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Lennon waves off my thanks. “I’m sorry we couldn’t keep your brother here, but you’re always welcome regardless.”
I smile as Violet loops her arm through mine. “Come see Theo. He’s been asking when you’d get here.” Before Lennon can say anything, she spins us and walks us to the far side of the room. “Sorry, I didn’t see you come in,” she whispers. “Was she already grilling you about your sex life?”
I chuckle. “I think we were just warming up to that part.”
“Thank God I saved you then.”
Theo rushes up to say hello to me. He’s pretty comfortable with me now that I see him a bit at school throughout the week. The school is just another thing I’ll be sad to leave. They have a really good community there.
I chat with Violet and Theo for a bit, then say hello to Brady’s dad, Jasper, and some other people in the room. Bryce pops by from the press box for a bit before she has to return since the game will be starting soon.
I’m standing by myself behind the top row of seats, looking out into the stadium full of fans and feeling a little melancholy. I had a lot of fun here watching my brother play and then watching Chase play, and not knowing whether I’ll ever be back just feels off.
I’m deep in thought when a voice comes on over the sound system in the arena. I look at the screen high above the stadium and startle when Chase’s face fills the entire screen. He’s dressed and ready for the game, but he doesn’t have his helmet on. I’m not sure what’s going on. Is he a part of some ceremony before the game starts or something? Did he reach some milestone in his career I’m not aware of and is getting an award?
But when he opens his mouth and the first thing that comes out of it is my name, I know it has nothing to do with that.
“Twyla, I fucked up and I’m sorry,” he says.
“I told him no cursing,” Mr. Banks says somewhere from behind me and I realize that probably everyone in this room is in on this.
Chase is walking, but I don’t realize where until I see myself on the enormous screen, Chase standing behind me. I whip around, hands over my mouth and tears in my eyes.
“Twyla, I’ve never been good at expressing my feelings. When my dad died, I didn’t even cry. I never talked to anyone about how I was feeling, even though my insides felt like they were being shredded. It seemed easier to just push all that shit down and hope it would go away someday.” He gently coasts his fingertips down my cheek.
Something about such a large, powerful man being so careful with me is my undoing and one tear drips down my face.
“Don’t worry, this isn’t being televised, sunshine. Though I’m pretty sure it’ll be up on YouTube in minutes.”
I follow his gaze down into the stadium where thousands of people have their phones pointed up at the screen. A watery laugh leaves my lips.
“I may not be good with my words, but I like to think my actions with you have shown you how I feel about you. Your needs are above my own and I’ll do anything I can to make you happy. I realize that you need to hear the words and actions alone aren’t enough.”
I think about what he’s saying and remember him showing me his Lego room and taking me to his favorite spot in the city—The Crooked Nail—the night of my would-be wedding. How he couldn’t bring himself to give up Zeus and how he pulled me into his lap the night I was so scared when we were watchingAmerican Horror Story. How he didn’t hesitate to stick up for me with those guys in the bar even though it could have been front page news and hurt his career. How he told Mathew to go to hell when he kept calling. The way he opened up to me about his dad’s death and how hard it was for him.
He’s right. He may not have been professing his love for me out loud, but he’s been showing me all along exactly how he feels.
“But you didn’t care if I went to see Mathew.” My voice echoes throughout the stadium and it’s jarring.
He pushes a hand through his hair. “I was an idiot. I thought you were better off without me and that was just a means to an end to cut ties. I’ve been a mess since you walked out that door.”
Irritation fizzes in my blood. “You’re no different than my brother, thinking you know what’s best for me rather than letting me decide what I want.”
He nods. “I realize that now. You’re one-hundred-percent right, but I like to think that I learn from my mistakes and it’s not one I’ll make again.”
I study his face, see the sincerity there, and I believe him.
He puts the mic down on the table and takes my hands. Lennon picks it up and hovers it by us. “Please stay. Or go if you have to and we’ll figure it out somehow. But I want you with me. I want to come home to you and go to bed with you and wake up with you. I want you, me, and Zeus to be a unit, a family, and eventually, I want to start our own.”
I suck in a sharp breath. If I stay now, it’s one hundred percent for Chase. My brother is no longer in San Francisco. I’d be uprooting my life and putting all of my eggs in Chase’s basket. In the gamble that we can be happy together and make it long term.
“I love you, Twyla. And I fully intend to marry you one day, though I don’t plan to ask you in such a public fashion. This is a one-off to prove to you that I mean every word I say.”
My lips quiver as I stare into the soulful brown eyes of the man I cannot live without.
This must be painful for him. Chase is not a man who loves the spotlight. He’s private and not good at expressing his emotions, so doing so in such a public way is a sacrifice he’s made to show me how much he means it.
My chest fills with joy, and I feel as if I could burst. “I love you too.”
