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“I do. He’s going to go play ball and…” I licked my lips, steeling my spine to stand as straight as possible. “I’m going to be some memory of a girl he…” Had call him daddy. “He hooked up with before graduation.”

“I don’t think—“ The crowd gasped, and it drew both our attention towards the field.

Adam was running off to the bleachers, but Dave wasn’t.

Dave was running towards us! Me!

“Holy shit,” Callie whispered. “Do you see what I see?” she asked, but I couldn’t get myself to even nod. Or breathe. Or anything more than look at the man I loved with all my heart. The man who had earned my trust in and out of the bedroom and had shaken up my life!

Time suddenly slowed to almost a standstill.

The two of us watched in silence as he climbed over the part that separated the field from the stands. What the hell is he up to? He couldn’t be hurt if he climbed that thing like he did.

Dave didn’t stop, either.

Someone who worked there came up to him, and suddenly, he was pointing.

At me.

The guy who had stopped him nodded and patted him on the back, and if I had been paying attention, I would have seen the smile on the worker’s face.

Dave didn’t stop.

Clearly stubborn and crazy determined to do whatever he wanted, like he always did. His long legs took the stairs two at a time before stopping a level beneath us. Fans moved out of his way, patting him on the shoulder, all of them with goofy grins on their faces. Some had their phones out filming the whole thing. Not that I noticed because suddenly, Dave was standing just in front of me, one level below.

“What are you doing?” I hissed, when he reached for my hand. But before I knew what was happening, he lifted me up and over, so I was standing in front of him. With our height difference, I was forced to look up at him.

“I love you,” he blurted. My eyes felt like they were going to pop out of their sockets. Heat tinged my face all the way to the tips of my ears.

“Dave—“ I love you, too. The words were on the tip of my tongue to finally come out, but he cut me off.

“I love you. I know you think this thing between us has a shelf life and that our time is coming to an end, but what if I don’t want it to end?” I opened and shut my mouth before rolling my eyes.

“Well, who is anyone to tell you what you should or shouldn’t do?” I smarted off even as hope beat defiantly in my chest.

“I have a new arrangement for you.”

“A new… Dave!” Heat hit my face as I looked around. Everyone was looking at us. Not one person tried to even pretend they weren’t interested.

“Holy shit, you’re on the screen!” I heard Callie gasp, but I couldn’t get myself to look over to confirm. Not when Dave’s brown eyes were locked on mine.

“I love you, Roxie,” he repeated, tagging his hand around my waist, pulling me in closer before dipping his head lower. “I want more,” he breathed. I licked my lips.

“More.” I swallowed. He had no idea just how much more he was signing up for. “Dave, I think⁠—“

“You should marry me.” I blinked. My brain was too stunned to process what he’d said.

“You’re crazy,” I huffed, but the two of us knew there was no real bluster in my tone.

“About you. There isn’t a fucking thing I wouldn’t do to keep you.”

“Keep me?” I tried to push him away, but he didn’t let me.

“You’re the one for me,” he said with annoying arrogance.

I was about to point that out when his lips slipped closer to the shell of my ear and I felt the slight scratchiness of the scruff on his jaw. The sensation was a reminder of this morning, when we woke up early tangled in one another’s arms. So early that he’d thought it would be a good idea to make me his breakfast. My eyes fluttered shut and my pulse quickened. Our morning activities had taken too long, and he hadn’t had time to shave like he usually did before a game.

“You know I’m the one for you, too. Daddy wants you forever, honey bun.”