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Quinn pulls me against him and gives me a toe-curling kiss that makes my girls all whistle and cheer for us, before pulling apart with big, goofy smiles on our faces.
“Just think, when we first met, there was a lot of tension. Now we’re both living the dream, madly in love.” Quinn smiles at me. “You could say it was a… first and tension.”
“You’re ridiculous.” I shake my head and laugh at him.
“And you love my ridiculousness.”
“It seems I do.”
With one more kiss to my forehead, Quinn takes a step back and turns me around to face the tunnel opening.
As I stand right behind my girls, they start bouncing up and down in their huddle, wearing the new special event uniforms I ordered for them, shouting, and cheering, and getting each other pumped up for the show.
“Enjoy every single second of this moment that you earned and worked your ass off for,” Quinn says, dropping his head behind me to speak close to my ear. “And if you can’t find me up in the stands, I’ll be the one holding up the big glittery sign Shepherd helped me make that says I love you, Emily! And little Chocolate Torte Bagley too!”
Quinn quickly moves away from me with a laugh before my elbow can jerk back and connect with his stomach. With a wink, he gives me a last soft press of his lips before he starts to back away.
“Go out there and shine, baby.” Quinn smiles, making my heart skip a beat as he turns, then walks around the girls and disappears through the same door my friends did.
“The moment you’ve all been waiting for! Everyone, get on your feet!”
The roar of the crowd is deafening when the announcer speaks through the microphone, and just knowing everyone I love is out in the stands, ready to cheer me on and support my dreams means more to me than anything in the world. I won’t be out there on the fifty-yard line this time, but I’m perfectly happy kicking ass from the sidelines now.
Closing my eyes, that old, familiar feeling hits me—nerves mixed with excitement right before the music starts, when you’re waiting in the tunnel of the stadium, remembering you only have one shot to execute everything perfectly in front of all those people and knowing without a shadow of a doubt that all the hard work and sacrifice was worth it.
“Led by their new director, Emily Flanagan, everyone, get on your feet for the Virginia Beach Sharks Cheeerleeeeaders!”
And knowing without a shadow of a doubt that the man you literally fell for, who supports your dreams and cheers you on, is worth it too.
Because he can’t shine without me… and I don’t want to shine without him.
The End
