though I know Bel’s busy with studying and exams and what not, she came.

For me.

Tink is here, on this side of the world, just because she knows how much this means to me.

“Bel is here,” I somehow manage to utter.

When there is no answer from my friend, I make myself look away from the love of my life to look at him.

“But you knew that already.”

“I maybe heard something about it,” he admits.

I’m not sure if I want to hug him or strangle him.

The last couple of weeks have been hard.

Mentally and physically.

There were times, numerous times, I would give anything to have Anabel by my side. Even if only to come home to her. To kiss her, hold her. To have her small body curl around mine as we fall asleep after a long day. Hell, I would have been happy if I’d gotten to hold her for a mere few minutes.

It made me realize something.

Playing professional football and winning the Super Bowl … Those have been my dreams since I was just a kid, but it doesn’t mean anything if I don’t have somebody to share it with. It doesn’t mean anything if I don’t have my Tinkerbell by my side.

Without her, I’m alive, but I’m not living.

Without her, I breathe, but I don’t feel.

Without her, my heart is just an empty shell.

I give the guys a signal before I jump off their shoulders and start walking toward the stands. People call my name. They want to congratulate me or talk to me, but I have only one goal on my mind.

Tinkerbell.

Get to her.

Hold her.

Kiss her.

Weeks. That’s how long we’ve been apart. Five weeks. Thirty-five days. Eight hundred and forty hours. Give or take.

Too fucking long.

Even if it’s only for five minutes, it’s too fucking long.

The day she graduates from college I’m handcuffing her to me, and I’m not letting her go. Because she’s mine, and I’m hers, and we … we’re forever.

People stare as I pass by. Some reporters try to keep up with me, but soon I leave them behind as my walk turns to a full-on run.

I climb the stairs two at the time. This distance that’s between us can’t disappear fast enough. It probably takes me a minute or two, but to me it feels like with every step I take toward her the time slows down more and more, keeping me away.

Everybody moves out of my way, even Sienna and Grace take a step back as I stride toward Anabel.

My eyes roam her body, taking her in. She’s just as beautiful as ever.

Her face is makeup free and her cheeks are rosy from the cold air, or maybe it’s excitement. She’s nibbling at her lower lip as she watches me near. Dark waves are disheveled from her fingers, and her clothes are wrinkled.

Neither of us utters a word as I stop in front of her.

I cup her cheeks as I lower my head toward her. Bel stands on the tips of her toes, something she likes to do when I kiss her, and her hands grip my forearms.

The kiss we share is agonizingly slow. When my lips touch hers, I hear her whimper, and my heart hurts with all the love I feel for her.

How can something so small be so big? How can one tiny heart contain all the love I feel for this woman? It seems impossible and yet, somehow, it’s possible. I’m living, breathing, walking proof of it.

Our lips slide together. Anabel trembles beneath me, and when my thumbs caress the soft skin of her cheek, I can feel their wetness.

My fingers run through the silky strands of her hair and she tilts her head to the side, opening her mouth. Without further delay, my tongue slides inside her silky, wet mouth.

I moan at the feel of her.

It’s perfect.

It’s right.

It feels like home.

That’s what Anabel is for me.

Home.

We break our kiss but don’t move away. I touch my forehead to hers and slowly open my eyes.

She takes a second longer which gives me the chance to look at her dark lashes flutter and slowly lift revealing dark-blue gems hiding beneath.

Dark circles are underneath her eyes, they are reddish and puffy, but they look at me with so much love it’s hard to breathe.

A shy smile spreads over her lips.

“Congrats on the win, babe! I’m so proud of you.” Her voice is a hushed whisper, and I have to kiss her again.

A quick and hard peck on the lips turns into a long, deep, almost desperate kiss.

“Thanks, but …” I shake my head to clear my mind. “How did you get here?”

Even though she’s in front of me, even though I have her in my arms and feel her heat, I can’t believe it’s real. I’m afraid I’ll wake up without her and realize it’s all been a dream.

She rolls her eyes. “You usually take a plane.”

“It’s good to know you didn’t lose all that sass somewhere over the Atlantic,” I tease her, chuckling softly. My arms wrap around her slender frame and pull her into my body.

On a normal day, I tower over her, almost an entire foot, but now in my full gear she seems even tinier and more delicate. Just like the Tinkerbell I always compare her to.

My Tinkerbell.

