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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHARLIE

Arbor, Lily, and I are jumping around in the stands, watching the team bounce around the end zone, celebrating their win. I’m so unbelievably proud of Beck, Casey, and all the guys. I know it’ll be a big party on campus tomorrow night.

We decide to stick around so we can congratulate the guys after the award ceremony. A gold cowboy hat is passed back and forth between the teams for whichever one claims the win each year. The Stallions have had the hat for the last three years, so it’ll return to campus with us. You would think it was a championship game with the way we celebrate this win.

Our seats are near the first row because we used my family tickets. My mom, dad, Beck’s dad, and his sister watched the game with us, but they’ve already started to make their way down to the family waiting room to see the guys after the game.

Eyebrows were raised when our families saw I was wearing Beck’s jersey and not my brother’s. I don’t really think they were that surprised though.

Arbor nudges my side and points down to the team bench, where I see Beckham waving his hand, motioning for me to come to him, so I go down as close as I can. The brick wall between us is low enough that he can reach me as I make the last step to him.

He’s sweaty and smelly, but I couldn’t care less. I lean down and wrap my arms around his shoulders and drop my head to kiss his lips. We laugh and kiss like there’s no one around.

When I pull back and smile at him, he quietly says, “We did it, baby. The hat is ours for another year.”

“I’m so proud of you guys! Casey must be going wild right now about his catch. I can’t wait to see him. Should we go down to the family waiting area or go ahead and take off?”

Waving one of the stadium security staff over, Beck asks, “Where can I let my girlfriend and her friends enter the field for the award ceremony?”

I blink at his affectionate term. Yes, we’re together again, yet we haven’t had any official talks. His public proclamation feels good while I also feel like we’re rushing back into something we haven’t completely worked through.

My brain has all these thoughts while my heart is leaping out of my chest.

The man leans in so Beck can hear him over the noise and then waves me over. “Take this row all the way down until you reach the top of the locker room tunnel. There is a gate at the end, and I’ll radio the guard down there to let you and your friends onto the field.”

“Do we need an additional pass or anything to get onto the field?” I ask.

Beck pulls me in again. “Baby, you have my name on your back and a family pass around your neck. They’ll let you in.” He gives me one more quick kiss and turns to walk away, but looks over his shoulder and says, “Hurry up and get your sweet ass down on this field!”

I shake my head and smile, then turn to Arbor and Lily. “Well, you guys want to go with me or?—”

“Are you out of your mind? Of course we want to go down there with you!” Lily screeches. “I’ve had my eye on Chris Schuster, and I feel like he needs a congratulatory hump—or hug or whatever.”

Arbor and I just laugh, and the three of us start to make our way to the entrance of the field.

When we reach the guard, he already has the gate open, and he lets us in with a nod.

We each say, “Thank you,” as we pass, and Lily nearly trips down the steps because she’s so excited.

“This your first time on the field?” I ask.

“College? Yes. In high school, I was a cheerleader, so I was on the field all the time. But this is so much more fun! I’m surprised the crowd didn’t rush the field, honestly. Do we just walk over to where they are, or do we wait by the benches?” Lily asks.

Arbor cuts in and says, “We can go over to where the team is, right, Char?”

I’m in the middle of them so I grab both of their hands and look at each of them and say, “Let’s go see those boys and congratulate them properly!”

And then we start running toward the team.

The team is still jumping around, high on their win. Bro hugs, bouncing, and cheering wildly. It’s always great to win, but this was a big one, and I love to see these guys soak it up.

The announcer calls the coach over to where the camera crews are and where the hat will be brought out. Then the team gathers around.

The announcer asks, “Coach, how does it feel to win the Golden Hat four years in a row?”

“It feels real good. Real good, Hank. These boys played their hearts out today, and they put everything into their performance. We dominated on offense and defense. We never let them run us over. The seniors on this team …” He starts to choke up a little. “This is their final game against State. They not only won today, but they have owned this hat every season of their time at Walker. That’s something to be truly proud of, and I couldn’t be prouder of all these guys.”

The team surrounding him starts to cheer, and we can barely hear the rest of the coach’s speech.

The announcer breaks in and says, “Let’s get this trophy out here so you can take it back to Walker again!”

He steps back as officials bring out the Golden Hat to present it to the coach.

