Page 50 of The Comeback Pact

I take the jersey and fold the note to put in my joggers. Unzipping my jacket, I take it off and while I’m standing there watching West, I tug his jersey on.

The crowd erupts around me, but all I see is the sparkle in West’s eyes. My chest constricts. A lot of feelings flow through me as I ball up my jacket and hold it on my lap.

His jersey makes me pull my shoulders back. The material dwarfs me, of course, but I don’t care. I peek down to find his number across my chest.

West Brooks’s—possible—girlfriend, and I am here for it.

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

West

No one—Fuck, no one has ever come to see me play football before. Not anyone that mattered. I watch Kenna pull the jersey on, and my stomach twists. I hope she knows what she just did because there’s no going back now.

Kenna Knowles is mine.

Fucking mine.

The first game of the season goes by in a blur, and it takes every ounce of effort to pay attention to what’s happening on the field. Our opponent is a gimme. At least it is today.

Nothing can stop me today. I am the damn Hulk.

It’s the best season opener I’ve had in ages, and as the game clock counts down, I only have one thing on my mind.

Kissing my girl.

My gaze skips up the stands as I run back in after another Bulldog touchdown to find Kenna smiling and clapping, her focus on me. The running back who ran it in claps me on the shoulder. “You’re on fire today, Big Man!” He leans back, letting out an animalistic growl, his head pointed toward the sky.

We’re all feeling it.

I love football on days like this. The grass is green. The breeze cools the sweat on my neck, and the water I gulp down tastes like it came fresh out of the purest stream in the world. I am alive. Like a live wire, the electricity is palpable just underneath my skin.

The game clock zeroes out in the fourth quarter, and Aidan chest bumps his center. He had a great game. If anyone was wondering if he wouldn’t live up to Parker’s play, he just showed them. Lining up, we march out onto the field to shake hands with the other players and then there’s more celebrating.

Goosebumps cover my skin from head to toe as I scour the stands for Kenna. She’s all I want to see right now. I’ll celebrate with my teammates back in the locker room, but I need her. I slow my steps, chest heaving. If she went home, I might die.

I scan the crowd for the third time when I finally spot her with Sydney. She’s hanging on to the chain-link fence, pressed up on her tiptoes to find me. Our stares collide, and my feet start working, picking up the pace.

I stop in front of her, shoulders moving with my deep breaths. If this were a movie, it would be the part where the guy finally tells the girl he loves her. Or that he wants to be with her, and it would be this huge shock, but for the life of me, I can’t form words other than, “You came.”

A slow smile spreads her lips apart. “I didn’t know what I was missing.”

My heart pumps so fast that the beat of my blood moving through my body and Kenna are the only things I can focus on. They’re both larger than life.

Sydney chuckles. “Are you guys just going to stare at each other or…”

Her teasing words spring me into action. I drop my helmet and reach for Kenna. She just stands there. Her stare settles on my lips, but I’m not kissing her for the first time with a fence in my way. I reach under her arms, lifting her in the air.

“West,” she protests, but she speaks around a short giggle as I easily maneuver her over the fence before settling her on her feet. “What are you—”

I clasp the back of her head, my fingers working through her long hair that’s had time to dry now. Tugging, I make her look at me. Her lips part as she takes me in. Her eyes don’t waver, but a breath builds in her chest that she doesn’t have time to let out before my mouth is on hers. Soft at first, exploring, testing, but my resolve to take this slow breaks. I tilt my head, pulling her closer and pressing past the seam of her plush lips.

A low moan escapes her throat, which only spurs me on. My other hand comes up to touch the side of her face, my fingertips feathering along her jaw, tracing the outline of her scar while I devour her with my mouth.

She pastes her body against mine, and I curse my bulky pads. I want to feel her, all of her. I hitch her leg up, maneuvering her closer until another satisfied groan sounds. Pulling back, she teases the wet hair at the back of my neck, but I can’t stand to be away from her. I press my forehead to hers. “If I’d known you could kiss like that, I would’ve let you take the reins the first time.”

I swallow, a grin coming to my face. “I liked your kisses.”

Her shoulders shake with a laugh as she leans further into me, like she’s trying to hide herself. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you, West Brooks.”

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