Page 98 of Bright Lights and Summer Nights

“Good. Now, let’s go celebrate.”

The floodgates of media attention open, and I stand next to Preston the entire time, wanting the world to know how proud I am of him. One reporter after the next asks about us and the status of our relationship. Preston handles the questions beautifully, telling every one of them he’s never been happier and that’s all that matters.

I don’t know how long we spend on that field talking to one person and then the next. When the Super Bowl MVP is announced, I’m not surprised it’s Preston.

When he stands at the podium with the trophy in his hand and tears in his eyes, an overwhelming sense of happiness takes over me. He couldn’t have had a better season for his last one. Just by the way his teammates and coaches look at him, I know he couldn’t be respected more.

I let him soak in the moment with his teammates and family. He deserves the attention he’s getting, and I’m just honored I get to share this moment with him. I smile when I realize that from now on, we’ll share all our moments, the big ones and the small. And I cannot wait to experience every single moment life has to offer with the love of my life—Preston Rhodes. My forever. Mine.

Forever used to terrify me. The unknown was even scarier. But now, it’s exciting. Whatever happens, I’ll have Preston, and maybe a forever of unknowns with him is actually the perfect future. It’s real, and it’s ours. And nothing can beat that.

CHAPTER 52

PRESTON

Exhaustion seeps into my bones as we finally make it back to the hotel room after a night filled with celebrating our Super Bowl win. Winning the last game of my career is a surreal feeling, but what made it feel even better was having Emma by my side throughout all of tonight.

When they handed me the trophy, I couldn’t look at anyone but her. The smile on her face as she watched me give a speech will be burned in my mind forever. She seemed so happy and proud to watch me succeed, to experience it with me, and I’ll forever be grateful that I got to share the moment with her. It made tonight all the better because I had the woman I love with me.

I look at Emma as she sits down at the end of the king-sized bed and begins to unzip one of her knee-high boots. I stand in the doorway for a moment, taking it in that she’s really here.

She looks up at me with a sleepy smile. “What are you looking at, Rhodes?”

I fold my arms across my chest and lean against the doorframe. “You,” I answer simply, still in awe that she’s mine.

She shakes her head, pulling off one boot and then the other. Her eyes stay locked on mine as she reaches behind her and unzips the little black skirt she was wearing. My body heats and I forget all about how tired I am just at the sight of her pulling the skirt down her thighs.

“Why don’t you come sit? I don’t know how you’re still functioning after playing a game like that and celebrating for hours after.” She pats the spot next to her on the bed.

I probably should feel more tired than I do at the moment, but seeing her undress in front of me, just being alone with her for the first time in months, gives me a second wind. We went straight from the stadium to the after-parties. We stayed out so late that the Miami sun will start to rise at any moment.

I close the distance and sit down next to her, appreciating the view of her in nothing but my jersey. “You look sexy as hell in my jersey, rebel.”

She bites her lip, her fingers twisting in the fabric of the jersey as she lifts it slightly, showing the black pair of lace panties she’s wearing. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

I lean in and wrap my fingers around the base of her neck, pulling her in for a kiss. I don’t know how many kisses I’ve stolen over the course of the night, but I can’t help myself. All I want to do is make up for lost time with her. It’s the reason I kiss her again, pulling her into my lap until she’s straddling me.

Emma doesn’t protest. She kisses me back with the same hungry passion. Her hips rock against me slightly as the kiss deepens. We kiss like that for I don’t know how long, the two of us getting lost in each other. Part of me wants to strip her of every article of clothing she wears so I can bury myself inside her and get as close to her as possible.

The other part of me wants to savor this. We have the rest of our lives for one another. I can take my time. Right now, I’d rather get inside that beautiful mind of hers and find out what the past six months have looked like for her.

I’m the one to pull away. Because I can’t help it, I feather kisses along her jaw and neck. I missed the beat of her pulse against my lips, and I have plans to kiss every single inch of her body now that I have her back.

“Tell me,” I begin, continuing to press my lips to her skin.

The most breathtaking giggle escapes her as I nip at the tender spot behind her ear. “Tell you what?”

“Everything,” I mutter. “I want to know how you’ve been, what you’ve been doing, and anything else you want to tell me.”

Emma smiles. Her fingers absentmindedly trace circles on the back of my neck. “A lot has happened since I last saw you.”

“Tell me all of it.”

“What if I wanted to know about you?” she teases.

“All I did was focus on football. Now, tell me about you.”

Emma rolls her eyes playfully. “When I first moved back in with Aunt V, things were hard. I missed you and was constantly questioning whether I’d made the right decision. Deep down, I knew I had. I knew if I didn’t work on finding myself, eventually, I’d self-sabotage our relationship because I think it’s hard to fully love someone before you love yourself. I could’ve gotten lost in you and lost myself even more, and while that might’ve worked for a short period of time, I wanted the forever kind of love with you, Preston. And I wanted the forever kind of love with myself. I needed to be alone for once in my life and be okay with that. So, I started working on embracing who I was. I hired a whole management team and decided I wanted to take social media seriously.”

---