“If it means hearing your voice, then yeah,” he said. “Four thirty sounds good to me.”
I kept the giddiness contained, face the mask of disapproval.
“What were you thinking?” I said, poking him in the chest. Becks seemed surprised, but I was just getting started. “How could you have risked the championship—the championship, Becks—just to pull a stunt like that? Why would you do it?”
“Ah, Sal, you loved it.”
“I did not.” I crossed my arms. “That was just about the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Don’t you mean the sweetest?” His arms came around me, and when I allowed it, Becks smiled. “C’mon, Sal, don’t be mad. You know I did it all for you.”
“You did it to impress people,” I corrected.
“No,” he said, “I did it to impress you. Did it work?”
Relenting, I placed a hand on the smooth skin of his face. There was nothing I liked better than a clean-shaven Becks, but this time it meant something different, something more.
“Why?” I asked again.
He linked his hands behind my back and pulled me closer. “I was pretty sure you wouldn’t believe me unless I did something drastic. You wouldn’t listen, so I decided to show you how much I love you.”
“A championship’s a lot to wager,” I said, my heart soaring. He’d said it again, and this time I was listening. I was hearing him loud and clear, and I desperately wanted to hear him say those sweet words over and over.
“Not if I get you out of the deal.” Becks stared at me, expression serious, eyes on mine. “I love you, Sal. I never said anything because I thought you knew and just didn’t feel the same. I couldn’t risk losing you, our friendship. I figured we’d always be ‘just friends.’ When you asked me to be your fake boyfriend, I swear my heart stopped. This is it, I thought. My one chance. Even if we weren’t really together, I decided to make the most of it.” He paused to make sure I was listening. “But you have to know. Every word I said, it was all true. Every word. You are my girl, Sal. I love that you’re so smart but still a little crazy. I love your freckles.” I caught my breath as his fingers skimmed my nose. “I love that your favorite movie is possibly the worst movie on the planet. God, I love it when you talk German to me. I have no idea what you’re saying, but I love it. When you told me you loved me, too…” He shook his head, a look of awe on his face. “I’ve been really stupid, but I’m putting a stop to it right now.”
My eyes filled at his confession. I blinked them furiously, not wanting to ruin this beautiful moment by blubbering all over myself. Becks loved me! It was so unbelievable, but the truth of it hit me hard as I saw the look in his eyes.
“Sal, don’t cry.” Using his thumb, he gently brushed away the first teardrop to fall. “There’s only one thing I know—have always known—that I wanted out of life. And it’s you.”
The bawling really started then, and Becks cursed, tugging me to him. I ignored the tell-tale creak of a stair and the following sigh, which told me Mom was definitely up and listening. From the quiet whimpers—not mine—I thought she might be crying, too. After a moment, during which he continued to rub my back, he said, “You okay, Sal?”
“Yeah.” Sniffling, I pulled back, but Becks didn’t let me go far. With all Becks’s pretty words running wild through my head, I’d almost forgot about his big collegiate announcement. “So…UNC?”
“Heard you were going to Duke.” Becks shrugged. “UNC offered me a full scholarship.”
I gave him a look. “Didn’t everybody?”
He just laughed. “What can I say? The head coach said they need me.” Becks looked down then back up at me. “And I need you.”
I melted into him. How did he always know just what to say? “I love you so much.”
“I know.” Leaning closer, he dropped his voice to a whisper and said, “I’m your Huckleberry.”
And he was, I thought, as he kissed me breathless. He was my Huckleberry, my Han Solo, my one, but most of all he was my Becks and I was his Sal. That was the truth.
It didn’t get any better than that.