AllFreeNovel
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I was thrilled when I got drafted. Playing professionally is a dream of mine. A rare accomplishment. But this feels like a bigger moment. Maeve Stevens choosing me is more pivotal than a bunch of guys in suits scrutinizing my stats. My life with her will stretch much longer than my football career, even if I’m lucky enough to play for more years than most.
And it doesn’t fully feel real. “Yes?” I say, on the off chance I’m hallucinating.
She nods. Smiles, and it spreads into a grin, then a laugh. “Did that really just happen? Are we really engaged?”
I realize I missed a step. I reach into my pocket and pull out the small black box.
Maeve’s green eyes widen to a comical size. “You already got a ring?”
“I’ve had it for months,” I tell her. “Just been waiting for the right time. And now—” I open the box and slide the diamond ring onto her finger. “Felt like the right time.”
Maeve twists her hand to side to side, studying the new addition to her left hand. “It’s beautiful.”
“So are you.”
She makes a face. “That was cheesy.”
“It’s not cheesy if it’s true.”
“No one has said that. Ever.”
“I just did,” I reply, tugging at one of the strings of the sweatshirt she’s wearing.
Maeve leans forward, so our foreheads are touching. “I love you, Wes,” she whispers.
The first time she said those three words to me was a few hundred feet away, in the cabin that’s seen the good and the ugly of my family’s history. I feel the same thrill now that I did then. Some words retain their value, no matter how many times you say or hear them.
“I love you too,” I whisper back. It feels right, talking quietly under the moonlight, even with no one else around. “Thank you for sitting on that tree, even after you realized who I was.”
It’s funny how the Alleghany-Glenmont rivalry—once a seemingly insurmountable obstacle between us—has been diminished to a reality that just exists. How hate can turn to love, and strangers can become people you can’t imagine living without.
Maeve and I feel bigger than it now, despite the rivalry’s longevity. It’s no longer a force that could break us. I don’t think there’sanyforce that could break us.
I feel Maeve smile, her lips so close they brush mine as she talks. “Thank you for kissing me, even after you realized who I was.”
And then we’re kissing again, lost in the familiar haze of each other. Where time stands still and moments mean more. Sitting next to the lake that separates two towns and united us.
THE END
