AllFreeNovel
Share Us
By the time I pull up outside the apartment complex, my jitters have long gone and only excited anticipation lingers in their place. I let my engine idle, rolling down the windows and basking in the sun.
I don’t know how long I sit there, my eyes closed as soft piano music echoes through the speakers, but when I switch the engine off and step out of the car, there he is: already waiting for me.
The boy I met over twelve years ago, his hair tucked behind a backwards cap and a BU Bears sweater covering his broad frame. When his lips tip up at the sides, I’m taken back to that very first day. The day my life changed at only eight years old, and a young Maverick Brady worked his way into my heart and soul, and refused to leave, despite the obstacles in our path as the years passed.
My heart races and butterflies take flight in my stomach as his legs carry him over the asphalt, eating up the space between us. No matter how many times I look at him, that feeling remains and I hope it never goes away.
“You took your time,” he says when he reaches me, his hand threading through my hair. He tips my head back, his lips hovering over mine. “I was pretty sure I was going to have to carry you out the car.”
“Uh-uh.” I press my lips to his, my arms curling around his neck. “I just needed a moment.”
“Are you good now?” he asks, his hands moving to my thighs. He hoists me up, wrapping me around his body as he slips the keys from my back pocket and takes us through the doors and up the stairs that lead to our new home.
“Never better.”
“Good,” he whispers, pressing my back to the door of our apartment as he fiddles with the key. “Because I have something for you, and I need you here with me for it, okay?”
“Okayyyy . . .” He pulls back slightly, a smug smirk on his face as he winks at me. “What are you up to, Maverick Brady?”
“You’ll see.” The door opens, and he drops me down, spinning me by my hips. A gasp leaves me as I take in the open-plan living room. Hibiscus flowers lay on almost every surface, the same ones as on my tattoo, and feathers are sprinkled around them.
“What is this?” I breathe, stepping forward. The whole room is covered, but in the center lays his jersey, the one from high school with the number fifteen plastered on the back. “Maverick?”
“You told me once upon a time that jersey made you want to find your own purpose.” I nod, unable to find any words. “That day, my life changed forever, Bumblebee. I went from a lost boy who didn’t know his place in this world, to someone with purpose, because of you. You gave me that. So now I want to give it back to you. You may have that day inked into your skin forever, your own dreams laced into that tattoo. But I want to be a part of them too. I want to chase every one of your dreams and be there when you catch them. I want tolivewith you, for the rest of my life.”
He moves forward, stopping as he reaches me. For a moment, I think he will pull me into his arms or press a kiss to my lips as he’s done a thousand times before, but instead, he drops to the floor, resting on one knee.
“Mav . . .” I sputter breathlessly, my eyes growing glassy.
“So, Beatrice Marie Fletcher. Promise me a lifetime,” he says, pulling a small blue box free from his pocket. My hands tremble at my sides, and I drop myself down too, resting on my calves. “Promise me that wherever you lead, I can follow, and that you’ll love me today, tomorrow, and always. Promise me that you’lllive, Bumblebee. Live with me, forever.”
“I promise.” I nod, tears rolling over my cheeks as he pulls open the box revealing the most stunning solitaire round-cut diamond. It’s large, but simple. Like us. “Every day, for the rest of my life.”
He slides the ring onto my finger before he cups my face and pulls me against him as he claims my lips. I feel it then, a lifetime of love and promises in a single kiss.
Maybe to some, we’re too young for this moment, to take this next step together. But when he pulls back, his eyes misting over and his smile wide with love and hope, I know this is it. He’s my one.
Maverick Brady saved my life; the least I can do is spend the rest of it loving him.
Epilogue Two
Maverick
Five years later . . .
Thecrowdroarsasthe ball flies through the air, landing in my hand. I run, as I’ve done so many times before, but it’s different today. Today there’s more strength behind my legs, more power in my arms as I rush the length of the field.
My name is chanted over and over, excited cheers echoing over my head before I shut them down, focusing only on the end zone. Bodies run at my side, but I block them out too. Knowing today the only thing I can do is win.
I made a promise to a girl a long time ago. I promised I’d take it all the way, and that even when the days got darker, I’d never stop. Dark days did come after that, so many of them pulling us apart, but we found ourselves again, and that promise still stands.
Today, I’ll win the Vince Lombardi trophy for that girl.
She’s out there somewhere, watching as I make the run of a lifetime.
My feet touch the goal line, and the ball falls from my hand, hitting the grass with a light thump. My heart races as I lift my head up, waiting for that final bell to call. Six points, six points was all we needed to make it, and I got them.
The buzzer blows, and my smile is wide as I tear off my helmet. The team rushes me, throwing their arms around me before they hoist me into the air, tossing me up and down. Laughter rings around us when they drop me to the ground and I spin, but my expression freezes as my eyes find her.
