Even at the late hour, the day is still young in Vegas. I’m pretty sure the day is always young here. I contemplate hitting a club to celebrate the hard work but to be honest, I don’t really want to go without Wyatt. The car continues to the hotel and, in a refreshing change of pace, photographers are nowhere in sight. I’m able to carry my own bags into the building at my own pacewithout the fear of being ambushed. I don’t expect it to be this way in the morning, but for now I can relax.
Easing my way to the elevator, I punch my floor and ride up. I’m in a large suite with Dalton and Raleigh just one room over. We say goodnight, and I key into my room. Figuring I’ll just head to the bathroom, wash my face, and hop into bed, I neglect the light switch. I’m surprised immediately when my foot trips over something solid in my path. It sends me to the ground with a thud.
Reaching out, I let my eyes adjust and find that it’s a large pot of flowers. As I rotate in a circle, I realize that the whole floor is a flower garden. Confused and maybe even unnerved, I hop to my feet and slam the light switch.
Sure enough, hundreds of flowers litter the room. My hand slides down the wall as I notice a group of daisies with a note on the bedside table. Easing down onto the plush covers, I reach out for the note.
I want you to know, even though we couldn’t be together today, you are in my thoughts, every waking thought. I didn’t know how I could accurately tell you that in words, so I bought one flower per thought to show you.
Looking around the room, I try to count but realize there’s got to be around 1,000 of them. In my past, flowers have signaled an apology for wrongdoing. Tonight, they are simply out of love. I’ve always dreamed of getting a flower out of happiness, not regret. My heart flutters as I continue reading the note.
I’m excited to play for you tomorrow. I’m in the right headspace and I know that’s because of your love and support. I can’t wait to hear every single detail of your day with Emmy Tenny, and I hope you’ll tell me tomorrow night after the win.
Enjoy every second of your performance tomorrow. This win is for you. I love you with every fiber of my being and cannot wait to see you again.
Yours,
#24
I shake my head with a laugh at his cockiness, but then I read how he’s signed off again, and I nearly melt to the floor. I like the sound ofmy #24.Warmed to the core, I pick myself up from the bed and step through the jungle of flowers to the bathroom. The warmth carries me through my bedtime routine. I expect to fall straight to sleep, but a pesky chorus about daisies pops into my head.
Tired but not wanting to miss the inspiration, I pull out my phone and scroll to my recording app. Through the haze of sleep, I hum, sing, and mumble into the mic. I’m too far gone to really get anything coherent out, but I know myself. I know a hit song resides somewhere in my ramblings. I can’t wait to find out where.
Chapter 35
Wyatt
NERVES RUN THROUGH me as the crowd’s roars reach the depths of the stadium.
“This is the moment!” Coach says, entering the main locker room. “You’ve worked your asses off this season to get to this game. You’re here for a reason; you’ve beaten every other team except one to get here, and they’re waiting out there to show everyone why they’re the best team in this league, or rather, why they think they are. We have an opportunity to really make a mark for our franchise today, boys.” He makes eye contact with each player as he looks around the room. “I have faith in every single one of you. No matter what your role is today, you’re going to do it to the best of your ability, and we’re going to win this ball game.”
There’s a collective grunt from the team as Coach waves Ben into the center. Our captain, with his swoony, cocky smirk, gives his piece next. “It’s been a rocky season, but a fun season. Idon’t want to look back on these past few months as the ‘almost’ season. I want to look back on every moment with the knowledge that it was worth it to be world champions.” Another grunt. “We’ve got one more hour on the field to make them see us as we’ve seen ourselves the whole season. A championship-worthy team with great players, coaches, and fans to back us up.”
The team cheers in response and then the call comes that it’s time to march. We fall into line with a series of claps and hollers. I glance down at my bag, fighting another urge to text Mae one more time. She texted me this morning about the flowers and how she wrote a song about them last night. We exchanged “good lucks” and that was that.
Ben notices my struggle and puts an arm around my shoulders, steering me toward the door with the rest of the team. He doesn’t say anything, so I slap him on the chest and put a smile on my face to reassure him.
We’re dumped into the tunnel and from there, the stomps of the crowd are literally shaking the structure. I widen my eyes at Ben, who is shaking his head in disbelief. This is going to be an insane atmosphere; our communication is going to have to be dialed up to 11.
As they start to read off the roster of the other team, we’re shuffled further down toward the field. We pass the VIP section that’s roped off. On the other side there is a large crowd of people who are smiling and waving. A lot of our families and friends are there, including Hannah and the kids. Craning my neck, I search for Mae. When I find her, her eyes are already on me. Her hair is curled to perfection and her performance makeup is already on, but she’s wearing a bedazzled 24 jersey for the game. My jersey. I find myself biting my lip before I shake it away and make my way over to her.
“You ready?” she asks, bringing her head close to mine. Draping her arms over my shoulders and clasping her handsbehind my neck she traps me. Her hair swishes gently down her back as she leans away from me. It takes a lot for me to keep myself from placing my hands on her hips and bringing her closer.
“I am,” I say truthfully.
The line in front of me moves again and Mae releases. She grabs my hands and looks me dead in the eyes. “You got this.” Her hands pulse with a squeeze on each word she says.
I run my thumb softly across her cheek before I’m forced to turn away. I don’t turn back to her, but I know she understands why. At this moment, I can only have eyes for the field.
As my name is called, I take off on a run toward my awaiting team. I raise my helmet to the crowd and pump it into the air in time with the music. Coming to the sideline, I do my best to take it all in. Unfortunately, this tactic doesn’t work because the rest of the pregame goes by in a blur.
The head fog clears as soon as the whistle blows, signaling the kickoff. We won the toss and deferred the first possession, electing to get it first in the second half. Our defense takes the field in high spirits, and they set the tone for a real battle. It’s clear from the first few plays that the more disciplined team will win this match.
Our defense holds them to a field goal, and then it’s our turn to take the field. Jogging out, I follow Ben into the huddle. I can tell the energy is high; I just hope we can funnel that into focused energy and not nerves. Ben does his best to yell over the roar of the crowd. While we already know the sequence of the first couple of plays, it gets tougher to communicate as we move along.
On a miscommunication between Ben and a receiver on a third down, Ben throws a ball into dead space. It hits the ground – no harm, no foul – but Coach is calling for the field goal team, and Ben is clearly upset about it. The quarterback coach beatsme to him on the bench so I go to my fellow receiver, and we talk through the play as our kicker nails the three points to tie it at three.
The rest of the first half is a battle and by the time the game breaks for half, the game is tied, 16-16. We’re holding our own, and while a few of our team captains are upset, including Ben, our coaches seem pleased with our performance.
