Page 127 of The Wrong Game

He stepped closer, taking my glove-covered hands in his.

“Look, I don’twantyou to forget about your past. I don’t want you to run from it, either. I know you’ve been hurt, and I know you’re not completely healed from it yet — and you may never be. Our past has a funny way of becoming part of who we are in the future, and I think that’s the way it’s meant to be. Without the scars, without the pain, we wouldn’t be able to appreciate the times when everything is magical — the days when life is absolute bliss. And trust me when I say that every day I’ve spent with you has been just that — magic.”

I squeezed his hands.

“We don’t have to solve it all over night. I know we’re going to both have to face some fears, and we’re going to have to trust each other. AndGod, isn’t that the most terrifying thing?”

I laughed, sniffing back tears. “So scary.”

“LikeNightmare on Elm Streetscary.”

“I mean, I think those movies are more gory than anything.”

“Just roll with me here, Gemma.”

I chuckled.

“So, yeah, it’s going to be scary, trusting each other and not being able to make promises as to what happens next,” he continued, a slow smile spreading on his face. “But I like you, Gemma. I like that you like ketchup and cheese on your hot dog.”

I laughed, and Zach did, too, stepping closer as he pulled my hands to rest on his chest. His found my waist, and he held me there, his eyes flicking between mine.

“I like that you get so riled up during football games that we almost get kicked out of them. And I like the way you scrunch your nose when you disagree with me, and the way you make jeans and a tank top look sexier than any black dress.” He paused, scanning my attire. “Hell, you even make a giant, puffy jacket look amazing.”

The tears I’d been fighting back slipped out silently, falling over my cheeks, but Zach brushed them both away, his hands sliding in to frame my face.

“I like fighting with you,” he said, shaking his head. “And I like it even more when we get to make up after. Honestly, I don’t know where this all goes, whether we make it to forever or just to next month, but I know I want to try. I know the same thing is true for me now that was true after that very first game.”

“And what’s that?”

He smiled, pressing his forehead to mine. “I can’t walk away from you. Not yet. Maybe not ever.”

I sighed, breathing in his words like oxygen, giving my heart something new to beat for.

“When you showed up at that second game,” I said, voice soft, just a whisper between us. “I said you’d never win. I said you were playing the wrong game.” I shook my head. “But it wasmewho was wrong. This was never a game. It was always real. And that’s why you couldn’t walk away… it’s why I couldn’t either. Why I still can’t.”

I pulled back, locking my eyes onto his as I raised up onto my toes.

“Wien-Er-Lose,” I said, laughing as Zach choked out a laugh, too. “I want you, too. I lied when I said I didn’t trust you. And I lied when I told myself I would be fine without you.”

Zach raised both brows, his hands sneaking into the pockets of my coat. “So… are you saying you’re in for another practice round?”

I laughed, shaking my head and looping my arms around his shoulders. “No,” I answered. “This time, I want the real thing. No more practice. Let’s play for keeps.”

Zach smiled, lowering his lips to mine and pausing right when they touched. “I always was.”

And then, he kissed me.

The crowd roared around us, and I wasn’t sure if it was because of a play on the field or because of us. All I knew was that kiss sealed a promise neither one of us could speak out loud, because neither one of us could vow to keep it. We knew the risk we were taking, we knew the leap we were making, but we were holding each other’s hands and doing it anyway.

He could leave. I could leave. We could both end up heartbroken, sitting on the floor of our souls and trying to piece together our lives again.

But, we could also find forever.

We could take the next steps together — toward a year, five, or maybe, forever.

Andthatwas a game worth playing.

Zach tried to wrap me in his embrace more, but his costume got in the way, and I laughed, breaking our kiss and pushing back to take it all in. My hands ran over the puffy buns before settling on the red, air-filled hot dog that surrounded his body.