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JJ lets the clock run before taking the snap and dropping to his knee as the final seconds begin disappearing. I’ve watched a game clock hit zero hundreds of times, but I’ve never stood here with these guys and wanted the seconds to disappear this badly.

The horn sounds, and I lose my fucking mind with everyone else. My helmet hits the ground somewhere near my feet as bodies crash into me from every direction until I can’t tell who has an arm around my neck or whose hand is pounding against my back, and I don’t give a shit. I grab whoever is closest and pull him tighter as the sideline empties onto the field.

I don’t know how long I stay caught in the middle of everyone before I lift my head and look toward the stands. I can’t stop fucking smiling as I search the rows behind our bench, finding Calliope near the rail with her hands tucked into the sleeves of her coat. I start toward her before she finds me. Her eyes pass over me once before coming back, and then her whole face changes. I feel my smile pull wider as she leans forward against the rail, keeping her eyes on me while I make my way across the field.

She disappears from the rail before I reach her, and I change direction toward the opening without slowing down. I know she’s coming to me, but that doesn’t make me any more patient for the few minutes it takes her to get there. I’m still riding the high from the game, happier than I know what to do with, and I want to feel her in the middle of it with me.

She slams into my chest the minute she comes through the opening, arms going around my neck as I pull her against me. I laugh into her mouth when she kisses me before I can kiss her, lifting her just enough that her feet leave the ground as she smiles against my lips.

“We’re going to the fucking playoffs, Pea.”

She laughs as I kiss her again, and I can’t decide if I want to keep her right here or drag her back onto the field with me, so I settle for keeping an arm around her when I put her down. Her coat has fallen open, leaving my jersey visible underneath. Calliope catches me looking and shakes her head, but she doesn’t bother asking.

My fingers tighten against her side when the stadium erupts again, and I look back toward the field. There’s still one more regular-season game waiting for us, and after tonight, at least one more after that. I want every fucking one of them. I want another week in the building with these guys, another game under center, another chance to walk onto this field and find out how far we can take this.

“We fucking did it, Pea.”

Calliope’s smile softens as she looks up at me, and I’m tempted to kiss her again and forget that there are fifty other people on this field trying to celebrate the same thing. I barely get the chance to decide before someone shouts my name behind us, followed by enough yelling that Calliope laughs and turns toward the sound.

King is in the middle of it, because of course he is, with one arm hooked around JJ’s neck while JJ tries to get away from him. Two of our linemen are arguing over who gets credit for the drive that put the game away. The whole mess is moving toward us, and Calliope steps out from beneath my arm before they can crash into her.

I reach for her hand as she moves, catching her fingers for a second before she slips beyond them. The turn of her body sends one side of her coat swinging behind her, exposing DUVALL across her shoulders beneath her braids, and my grin somehow gets even wider. I’ve seen her in my jersey before, but there’s still something about watching my name move across her back that gets me every fucking time. The happiness already riding through me swells until I can’t contain that either, and I catch up with her as she glances over her shoulder.

Calliope smiles when I reach her, clearly aware that she caught me staring again, but she doesn’t bother asking why. I slide my arm around her waist and pull her back against my side, pressing a kiss to her temple when she settles into me.

King reaches us, still dragging JJ with him. “Tell him that a touchdown doesn’t happen without me.”

“Why would I lie to JJ on such an important night?” Calliope’s delivery is so fucking dry that I lose it, and JJ nearly gets free while King stares at her in betrayal.

“You’re supposed to be my friend.”

“I am your friend. That’s why I don’t encourage your delusions.”

King releases JJ so he can clutch at his chest instead, when Sullivan immediately sides with her. I keep my arm around her as the argument expands around us, content to listen while she gives King as much shit as he gives everyone else. Every time she laughs, I feel another burst of the same impossible happiness I’ve been carrying since the horn sounded. JJ tries to pull Calliope into the argument, but she bumps him away before reaching for my hand as we start toward the tunnel. King and the others make it inside ahead of us, but Calliope stops before we follow them and tugs on my hand until I turn back to her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She takes a breath, holding my gaze. “I decided not to take the MCAT again.”

I give her hand a squeeze, waiting when she pauses instead of trying to guess where she’s going with this. The last time we talked about this, she was curled against me in bed, trying to make sense of wanting something she no longer knew how to reach, and I hated that there was nothing I could do except hold her while she sat with it. I still can’t give her an answer, but she isn’t asking me for one now.

“How do you feel about that?”

“Good, actually.” Her smile is small, but it reaches her eyes. “I thought deciding not to take it again would feel like giving up, but it doesn’t.”

She doesn’t sound disappointed or scared when she says it, and I’m so fucking proud of her that I have to resist the urge to pull her into me when she’s still trying to talk.

“I still want to help people. That part hasn’t changed. I’ve just been thinking about whether being a doctor was the only way I can do it.”

“What have you been thinking about?”

“My mom, mostly, and what it was like being a kid while she was sick. I knew enough to be scared, but not enough to understand what was happening.” Her fingers move between mine as she looks down at our hands. “I’ve started looking into ways I could work with kids and families going through something like that. I don’t know exactly what that looks like yet, or where it’ll lead.”

She says she doesn’t know without looking like the words scare her, and I lift our joined hands and press a kiss to her knuckles.

“You don’t have to know yet, Pea.”

“I know.” Her smile grows as she squeezes my hand. “I’m starting to get that.”

I pull her into my arms before I can think of anything worth saying. I remember how lost she looked when she told me about her score, and seeing her smile at me now makes it hard to believe only a few weeks have passed. She still doesn’t know exactly where she’s going, but she’s excited enough to start looking, and that’s all I could ask for.

“I’m proud of you, Pea.”

Calliope’s arms tighten around my waist, and she buries her face against my chest for a moment before looking up at me. I bend to kiss her, and I let myself linger because there isn’t anywhere else I need to be for the next few seconds. King shouting my name eventually breaks through the noise, followed by Sullivan telling him to shut the fuck up and enough laughter that I can picture exactly what’s happening without seeing any of them.

Calliope smiles against my mouth. “Your children need you.”

I laugh and kiss her once more before taking her hand, and she falls into step beside me as we head farther into the tunnel. King finds us before we make it much farther, still running on enough energy that I’m surprised Coach hasn’t found somewhere to lock him up until morning. He starts complaining about us disappearing when we’re supposed to be celebrating, but I barely hear half of it when Calliope laughs beside me.

“I love you, Pea.”

“I love you too, Old Man.”

Her fingers tighten around mine as she stays tucked against my side, King filling the tunnel with enough noise for the entire fucking team.

There are people waiting for us around the corner, another game waiting next week, and more after that I can’t see yet. But Calliope’s hand is warm in mine, and for once, I’m not looking past any of it to whatever comes next.