Page 50 of Game Changer (Hidden Attractions #2)

The words I’ve craved to hear spill from her lips for years leave my mind reeling.

I’ve been in love with this girl for as long as I can remember, convinced it was an unrealistic dream to think of her as a possibility for my future.

But now she’s here, right in front of me, professing her love in the middle of a rainstorm like one of the cheesy movies she loves so much.

She’s wooing me as she thinks she needs to, when that’s simply not the case.

I’d choose her in any lifetime, alternate universe, or different dimension. There’s never been a choice when it comes to her, and there never will be.

I glance around us with a smile, attempting to hide the fluttering in my stomach. “I mean, the weather tracks. I guess all that’s missing is a happy ending, huh?”

Her eyes dart to my lips before scanning my face. “Well, the ball’s in your court, s—”

Maya doesn’t see it coming when I press my lips to hers with a blistering, passionate heat carried from the very depths of my soul.

She should know better than to ask questions she already knows the answers to, and if she got her parents’ approval, there’s nothing standing in our way.

This woman is my soulmate. My best friend.

She’s the only thing that’s been missing in my life, and now that I have her again?

I’m never letting her slip from my grasp.

“Wanting you has never been a question,” I pant against her lips. “Now kiss me like you mean it.”

I don’t have to ask her twice. She plucks the umbrella from my hand and jumps into my arms instead, and, with rain pouring from above, I push my fingers into her hair and devour her blindly, unable to see because of the water in my eyes.

My hands travel down her back, feeling the jersey plastered to her skin, and it’s a damn shame we’re in the middle of a public field, because if we were anywhere remotely private, weather be damned, I’d take her right there.

Maya smiles against my mouth before she pulls away and whispers, “ Now it’s a traditional rom-com ending. Congrats on the win, Coach .” Her fingers are wrapped around the whistle, and she gives it a little tug to place another kiss on my lips. “That has a nice ring to it.”

“It’s boyfriend to you.” Placing her back on her feet, I notice she’s still shivering, so I lean over to grab the umbrella again and force her to take it. “I’m not letting you get sick on my watch. Come on, let’s head to the car.”

“Maybe I took the wooing a little too far.” She huddles into my side when we step off the bleachers, but we quickly run into Mark and Tabi having a heated debate with her father.

Or is it their father? I don’t know. The situation is fucking weird, and honestly?

Maya and I have a lot to catch up on. It’s only been a week since we last spoke, yet it feels like a lifetime.

“I am not bringing him with me!” Tabi shrieks.

“Dad, this was supposed to be a trip for me to have to myself. It’s for me to grow my blog and build my portfolio.

Not bring him along for the ride. Why are you even insisting he goes?

What is so important that he has to tag along with me to the East Coast? ”

Mark tilts his head to the side under his umbrella, a tiny Annie latched onto his legs. “Oh, come on, Tabi cat. It won’t be that bad.”

She whips her head to his. “You planned this, didn’t you?”

“I wish I had, since it’s getting such a reaction out of you, but no. This was all Ronnie’s doing.”

Ronnie sighs aggressively. “I don’t have time for this right now.

We’re meeting the kids for pizza, and the last thing I need is for two grown adults to rip each other’s throats out.

You each have a reason to travel to the East Coast, and since I’m the one funding both trips, it’s saving me money to have you travel together. Mark said he’d drive his Mustang.”

Tabi gasps. “Please tell me you’re joking. No way in hell am I riding in that death trap. I refuse.”

Mark barks out a laugh. “Sheila’s been nothing but good to me. Be nice. I saved up for three years to buy her.”

Tabi sends pleading eyes to her father. “He named his car, Dad. He’s insane.”

Ronnie shrugs and pulls his keys from his pocket.

“If you choose not to go, that’s on you, and you’ll miss your trip.

Just know you won’t have a free babysitter next time.

I’m using this paid vacation over break to take full advantage of my grandfatherly duties.

” He smiles warmly at Annie. “Besides, I think it’ll be good for you to be stuck in a car for two weeks together. Gives you time to bond.”

“Over my dead body,” Tabi sneers.

“Uh, hey, don’t mean to interrupt, but I’m taking Maya back to the dorm to change. We got a little . . .” I trail off, unsure of how to describe what the hell just happened in the stands.

“Wet?” Mark supplies with a grin. “That’s what tends to happen when you make out in a monsoon.” He wiggles his brows. “Glad to see you’re back together. Leo’s gonna have a field day when he finds out.”

I roll my eyes. “We’ll meet you at the pizza place. Just give us a half hour to change.”

“And by that, you mean an hour,” Mark calls as we walk away. “Seriously, Christmas is right around the corner! Just buy the man some headphones!”

“Shut it.” I can’t see it, but a loud thwack echoes behind me, which I’m assuming is Ronnie hitting Mark with a clipboard.

Not even my friends and their asshole comments can get me down when I’m feeling on top of the world today. Rather than send him a snarky rebuttal, I toss a grin over my shoulder and say, “Hey, Tabi? When he stops to fill up the tank, put diesel in it!”

She explodes into hysterical laughter and says, “Noted!” just as Mark shouts, “Fucker!”

Hand in hand, Maya and I walk to my car, then turn the heat on full blast as soon as we get inside. Even with makeup running down her face and water clinging to her skin, she’s so fucking beautiful, and I’ll spend the rest of my life cherishing and worshiping everything about her.

With flushed cheeks and a broad smile, she clasps her shivering hand in my free one as I drive back to the dorm.

We started this semester unsure of ourselves and scared to take a chance on what we were born to do, and on the silent ride back, I can feel us basking in the warmth of each other and what our new future holds.

I spent so many years worrying about finding something I’m passionate about.

I worried about not keeping up with others I graduated with, fearing that I was straying from the trail everyone else was walking when the truth is?

Multiple trails can wind up at the same destination, and I’ve learned that it’s okay to take the scenic route on this journey called life.

Because holding Maya’s hand while we discuss what I should bring to the cookout with her parents doesn’t have me worrying about how we got here.

It just makes me grateful we did.