Running Game(61)
As Jesse ran over and conferred with the coach, Maddy reached up and squeezed my hand.
“Make a wish, baby,” I whispered in her ear.
“I already did!” she said. I laughed and pulled her and Eddie close as we all held hands and watched Jesse run back to the huddle for a few seconds before the teams went into formation.
Jesse took the ball from the center and rolled out right. I could feel the energy coming off his body. I knew his arm would find its target, that was where his true talent lay. He found his wide receiver and the pass was the most perfect spiral I’d ever seen. The crowd fell silent as the ball danced through the air, pirouetting gracefully until it landed square in the wide receiver’s chest. He secured it with his huge hands and turned and ran for the end zone.
The defenders launched their bodies at him in complete desperation, but he eluded their attempts like a skilled escape artist. He slid through the human barricades like a snake, sidestepping and dancing around them, leaving them fumbling through the air in his wake.
“Oh lord! Oh lord! Oh oh oh!” Eddie cried, jumping up and down beside me.
“Go go go!” Maddy yelled. My eyes traveled over to Jesse and my heart swelled when I saw the complete joy on his face as he watched the wide receiver travel safely into the end zone, throwing the ball down as the crowd erupted in joy and confetti and balloons began raining down around us. Jesse pumped his arms in the air in victory and tears sprang to my eyes. I reached down and pulled Maddy up into my arms, spinning her around as we laughed together.
“Let’s go!” I said, setting her on her feet and running onto the field. Eddie followed us and we pushed our way through the ecstatic crowd and colorful streamers. Hundreds of people surrounded the raised platform that Jesse and his teammates now stood on. We ran up on it and he threw his arms around us, kissing me hard on the lips and then turned to Maddy, picking her up and spinning her in the air. Laughter peeled from them as they beamed at each other.
“Look at that trophy!” Maddy said. He handed it to her and she held it up with both hands.
A reporter stepped forward and put a microphone in his face.
“Congratulations on your win! What are you going to do now, Colorado?” the reporter asked.
“I’m going to marry the woman of my dreams,” he said, catching my eye and winking. I gasped as he pulled me close and grabbed my hand. I heard Eddie squeal beside me as he pulled a small black box from his pants and handed it to Jesse.
My eyes widened as I watched Jesse kneel on one knee in front of me.
He opened the box and my mouth dropped open when I saw the sparkling ring that lay inside. The diamond was the size of a small mountain.
“Maisey, will you make me the happiest man in the world? Will you please marry me?” Jesse asked, his voice booming through the loud speakers, echoing through the arena, love beaming from his eyes. Love for me.
“Oh my God,” I said, the forty thousand people in the arena with us disappearing, the roar of the crowd turning to a whisper as I looked into the eyes of the love of my life. My heart swelled in my chest as my body began buzzing from the sweetest joy I’d ever known.
I’d spent my whole life running from him. Running from the fear of the unknown.
And all along, I’d been running the entirely wrong direction.
It was time I changed course.
“Yes,” I cried, “yes!”
He slid the ring on my finger and swept me off my feet, kissing me with breathless passion. Slowly, the reality that we were being watched by thousands of adoring, cheering fans dawned on us and he set me down.
“What are you going to do after you get married?” another reporter asked.
“Maddy?” he said, pulling her up into his arms. “What are we going to do, babe?”
They smiled at each other and yelled into the microphone together.
“We’re going to Disneyland!”
* * *
* * *
A BRITISH BAD BOY ROMANCE
* * *
By Nikki Wild
* * *
Prologue
Lex
My name is Alexander Lambert, but you can call me Lex… after all, everyone else in Great Britain does. My rabid fans, the sportscasters, and the tabloids know me by a slightly different name: “Lightning Lex Lambert.”
You see, I’m kind of a big fucking deal.
For the last twelve years, I’ve been rising in the football world – or soccer, as the Americans call it, rather incorrectly I’ll quickly add.
I’ve paid my dues, playing in some of the most prestigious teams to grace the great echelons of English football might: some junior teams, Manchester United, Galaxy League, a few seasons here and there with an underdog or two… and now the National team.