Page 99 of Bright Lights and Summer Nights

I keep her body pinned to mine as she recounts what her life has been like in the months we’ve been apart. I hang on every word, loving how confident she sounds. “I continued to keep it real with my followers. Like really real. Sometimes I was so honest and raw I questioned if I was doing the right thing, but it turns out when you tell your insecurities to millions of people on the internet, that a lot of them feel the same way too. I didn’t feel so isolated. I accepted I wasn’t the only one still trying to figure out what my passion was or who used dark humor to deflect how I felt about my life. After that, day by day, and little by little, I realized I was accepting myself for everything I was.”

“I’m so proud of you,” I tell her honestly. I loved her before, but I’m so happy she chose the path she did. While I missed her every second of every day, I love her even more for not rushing into things.

Emma smiles, her fingertips brushing over my jaw as she holds my face between her hands. “I’m proud of me too.”

“So, what’s next for you, Emma Turner? Besides being my girlfriend, of course.”

She raises her eyebrows. “You haven’t asked me to be your girlfriend.”

My hands drift down her back until they’re cupping her asscheeks. I pull her tighter to me, loving having our bodies flush against one another. “I was so excited to get you back that I’m already messing this up.” I laugh, leaning in for one small kiss before continuing. I tilt my head back, wanting to be able to look into her eyes before asking the next question.

“Em, my love, my everything, will you be my girlfriend?”

She smiles, her entire face lighting up with her loud squeal. “Duh!” she rushes out excitedly, leaning in to kiss me. “Emma Turner, Preston Rhodes’ girlfriend. Damn, that’s hot.”

I laugh, shaking my head at her. “Emma Turner, the most incredible woman to ever exist and the only one to ever hold my heart. Damn…that’s hot.”

We both laugh at my impression of her. “That’s hot” definitely sounds a lot better coming from her mouth than it does mine.

“So there’s one more thing I have to tell you,” Emma begins before pulling her bottom lip between her teeth.

“And what’s that, rebel?”

“I don’t want this to overshadow your big day of winning the Super Bowl and retiring and all the things, so I can wait to tell you, but?—”

I press my fingers to her lips. “We celebrate all of our wins together. One will never overshadow the other. Now, tell me what has you excited because I can see it written all over your face, and I want to celebrate it with you.”

“Well…” Her body rocks up and down as she can barely contain her giddiness with whatever she wants to tell me. My heart already bursts with excitement for her, knowing how happy it’s clearly making her, and she hasn’t even told me what it is yet. “Your girlfriend will now be the host of a little podcast called Quarter-life Crisis, and there’s already a bidding war between streaming platforms to be the one the podcast is exclusive to.”

I stand up, my hands supporting her weight as I turn in excitement. “That’s incredible.” I keep her body pressed to mine, my mind reeling with amazement at her. I’m so taken aback by her and all that she’s been able to accomplish in the months that we’ve been apart that for a moment, I can’t even find words.

Emma gives me a wide grin, her eyes misting over with unshed tears. “I still can’t fully wrap my head around people wanting to listen to me ramble even more about getting my shit together, but it’s real. I’m already hoping my sports guy will be the first guest.”

A lightness fills my chest at her words. “I’d be honored, rebel.”

“I love you,” she whispers, her features softening as her eyes track my face.

“I love you too,” I respond, looking forward to a lifetime of “I love yous” with her.

“Thank you for being patient with me. For giving me the time I needed.”

“You don’t have to thank me for that. I’m happy you did because now I know that no matter what life throws at us, we’ll handle it together.”

She nods. “Together. Forever.” The smile falls from her face as she licks her lips when her gaze falls to my own.

“Forever,” I repeat. She wraps her thighs around my middle, and my fingertips inch underneath the fabric of her panties.

I sit down, my hands exploring her body. She does the same, her hands drifting underneath my shirt. When she lifts it up, I let her pull it off me. She throws it behind her, her lips kissing my throat until a small gasp leaves her.

My eyes find hers, catching her staring at the chain around my neck. More importantly, what’s on the chain.

“Is that?” she asks, her voice quiet as she reaches out to grab the chain.

I nod. “It’s been my lucky charm throughout the season. I wouldn’t play a game without it.”

Emma’s bottom lip trembles as her eyes meet mine. “You kept the penny I found last summer?”

“I did.” The moment she returned home, I found a jeweler that’d make the penny into a necklace charm for me. It allowed me to feel like she was still with me, even when she wasn’t. All this time, she and her penny were my lucky charm; she just didn’t know it. “I was never superstitious until this year and this penny. The chain broke in the middle of one of our games. We went into overtime, and I played like shit while I frantically waited for a team of trainers to put it back together. Finally, they did, and we pulled off a win, but I was nervous.”

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