My ray of sunshine and glitter.

My forever.

Bel wraps her legs around my middle and leans her cheek against my shoulder. I kiss the crook of her neck, inhaling her sweet, intoxicating scent.

“I’ve missed you so bad, baby,” I whisper roughly.

Until now, I didn’t realize how hard these last few weeks were on me. How much I missed her. This is our moment, and I don’t want anything or anyone to ruin it.

For me, nobody else exists.

Just us.

And this moment.

“I’ve missed you too.” Her voice breaks a little. “So, so much.”

I feel her pain. I understand it because it matches my own.

“It’ll be over soon. Just a little while longer and our forever will start.”

“I know …” She sighs and lifts her head to look at me. “But sometimes, the fear gets the better of me. Sometimes I’m afraid our forever won’t come.”

Listening to her broken, painful voice breaks me. I want to take her worries and pain away. I want her to know she’s not alone and that we’ll get through this.

In the last two years, we’ve already been through so much. Some would say too much. We just have to keep it together for a little while longer.

“It’ll come,” I assure her. Her body slides down, and I grab her hands in mine.

Her hands are pale and delicate. Her nails are painted a light purple color, and her fingers are full of simple silver bands. Except for her thumb. She left that ring for me to find before she returned home to Croatia.

When I found it in my drawer, I figured out that although she left, she loves me—it wasn’t that hard since every ring is engraved on the inside—and I crossed the ocean to find her. Since then we made up and, for the last year, we’ve been in a long-distance relationship. I never returned the ring, and she never asked for it.

I intertwine our fingers and look her into eyes. Those deep, dark blue eyes that drink me in. Swallow me whole. Not that I want it any other way.

“And you know how I know that?” The palms of my hands start to get sweaty, but I push down the nervousness. There’s nothing to be nervous about. Bel opens her mouth to say something, but I continue before she can say a word. “Because, Anabel Majer, without you, my forever doesn’t exist. You are the one for me. The one who I think about first thing in the morning and the last thing before I fall asleep. You are the one who makes me laugh. You are the one who gives my life meaning, the one for who this heart beats.” I put the palm of her hand on my chest so she can feel it. The way my heart always speeds up when she’s around.

“Will …”

Tears fill her eyes, and I see her lip tremble as she whispers my name. Her hands grip mine harder.

“Apart from my family, you are the only woman I ever loved, Tink. It was always supposed to be you. You are my forever.”

For a split second, I doubt myself. I’ve been waiting for the right moment for months. Is this really it? Is this really the right moment? Whenever I let myself think about it, I never thought it would go this way. I was supposed to woo her. Put on nice clothes and bring her flowers. Take her to dinner in a romantic restaurant with candlelight and wine.

This is so far from the original idea it could be a completely different universe, but at the same time, it feels so right.

When you are standing at the edge of a cliff, there are two options. You can jump and fall, or you can jump and fly, but no matter what, you’ll never get your answer if you don’t jump.

So, I jump.

I get down in front of her on my knee. In all my sweaty, dirty, football glory. Her grip tightens even more. It’s almost painful as her nails dig into my skin. Her mouth falls open, forming a perfect O.

I hear a few gasps around us, but I decide to ignore them, like I did until this moment.

Anabel is the only one that matters.

“I know this is not what you imagined. Hell, I didn’t imagine it this way.” I chuckle at my own words. “You are a romantic at heart, and this is as far as it can come from romance, but I’ve been thinking about this moment for almost a year, Tink. Since that moment in the club when you crashed into my arms, I started to fall for you. I’m still falling, hard and fast. I’m falling for you every day since then, and I don’t want to stop. I love you, Anabel Majer. You are my one. My forever. Will you marry me?”

Tears are falling down her cheeks now. She’s nibbling at her lower lip to stop it from trembling, but it does nevertheless.

She shakes her head softly, and I feel my heart start to sink.

This is so bad. She doesn’t …

Then she falls to her knees and her arms wrap around me, hugging me tightly.

“Y-yes.”

She’s one small thing but her sudden movement and stuttered answer make me lose my balance, and we both fall on the floor. I bring her closer to me and turn around so that I take the force of the impact.

“What did you say?” I lift my head off the floor and look at her with wide eyes.

She cups my cheeks and starts kissing me all over my face.

“Yes.” Bel smiles at me through tears. “I said yes.”