They hand it off to Coach as red and white confetti starts to rain down on the team and us. I look at Arbor, who is laughing and trying to catch some of the confetti in her hands.

“This is so much fun!” She drops to the ground and starts moving her arms and legs in a sweeping motion.

Lily looks at me, raises her eyebrows, and smiles. “Don’t let us get run over, Charlie!” Then she drops down next to Lily.

“You two are wild!” I say, laughing.

When I look back at the team, Archie has the hat on his head.

He holds his index finger up and shouts, “There’s only one! Only one, baby! Let’s go!”

Then he takes it off and hands it off to Beck, who kisses the hat, then sets it on his head. I can’t help but laugh at them as we watch them pass the hat around to each guy on the team. The photographers call out to the team and ask them to get together for a team photo. Some guys stand, some crouch, and some lie right down on the field. Coach stands in the middle of it all with a huge smile on his face.

Beck breaks away after the photos are taken and starts to walk toward me.

I turn to Arbor and say, “Be right back!”

Then I take off running to him. When I reach him, I leap up, and he catches me in his arms. I wrap my legs around his waist while he puts his hands under my ass, and I kiss him. I intended it to be a simple kiss, but he slides his tongue into my mouth, deepening it. I’m getting lost in the moment, but in the background, I hear some cheering and even see a flash go off in my peripheral vision.

Pulling back from the kiss, I hold Beck’s face in my hands. “I’m so proud of you guys! I can’t wait to celebrate.”

“Oh, we’ll be celebrating. Tonight, tomorrow, probably all week!” He laughs, then sets me down. “I have to get back to the team. I’ll say goodbye to my dad and Brooke before we get on the bus to head back to campus, so I can tell them you left if you don’t want to stay.”

“Uh … yeah, we’ll probably head back to campus now that the stadium has emptied out a bit. Hopefully, traffic won’t be too bad on our way home. Just tell everyone I said goodbye, and I’ll call my parents on our way to campus.”

I tilt my head up with my lips puckered, asking for one more kiss. He complies, then touches his forehead to mine.

“I’ll see you at home.” Beck turns to walk away, stops, and turns back. “Oh, and, Charlie, I expect you to be waiting in bed wearing nothing but my jersey.” He winks, then turns back around and heads toward the rest of the team, who are standing together in front of the band, playing our anthem.

As I watch him walk away, I can’t believe how we got back to this place so effortlessly. I guess it was inevitable that we would get back together, but thinking about where we were last year and the year before … I would have said a big fat hell no if someone had told me we would be a couple again. And I know there are things we’re avoiding that we will need to resolve if we’re really going to make this work. I just need to find the courage to bring it up. I don’t want to risk us falling back into a bad place. I know, without a doubt, he’s meant to be mine.

When I walk back over to where Arbor and Lily are, they have an odd look on their faces.

“What’s wrong?” Looking between them, I wait for someone to say something. “Arbs?”

She clears her throat. “I’m not sure how to tell you this, but I just saw Britney walking off the field with some girls.”

I suck in a deep breath. Since we played Chandler, I wondered if she would make it to the game. I mean, it is one of the biggest games of the season for both teams. I just hoped I wouldn’t see her.

“Which way?” I ask, standing frozen, stomach churning.

“Looks like she’s leaving out the tunnel across the field from ours. You know what? Who cares? You can’t let her get in your head. We probably shouldn’t have said anything because she’s irrelevant.” Arbor waves her hand in front of her like she’s brushing Britney away.

Lily walks up to me and puts her arm around my shoulders. “Babe, I don’t know the story, but I’m guessing it has to do with Beck. But you seriously have nothing to worry about. That boy is so far gone for you. And besides, you’re so much prettier.”

I know she’s trying to make me laugh, but the truth is, Britney is pretty. “It’s fine, really. Let’s just go back to campus. I didn’t see her, she didn’t see me, so it’s like it didn’t happen.”

Arbor and Lily look at each other again.

Then Arbor looks at me and says, “Yeah, totally. I’m sure she didn’t see you.”

“Okay, ladies, let’s get out of here. I want to hit some of the parties on campus and see if I can find my latest conquest.” Lily hooks her arm around Arbor’s, then mine, and we start walking toward the exit we came in from.

“Count me out. I want to be home when Beck gets back.” With one last look at the team, then around the field to make sure I don’t actually see Britney, we leave.