Rather than stay on the field I jogged off to the sideline, my mind made up.
I talked to Coach Armstrong first, who didn’t know what was going on, and just asked whether I was OK to keep playing. I said I was, and got the play call from him - we had one more play left, a throw to Drake, of course. If anyone could get us in the end zone, it was him.
I had just enough time left in the time out, so I ran away from Coach Armstrong and toward Charlotte, where the athletic staff was. As I ran past, I yelled at Drake as I tossed my helmet to him. “Tell Lily! Have her talk to her camera guy!”
“What?” Realization dawned on Drake as he caught the helmet like I knew he would. “Oh shit, right!” He jumped up and ran off to find Lily.
I ran to Charlotte and stopped right in front of her, momentarily taken by her beauty.
In for a penny, in for a pound. Either this was gonna work or I was gonna be a national joke.
“Hey, there, Charlotte, funny running into you around here today…”
CHAPTER 22 - CHARLOTTE
“Hey, there, Charlotte, funny running into you around here today…”
What. What was Lance doing standing in front of me in the middle of a nationally televised professional football game, if he wasn’t injured?
“Lance! Are you OK? Is it your knee?”
“What? Oh no, knee’s fine, feels great. I’m just out, you know, throwing the ball around with the guys, you know how it is.”
“Have you lost your fucking mind?”
He smiled and moved in close. “Ever since I met you, Charlotte, yes. I lost my fucking mind the first time I met you.”
“You can’t be serious. We’re on TV, Lance. You’re in the middle of a game!”
“I know, I know, but this is more important than the game. I just realized that. It took me a while, didn’t it? Maybe I am a dumb jock after all.”
“Stop saying that, you know I hate it when you do.”
He came in close, wrapping those huge arms around me. “I know. I know everything.”
Then he kissed me. On live TV. Seen around the world. Lance Parker kissed me, Charlotte Calloway, long and hard, bending me backward, his big hand coming up to keep me steady.
I closed my eyes as soon as it started but even I could hear the crowd going fucking nuts over the roaring in my ears.
The kiss must have lasted a good month and a half.
When it was finally over, Lance moved back and whispered in my ear, “You’re the one I want, Charlotte. No more rules, nothing getting in the way. You’re the most important thing.”
The words I wanted to hear more than anything else in the world. I looked him in the eyes, tears welling up in mine. “Lance…”
He started again. “And now you’re famous too.” He pointed up and I saw that we were on the jumbotron. The guy manning it had clearly thought on his feet and put us on the kiss cam. I didn’t know what to do, so I waved. “And now everyone knows that you’re mine and that I’m yours.”
I was speechless, overcome with love and admiration.
“I love you, Charlotte Calloway. I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you, and I don’t want to go another second without you knowing it.”
“Lance, I…”
He waited, calm and serene. “I love you too, Lance.”
Then I jumped into his arms and kissed him harder than I ever had before.
We were like that for a long time until I heard a grunt behind us. We separated to great applause from the crowd.
Coach Armstrong was standing next to us. “What the fuck is going on here?”
“S-Sorry coach, had to check with my trainer about something,” Lance mumbled.
“Get back on the fucking field, we already took a delay of game penalty for that stunt you just pulled.” He had Lance’s helmet in his hands.
Lance took it and gave me a final quick kiss. “Back soon, honey,” he whispered and jogged back out on the field. “Drake!” he shouted. “You know what the deal is!”
Drake nodded and they were off.
That left Coach Armstrong and I standing next to each other.
I couldn’t be sure but I thought I heard him mutter something about this ‘not being a fucking singles cruise’ and that it ‘must be something in the fucking water.’
I didn’t care. He could yell for all I cared. I was still in shock from what Lance had done. A giddy, happy as hell kind of shock.
You couldn’t have wiped the smile off my face for anything in the world.
Now Lance just had to save the Patriots’ season.
No big deal, right?
CHAPTER 23 - LANCE
I’d gotten the girl, all I had to do now was save the world.
In a manner of speaking.
No big deal, right?
The sun was going down, the light was fading, there were only a few seconds left in the game, just in time for one desperate heave toward my number one receiver to save the season.
This kinda stuff happened all the time. Twice on Sundays.
I had this in the bag.