“I’m done. No more football.”
“Just like that?”
I nod, squeezing her into me. Telling Audrey—someone who understands what it’s like to lose the sport you love—is hard. Harder than telling the guys.
It’s almost like they knew. Not playing football for almost two years? That’s a hard thing to come back from.
“My leg isn’t there. And no matter how much training I do, I’ll never be back to one hundred percent.”
“You can’t get a second opinion?”
“I love you for trying to problem solve, but that’s it. Another hit could damage it more than it already is.”
“But you’re okay, right?” I hear the panic in her voice. “Nothing that will affect your day to day?”
“I’m okay. I can’t play football, but I’m okay.” I drop a peck on her lips. “I really am. I promise.”
“I’m sorry, Logan. I know how much you love football.”
“Football isn’t in the cards for me anymore. At least not playing.”
A tear slides down her cheek. “I’m going to miss seeing you out there. You were an incredible player.”
That has my heart catching in my chest. “I’ll miss it. But I don’t want to miss out on this.”
“On what?” Audrey’s voice is watery, and her deep brown eyes are locked on mine.
“You.”
“Yeah?”
“I never want to be apart from you again. I’ve done that once and it was the worst fucking pain of my life. Never again,” I whisper against her lips.
“But what about—”
I cut her off with a searing kiss. This is why I love this woman so much. We share in each other’s highs and lows.
And for the longest time, I thought it was my rock bottom. But far from it.
“You, Audrey. You are all I need.”
“I love you, Logan. You’re my person. And I need you more than I ever thought possible. And some days that scares me.”
Standing, I carry us over to the bed. “Not me. I’ll never run again. Dixon. Denver. Switzerland. Wherever we go, it’ll be together.”
“Are you trying to write me a poem?” Audrey giggles as I throw her down on the bed.
“See if I ever write you one now.” Brushing those dark locks off her neck, I kiss a trail from her collarbone up toward her jaw. Her laughs turn to moans.
“Will I still get this if you don’t write me one?” Her legs widen, cradling me perfectly against her body.
I rock into her, letting her feel what she does to me. What she’s always done to me.
“Oh baby. There’s a lot more where this came from.”
Audrey’s warm hands slide under my shirt, lifting it over my head and tossing it to the side.
“Fuck, I love you.” I kiss a trail down her neck, pulling her sweatshirt over her head. She’s got nothing on underneath it.
