CHAPTER NINE
1239 Words
Lily
Two years later...
I was cured. Okay, I was in remission. But I’d been cancer-free for more than two years, so things were certainly looking up. Even Rex had dropped his vigil and was back to being the family dog.
Tonight was the final game of the season, and the Dogs were heading down to OSU as a convoy. I was so excited; I could barely contain myself. I hadn’t seen Mav play in a long time, and I didn’t know if I’d be able to stop myself from running out on the field with him.
Maverick and I were both graduating this year (I was officially a nurse), and we couldn’t wait to start our journey together. We were going to find a little house and move in together as soon as we could find something we could afford.
“Lily,” Dad called up the stairs. “Get a move on!”
“Coming!” I grabbed my phone, made sure the ring Maverick had given me when I was ten was firmly on my finger (it had turned it green, but I didn’t care; it was his promise to me) then I ran downstairs and jumped in the truck with the rest of my family.
If we’d been in some Hollywood movie, I was sure there’d have been a drone shot of trucks, SUVs, and Harleys pulling out of our little community as the group of Dogs who lived in our neighborhood (and a few who’d come up just to join in the fun) drove in a line toward the freeway.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and I pulled it out to find a text from Maverick: Love you, baby doll.
I smiled and texted back: Love you more, Möosh. Kill ‘em on the field. I’ll be the one screaming the loudest.
Maverick: You always scream the loudest.
Me: It’s because you’re good at everything you do.
I waited for his little emoji response before deleting the last two texts. It would not go well for me if Dad found those little nuggets on my phone. Not that he’d look, but the fact of the matter was, it didn’t matter that I was an adult, I was still his little girl... the one who’d nearly died... and I was still living in his house, so I did my best to respect that.
After parking and finding our seats, I sat with Poppy and her best friend, Grace, and we caught up on life as we waited for the players to come out. Poppy and Grace were both going to school in Atlanta, and I missed seeing Poppy every day. For now, they were home for a few days and joined us for the game.
“How’s it going with Evan?” I asked Poppy. Grace was deep in conversation with Flea about surrealism or something random.
“Evan is way over.”
“Uh-oh.” Evan was probably guy number seven in what she called her “dating disasters.”
She sighed. “Between Sid and Devon, I just need one guy who doesn’t pee his pants when they come pick me up.”
I giggled. Hatch was the Sergeant at Arms for the Dogs, and he’d married Poppy’s mom, Maisie, when Poppy was thirteen (Poppy’s dad had died when she was a baby). Ever since Hatch and Maisie’s wedding, Poppy had called Hatch, Sid (Stand-in Dad). Devon was Hatch’s nephew and a new recruit for the Dogs. Maverick seemed to think Devon might have a thing for Poppy, but if he did, he wasn’t sharing that with Poppy.
“It’s hard for guys who aren’t raised in this,” I commiserated. “I mean look at them all. If you don’t know them, they’re scary looking.”
“I guess”—Poppy shrugged—“if you think drop-dead gorgeous men who take care of their women and kids are scary looking.”
“It’ll happen,” I assured her.
A roar from the crowd indicated the players were ready, so I jumped up and made a run for the railing so I could be close. Cassidy and Ace were right there with me, and I grabbed Cassidy’s hand as the players filed onto the field.
Maverick was third through the arch. His eyes found mine, and he smiled as he patted his chest, just over his heart, and then kissed his fist. I kissed my fingers and mouthed, “I love you,” and then he nodded at his parents and continued to his teammates.
The rest of the game was kind of a blur. They won, but it was close. Twenty-eight to twenty-four. With twenty-three seconds left on the clock, the quarterback handed Maverick the ball, and he broke three tackles to run in a touchdown. I was so unbelievably proud of my guy; I thought I might burst.
Maverick’s parents and I waited for him to shower and change. Everyone was meeting at Hatch’s place (his house was the biggest) for a celebratory party, but I was riding back with Maverick, so we could have a little debrief time alone.
He walked out of the locker room with Don Bradley, the quarterback, and Steve Moss, one of the other receivers. Whatever they were talking about was put aside as Maverick dropped his duffle and rushed me, picking me up off my feet and kissing me deeply in front of everyone.
“You were amazing,” I breathed out.
“You’re my good luck charm.” He lowered me back to the ground then hugged his mom.
“I’m so proud of you, honey,” Cassidy said.
“Thanks, Mom.”
Ace hugged him as well. They shared some silent message, and then they left me alone with Maverick. He took my hand, picking up his bag on the way back to his friends. “Come say hi to Donnie and Steve.”
Donnie hugged me. “Thanks for winning the game for us.”
“What?” I squeaked.
He laughed. “Mav still doesn’t shut up about you. Says you’re the reason he made that touchdown.”
I bit my lip. “Sorry about that. I kind of have him whipped.”
All three men laughed while Maverick shook his head. “You guys gonna come up with us and eat?”
“Yeah, man, that’d be cool,” Steve said.
“Follow us.” Maverick wrapped an arm around my waist, and we headed to his truck.
“Ohmigod, that last touchdown was so... heart stopping,” I said. “I thought for sure you guys were going to lose the game.”
He grinned, opening my door for me and throwing his bag in the back. “Yeah, I thought their safety had me for sure. I still can’t believe I got past that guy.”
I climbed up into the cab and cupped his face. “Mr. Calm, Cool, and Collected. Me, on the other hand? I thought I was going to puke.”
Maverick kissed me, and I nibbled his lower lip gently. “f**k, Lil.”
“Yes, please.”
“Hold that thought.” He grinned. “We’ve got the whole weekend.”
“Mmm.” Maverick and I were heading to the beach the next day, but I honestly didn’t think I could wait to get him naked until then.
- Writer
