Cruel Me

Chapter 32: Latch

30 yards left.

Someone lunged from my left, and I dodged him just in time. It broke my pace but I managed to keep it up again.

20 yards.

Parker tackled someone, leaving me alone. Okay, no biggie. It wasn't the first time this happened. I could handle it.

10 yards.

Just a little more. Come fucking on.

Then, I saw a cocksucker about to block my path. But I juked out the safety at the last second and ran past him on the way to a touchdown.

HELL YEAH!

As if on cue, the buzzer went off. The crowd went wild, cheering so damn loud my ears deafened for a moment. I felt my teammates slap the back of my helmet – probably my ass too, but I was too sore to give a shit. We were one step closer to being State Champs!

I forgot it was raining till I took off my helmet and felt the pour on my head. Closing my eyes, I raised my head towards the sky and grinned. With the raindrops on my face, I felt so fucking free. It was best damn feeling in the world.

"Hey, Grinch!"

My eyes snapped open at the voice. I turned my head and saw my girl running towards me. Her dress was soaked wet but she didn't care, she was wearing the biggest smile.

I caught her and lifted her up in the air, causing her to burst out laughing. I knew we probably looked like we were in a sappy chick flick, but I honestly could not give a fuck.

I'm happy because my girl's happy. That's all that matters.

When I put her down, I didn't let go of her yet. Instead, I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tight. And then, the words just came out.

No warning. No explanation. No nothing.

"I love you," I whispered against her hair.

I've known for a while now. I just waited for the right time to say it.

She stilled. For a moment, I panicked. Lots of possible bad scenarios filled my head. But then she relaxed, pressing her body into mine.

"I love you, too."

A slow smile made its way to my lips. I pulled away to see her face.

"You mean it?" I asked.

"Do you?"

"Every word."

She smiled warmly at me. "Me, too."

I stared at her, pushing wet strands of her hair behind her ears. She closed her eyes, and I noticed yet again how long her lashes were. I kissed her nose, making her smile wider.

We just admitted those three words while we were standing in the middle of the rain. Nothing could get more romantic than that.

"Hey, let's skip the party tonight," I suggested, trying to keep the hopeful tone in my voice. "We could just stay in and watch a movie or something."

Her eyes opened, her head tilting. "What about your friends?"

"Nah." I made a face. "Not in the mood for all that noise."

She bit her lip. "They might mind."

"Halo, baby," I began seriously. "I've been attending Friday night parties for as long as I could fucking remember. I'm way past that stage. So don't worry about my dickhead friends, alright? I want a break from all that shit. I just wanna cuddle on the couch with my girl."