I remembered Matty’s warning again.Don’t let him get in your head.
But I wasn’t offended for myself. I was offended forhim.
The ugly words hung in the air.
Matty shifted violently beside me. “I said that’s enough!” he snarled.
“You need to think about that,” Ronnie insisted.
I snapped.
“He’s second in receptions this season in a team full of superstars,” I bit out before I could soften my tone.
They all turned toward me.
“Eighty-seven yards per game on average. Eight touchdowns. Three two-point conversions. Highest catch rate in the conference.” The words tumbled out before I could stop them, my heart pounding faster with each one. “Against Alabama? A hundred and twelve yards on their top corner. Against Florida? The game-winning two-point conversion. He’s already broken the school record for tight end receptions in a season—and it’s not even over yet.”
But the numbers weren’t enough. Not for what I was trying to say.
“He volunteers at the youth center every week,” I went on, my voice shaking now. “He tutors freshman players. He visits the children’s hospital after practice. His GPA’s nearly perfect, and somehow he still makes time for everyone who needs him.”
I glanced at Matty, my throat tightening. “He’s not just a good player…he’s a good person. The best one I’ve ever known. I don’t think you understand how lucky people are just to know him.”
My chest ached, but I couldn’t stop. “And me…” I drew in a shaky breath. “I’m lucky just to be with him. Even if he lost it all tomorrow—football, school, everything—he’d still be the most wonderful person I’ve ever met. And I love him. With all my heart.”
My chest was heaving when I finished, and my fork was trembling slightly in my hand. The table had gone completely silent.
I swallowed hard, heat crawling up my neck.Too much. You said too much. You shouldn’t know almost any of that. You told him you loved him, you idiot.
I’d just peeled back the curtain on how deeply I watched him, how obsessively I memorized everything about him.
I’d ruined everything.
I couldn’t look at Matty’s face. Couldn’t bear to see whatever expression my words had left there. My pulse thundered in my ears, the silence stretching so long it became a living thing between us.
Then, suddenly, the booth shifted. Matty shoved back from the table, sliding out so fast his knee knocked against the edge.
“Well,” he said tightly, his voice strained in that way that meant he was seconds from snapping. “On that note, we’re gonna head out.”
“Matty—” his mom started, but he was already reaching into his pocket. He tossed a bunch of cash onto the table, the motion clipped and final. “For dinner,” he said. “Enjoy it.”
Before anyone could answer, his hand closed around mine, warm, solid, trembling just a little…and he tugged me after him.
I scrambled to follow as he pulled me out of the booth, nearly tripping over my heels. “Nice to meet you!” I called weakly over my shoulder, my voice cracking as we hurried past the startled hostess at the front.
He didn’t stop until the restaurant doors slammed behind us, the cold air biting against my skin.
“Matty—” I began, my voice shaking. “I didn’t mean to?—”
“We’ll talk later,” he said, the words controlled and even. Too controlled.
He didn’t look at me as we crossed the cobblestone walkway toward the valet stand, his hand still gripping mine but his knuckles white, his shoulders rigid beneath his jacket. Every line of him screamed tension.
The valet scrambled to bring the car around, clearly picking up on the storm in his expression.
I stood there uselessly beside him, hugging my arms to my chest, the night air biting through my dress. My throat ached, every heartbeat pounding against the memory of my voice inside that booth.
The things I’d said. The way everyone had stared.
