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My voice seemed to snap him out of his daze. He dropped the dog leashes and took two long strides toward me, enveloping me in his strong arms and kissing me with a passion so strong it took my breath away. Heat spread throughout my limbs as he cupped the back of my head and worked his lips over mine. There was nowhere to move, no place for me to put my hands except on the pads over his torso. He kissed me until I was dizzy and then finally pulled away to pin me with a fiery gaze that made me want to melt into a puddle.
“Is that a yes to prom?” I asked weakly, my fingertips gripping the grooves in his pads.
He laughed, low and husky. “Yes. So much yes.”
“Good.” I put my hands on his shoulders, still catching my breath. “Was it the dogs? I had a feeling the dogs would win you over.”
He laughed again and looked over his shoulder at the pups currently being surrounded by the baseball team and getting spoiled with attention. Trina had been right. They were so getting adopted today.
“They were definitely a bonus,” he said, looking back at me. “But I would’ve said yes to you any day. I told you before, Amanda, it’s always been you. I’m sorry I didn’t understand what was happening yesterday at the batting cage. I thought you were there to tell me goodbye. Another idiot moment to add to my growing list of regrets.”
I sighed and leaned into him. It was no wonder he’d reacted like that. “You don’t have to apologize for anything. I’m sorry I was too stubborn to let you in. To let you help me with what I was going through. I’m going to try and be better about that from now on.”
He surrounded me with his arms and rested his chin on my head. “I’ll always be around to help.”
I buried my face in his pads. “Thank you.”
“And to kiss,” he added quickly. “I’ll always be around to kiss. In closets, dressing rooms, whatever you want.”
I laughed and then grinned up at him. “Sounds like a deal to me.”
His lips formed a frown, his brow wrinkling, as he pressed the back of his hand to my forehead. “Are you sure? I seem to remember not too long ago you saying that if you ever changed your mind, you were sick, hallucinating, and needed to be rushed to the hospital. Should I call 911?”
My face burned as I recalled that moment at the Cascades when my big mouth had run wild. I’d been so foolish. So stubborn.
“I’m not sick,” I said, grabbing his hand to kiss it. “I’m just crazy when it comes to you. Always have been, always will.”
His lips quirked with a smile. “Hmm. Sounds like we have that in common. I love you, Amanda.”
I held back a smile when I heard my full name come out of his mouth. “Love you too, Jay-bear.”
The squeeze he landed on my sides made me squeal with laughter. But then he leaned down and kissed me one more time, the dark and sweet taste of him filling my mouth.
“Okay, okay, break it up, you two,” Coach Morgan said, clapping his thick hands toward us as we pulled apart with red faces. “I’ve got a practice to run. I’m going to need my catcher back behind home plate and Coach Padilla needs her runner back on the track. Wrap this up.”
I shot Coach a grateful smile, which he returned with a wink. With a last lingering glance into Jayden’s hungry gaze, I turned and walked away to grab the dog leashes. I could feel Jayden’s eyes on me all the way out of the diamond. And when I looked over my shoulder one last time, he was wearing a victorious grin under his catcher’s mask so big that it tugged at my heartstrings.
I couldn’t wait to see that boy in his prom tux. It felt fitting that the feud that started with a dare and silly kiss in a closet would end in a dare to go to the prom together. I loved Jayden and he loved me. Just thinking those words made me sigh with happiness as I unwrapped the hoodie that still smelled like him from my waist and pulled it over my head.
Our battles might have been epic, but I think it was safe to say, we both won fair and square in the end.
I’d dare anyone to say differently.
Epilogue
Charlotte
Rock Valley High’s prom was everything.
I couldn’t believe my parents had actually let me out of the house for this. For a single night, my grounding was on hold and I got to taste the sweet tang of freedom. I was like Cinderella in a pink knee-length gown, except my carriage was Dad’s rusty Ford Focus and my glass slipper was a cell phone that kept buzzing with reminders from my mom to check in with her.
And Prince Charming was nowhere in sight.
The Roaring Twenties theme had everyone hyped up on sugary mocktails and the booming bass of the live band playing on the stage of the school gym. Technically, I was only part of the volunteer serving staff, but even I got to dress up and walk through the crowds of seniors and juniors offering drinks on a shiny silver platter.
“Thank you, my dear,” Audrey said, snatching a green drink from my tray.
She looked every bit the future rock star in a blue backless gown and white gloves. Collin stood behind her in a matching white tux that fit his broad shoulders perfectly. I offered him a drink from my tray, but he waved me away.
