AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The ball rocketed into Ramsey’s hands, and he minced backward, giving himself space while the offensive line anchored their positions, determined to hold the pocket under the relentless pressure of the linebackers’ pass rush.
Time slowed to a syrupy crawl as Ramsey made his read and let the ball fly toward the end zone. The Rush’s receivers were covered up, but Garrett broke free suddenly, cutting a hard right line and leaping in the air just as New Orleans’ safety dove toward him.
“Jesus fuck,” I whispered. The words were barely out of my mouth before Garrett went down, a slew of guys piling on top of him.
But I’d seen the ball in his hands before he’d disappeared.
All eyes swiveled to the ref as he threw up his arms, signaling the touchdown, and then the stadium erupted in a deafening roar, the collective energy of the fans shaking the stands. I was right there with them, whooping when Garrett reappeared from the fray and pumped a triumphant fist in the air as Tucker and Ramsey tackled him.
With five seconds left on the clock, the teams set up for the extra point. The Rush drove hard into the offensive line as soon as the ball was snapped, fending them off long enough for their kicker to kick the ball at the literal last second. The ball sailed through the goalposts right after the buzzer sounded on the clock.
Chaos exploded on the field as confetti rained down. The Rush had finally gotten their Super Bowl win.
“Oh my god, oh my god!” Savanna yelled.
Tucker’s mom and I turned toward each other at the same time, the sheer joy in her expression amplifying my own. We threw our arms around each other, jumping up and down and screaming like a bunch of fools. There were tears in her eyes that she swiped at when we finally let go of each other, and then she leveled me with a stern look and said, “What the hell are you still doing up here?”
“Didn’t want to leave y’all hanging.”
“We’ll catch up. Go on.” She shoved my shoulder gently. “Go get your man.”
I didn’t need any more encouragement than that. I raced toward the field, my heart pounding, flashing my pass to the security guard as I ran. I’d barely touched the turf when Tucker glanced over his shoulder and spotted me. Breaking away from his teammates, he took off running toward me, bits of confetti flying from his shoulders and hair.
When we were within five feet of each other, Tucker leapt, tackling me to the ground. Air rushed from my lungs in a whoosh, and we both cracked up as we landed in a messy sprawl, the entirety of Tucker’s weight on top of me.
“Shit, that was too hard. I was excited,” he said, pulling back. His brow knit with concern. “You okay?”
“What the fuck?” I cracked up again. “You just won the fucking Super Bowl. I’m more than okay.”
“I meant did I land on you too hard? Hurt your hip?”
I grabbed his face and forced him to meet my eyes. “Fuck my hip. I’m good. Everything’s good. Everything’s fucking perfect.” Then I pulled his mouth to mine and kissed him until we were both gasping for breath.
“Hey, uhhh…you two might wanna save some of that for later.”
Tucker rolled off me, and we both glanced up to find Ramsey and Garrett smirking and a group of reporters beelining for us.
“Shit,” I muttered. “We probably shouldn’t—”
Tucker silenced me with another quick kiss, then rolled upright. “I don’t give a fuck what anyone thinks.”
I took his extended hand and let him yank me up, then stared at him in confusion as he immediately dropped back to the ground again, kneeling.
“What…?”
Tucker held up a finger and fished with the other hand just inside the waistband of his football tights. “You told me to bring you a ring,” he said, then yanked a metal band from the string of his pants as my mouth fell open. “So I did. I wasn’t sure I’d have a Super Bowl ring for you, though, so I figured I should have a backup plan. Funny thing, though, this seems like the more important one anyway.” The world around me disappeared as I stared down at the simple silver ring between his fingertips. “You said if I won, you’d give me anything I wanted, was that right?”
I nodded mutely, unable to find words initially, then cleared my throat against the lump that formed in it. “I said that, yeah,” I croaked. “Meant it, too.”
“And you said you were always mine. Wasn’t that right?”
“Yes,” I whispered. “No matter what.”
“Then I want you to say yes to it again, to me, right now.”
“Holy shit, Tucker…” I stumbled forward, my brain finally coming back online as I reached for his extended hand and yanked him to me. “Yes, fuck yes,” I murmured into the side of his neck. Tucker leaned back, eyeing me with a smirk before turning to the crowd that had formed unnoticed around us.
“Let it be known that Patrick Whitt, the biggest pain in my ass of all time, has agreed to continue being a pain in my ass for all eternity,” he hollered.
