Page 129 of The Wrong Game

The game was finally over.

The score was finally set.

In the end, we both lost a little, but we both walked away wearing those scars with pride. We ended that game with our heads held high, and with my hand in his as the cab took us across town and back to my place.

“I told you I’d be the right winner in the end,” he said, pressing a kiss to my neck.

“I think we both won.”

“A tie?” Zach huffed. “Ugh, I hate ties. The worst possible way to end a game.” His eyes softened as he pulled me into his side, and he smiled, tapping my nose before he kissed the same spot. “But, in this case, I think I’m okay with it.”

Me, too, Zach Bowen.

Me, too.

Gemma

ten months later

“Hit me! I’m open!” Micah called out, running with one arm outstretched across the part of the lot we’d claimed as our own.

His shaggy hair blew back in the cool September breeze, and Zach wound up, throwing a perfect spiral that Micah caught easily before running past his father.

I smiled, watching Zach sprint across the lot and pretend-tackle Micah to the grass. They rolled a few times before Zach retrieved the ball that Micah had fumbled, running it back this way with his little brother hot on his trail. Their dad just watched with a grin of his own, shaking his head.

It was a cool, gray day in September, and it was a welcome reprieve from the steaming summer we’d had. Not that I minded getting out of the condo and exploring the city with Zach all summer long, but fall was always my favorite season, and I welcomed it with arms wide open.

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into another football game,” Belle said from where she sat in the shade under our tent. She scooped a chip into the guac on her plate, popping it in her mouth with a loud crunch. “I thought I got out of this once I suckered you into that whole scheme last year.”

“Come on,” I said, leaning a hip against the table that had our food spread on it. “It’s the home opener, Belle. And now that Zach and I have tickets together, we want to start traditions.” I stole a chip from her plate and pointed it at her. “You, missy, are part of those traditions. Whether you want to be or not.”

“I mean, like you said, it was your idea to get us together in the first place,” Zach chimed in, panting and wiping the sweat from his forehead as he leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Besides, maybe you’ll find love of your own here at Soldier Field.”

Belle scoffed at that, standing long enough to pile more snacks on her plate before she plopped down again. “Fat chance of that, PITA boy. I’ve got a strict three-night policy, and most guys don’t even make it that far.”

“What about Doctor Jordan?” I asked with a smirk. “Seems like he’s surpassed that three night rule pretty easily.”

“We have an understanding,” Belle piped back, avoiding my eyes. When I just kept watching her, she shooed me away. “Alright, you, that’s enough. Don’t give me that look.”

“I’m not giving you any kind of look,” I said, hands up in surrender.

“Mm-hmm.” Belle kicked back in her chair, chomping on a chip as Pamela swept under the tent with another plate full of hot dogs.

“Alright, that’s all of them,” she said with a wide grin. “Now, come on, boys,” she said to Zach, Micah, and Daniel. “And ladies,” she said to us next. “Dig in before all this gets cold.”

She didn’t have to tell any of us twice. It took less than ten minutes for each one of us to have a plate piled high with either a burger, a hot dog, or — in Zach’s case — both. There were about twenty sides too many spread out on the table, but somehow, we managed to dig into every container between the six of us. We chowed down, talking over the music blasting from Micah’s speaker and sharing stories with other Bears fans that passed by on their way into the stadium.

Belle and Pamela were locked into a conversation about the back room Pamela was redoing in the house, and my gaze drifted to Zach, who sat across the tent next to his younger brother. His mouth was full as he argued about one of the baseball teams fighting for the playoffs, and I just smiled, thinking about how far we’d come in the past year.

It was hard to believe that this time one year ago, we’d only just met. It was almost a year to the day since we’d had ourpractice round, a game that would have more of an impact on my life than I ever could have known. It had all started as something that was never supposed to go past one night, a plan in place so I could avoid getting my heart broken again.

I laughed out loud thinking about it.

It hadn’t been an easy year, though it’d been filled with beautiful memories. We’d shared the holiday season together last year, growing closer, sharing more about our pasts and making traditions of our own. The winter had been hard, the year anniversary of Carlo’s passing hitting me harder than I expected. But, Zach had been there for me, and he even went to Carlo’s grave with me so I could say some things out loud that I never said to him when he was alive.

Being there with Zach, his hand in mine as I cried and spilled truths I didn’t even know I’d been holding onto was one of the most therapeutic moments of my life.

And from that moment on, everything seemed to fall into place for us.