Chapter 11
Breaking Rules & Bucking Tradition
Ari
With the help of Roger and Josie, I was standing just outside the arena where the North Carolina Hogs were practicing.
“You got this.” Josie hooked her arm with mine, practically dragging me into the bleachers.
Wearing Logan’s jersey, I took a few deep breaths as I spotted him on the field.
“I don’t know if I can do it.” I turned to Josie before she shoved me farther forward.
“You can and you will. Go get your man.” Josie whistled loudly and Roger sprinted over to his teammate, pointing up at me.
After running off the field, Logan stopped in his tracks a few feet away from me, ripping off his helmet. “Ari, what are you doing here?”
“With a hell of a lot of help from Josie and Roger, here I am. A creepy grand gesture seemed to be fitting.”
Logan took a step closer. “I thought you wanted nothing to do with me. When you never came back online the other night, I thought that was your answer.”
“I did too, but I can’t stop thinking about you. The last few months, I have tried to move on, but I just can’t.”
“I can’t either.” His admission helped relax my racing mind.
“I miss the way you look at me as soon as I walk into a room, the seconds before you grab me and kiss me—it’s my favorite look in the entire world and I can’t get it out of my head. The way your eyes light up, the hint of a smile, the underlying hunger right before you take me into your arms and trail your hands down my sides…I have never missed anything more than I have missed that in my entire life. I don’t know what love is. I’ve never been in love before, but I think this is the closest I have ever gotten.”
“You have no idea what that means to me.” He sighed, taking another step forward.
“I am a geek and live such a boring life, but you make it exciting and terrifying and fun, and also, I really want to soak in that bathtub again.”
“Maybe…you’ll fall in love with me all over again.”
“Hell, I love you enough now. What do you want to do? Ruin me?” I continued to quote from his favorite book.
“Yes,” he muttered, brushing my cheek with the backs of his fingers. “I really want to kiss you right now, but I am dripping with sweat and have a serious case of swamp ass going on from running drills.”
“I don’t give a flying rat’s ass.” I leapt into his arms as he twirled me around, his teammates cheering and whistling as we kissed.
Setting me down, Logan knelt in front of me. “I don’t have a ring right now, but how about one more grand gesture to round this out?”
I started blubbering as Logan gripped my hand.
“Do me the honor of being my wife. No more stupid rules. No more ridiculous games. Just be mine.”
Words failed me as I nodded feverishly.
“Is that a yes?” I heard Roger yell from the field.
Leaping to his feet, Logan called back. “I think I shocked the words right out of her mouth for the first time in her life.”
Finally I spit out, “It’s a yes.”
Josie squealed behind us as the team hooted and hollered, throwing their helmets in the air.
“Coach?” Logan bellowed over his shoulder with me wrapped in his arms.
With a dramatic wave of his clipboard, the coach blew his whistle. “Congratulations, Turner. Thanks for fucking up this practice for all of us. Hit the showers, boys. Logan, go get that girl a damn ring.”
