Page 143 of When You Wish Upon a Wideout

“I’m sorry. You know I’m stubborn.”

“You are,” Beau agreed before looking up from their grip on each other. “And strong. And beautiful. And kind and smart. And I hope something else.” He slowly inched closer but with no hesitancy this time, as if Beau could see her chest cracked open, leaving her heart for his taking again.

“What?”

“Mine.”

“Always,” Sienna promised without hesitation, her mouth capturing Beau’s in a kiss so whole and deep she had hoped he would swallow down her vow.

With that kiss, Sienna was lost in the familiarity of Beau’s taste—both from weeks and decades ago at the same time—the continuity of their relationship full and bodied and something Sienna couldn’t get enough of.

Beau moved his hands to hers, now at the back of his neck. “Wait,” he mumbled before kissing her once more before leaning back. “Wait. I have something for you.”

Sienna tried to steady her breathing as Beau reached for the box. His thick fingers fumbled to open it, but when they did, a small corsage made with a white peony sat inside—her favorite.

“Will you go to prom with me?”

Before Sienna could say yes, thunder boomed. But she didn’t jump, only lifted her face to the sky when heavy rain began to paint her cheeks.

“Shit. Or not,” Beau said, clicking his tongue. “I mean, we could go... or we could just dance in the rain,” he added with the smallest twitch of a smile. “What do you think?”

Sienna shifted against the roof, feeling the thick piece of copper in her back pocket. “For old time’s sake. How about we flip a coin?” She lifted her hips and slipped it out of her jeans, watching Beau’s eyes fill with emotion as they found the old copper coin. She ran her finger around the rough edges. “Heads or tails?”

Beau didn’t miss a beat.

“I love you no matter what.”

Sienna gave it a flick, and the coin flew from the roof before plummeting to the ground.

“What is it?” she asked Beau.

Neither of them had followed the coin’s trail, and their smiles mirrored each other’s.

“Doesn’t matter.”

Beau backed away and hopped down loudly onto the air conditioning unit before jumping to the ground. Sienna followed to the edge. But she didn’t slide further to the trellis. She swung her legs to the edge and jumped into the arms Beau held out, waiting for her, their bodies sliding and melding together. Her chest warmed beneath her soaked clothes when Beau leaned his head against hers.

“Wish list?” he asked against her lips.

And before Sienna gave her answer, Beau began to lead them, their feet slipping and sliding along the soaked grass of her front yard as his hands both delicately and firmly spun and dipped her to nothing more than the music of their breathy laughter and racing heartbeats.

“You’ve ruined this,” Sienna said, bringing her hands between them, loosening his soaked bow tie and the button beneath it. “I don’t mind though. I actually do love an open collar.”

Beau spun her again. “Next year, it’s the whole nine yards. Corsage. Fancy dress. Tux. Limo.”

Sienna laughed, running her fingers through the damp hair at the back of his neck. “I’ll have to chaperone. They don’t let parents crash prom.”

“What about football coaches?”

Sienna steadied herself against his chest, blinking heavily through the rainfall. “What about next season?”

“I’m playing with the Sparks next season. But that’s forme. Fuck the Super Bowl. You know what I want? One happy moment after a game lifting you over the rail of the stands. Just once.That’swhy I’m playing.”

Sienna swallowed. “And after?”

“And after, I’ve got some time on my hands. And you know, what else I realized recently? I don’t mind kids. And I love an underdog. Maybe there’s something for me in Brookwood. I looked back at their record. They’ve been god-awful for the last three years.”

“Really?” Sienna asked.

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