Page 116 of Saving the Halfback

Nolan laughed. “The mud really adds to the resistance.”

“I’m done,” Chase said.

“Same.” Lachlan groaned. “Ethan, carry me back to the car.”

“No! Ethan is my ride!” I complained.

Ethan shook his head. “You shits can walk yourself.” We all laughed and got up, making our way back to the cars.

I stopped, looking back as Chase moved away from us to grab the football that was now stuck in the mud close to the bridge. I turned away from the others and ran over to Chase, just as he stood from picking up the football and stared at the bridge.

“Thank you,” I said over the rain. His grey eyes met mine as he stood there, waiting. Then I chuckled, realizing I needed to clarify. “For your birthday wish. This was a lot of fun. It’s been a while since we did something like this.”

“You know…you’re actually the reason for today.” He stepped closer to me, likely so I could hear him better.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I saw you, just before school started. I was standing on that bridge and I—” His eyes swung over to the bridge, as if he were seeing it all again. “I saw you. I didn’t think I was going to go to school. I didn’t think I’d ever have a chance to hang out with my friends again, but I did because of you.” As his eyes met mine, there was so much meaning behind them. “You’re the reason we are all back together, Bails. You brought us here.”

I took a step closer to him, his chest just a few inches from mine. “Well, would you believe you’re the reason I’m here now?”I ran a hand down my face, wiping the water out of my eyes. “I saw you, Chase. I saw you here on the bridge, and I had to talk to you. I wanted to see you again. I wanted our friendship back, needed it back. It was the first break. The first time I was forced to stand up for myself…so I could get back to you.”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Bailey, I’m so sorry I wasn’t there. I haven’t been there.”

“You saved me, Chase. I don’t know how else to tell you. You saved me.” I reached out to him, my hands going around his neck as I leaned in, pushing my lips to meet his.

Though his arms came around me, his kiss wasn’t the all-consuming need he’d had like last time. I was glad for the rain because this kiss had tears rolling down my cheeks. Chase was baring his heart to me, serving it on a platter as he tenderly held my heart.

In the distance, I heard horns honking, followed by cheering and shouting. Chase laughed, his chest rumbling, and broke the kiss as he smiled. “We should get back to them before they come out here,” I said.

He pressed one last kiss to my lips before stepping back and taking my hand in his. As we walked back to the truck, the rain started to let up.

“I can't wait for my birthday.” Lachlan grinned at me.

Chase looked around at all of us, then pulled his phone from the truck. “All right, this is one for the books. Everyone, get in close.” He set the phone up on the bed of the truck, balancing it, so he could set a timer and take the picture.

Nolan and Lachlan took the spots on either side of me, and Ethan stood behind me, his arms on my shoulders. Chase ran and knelt in front of me. I quickly put a hand on his shoulder to help steady his descent as the camera clicked twice.

“So…I hope I don’t sound weird, but any chance you can strip before getting into the truck?” I asked Nolan.

He didn’t even second-guess it; he just started stripping.

I laughed. “I just don’t want mud in my truck.”

“Damn, was that all it was? I thought you wanted me in my boxers,” Nolan teased. I stuck my tongue out at him.

Chase looked at Ethan and Lachlan. “You shits can keep your clothes on. I don’t care about the mud in the car.”

“I wanna go in Bailey’s truck!” Lachlan said.

I had my sports shorts and tank underneath my clothes. They were wet, but at least they weren’t muddy. “My place for hot chocolate?”

“Uh, what would your parents think, with us showing up in our underwear?” Nolan asked.

I lifted a shoulder. “My parents went out today. It’ll be fine. We can wash your clothes and watch a movie.” I waved, like it was no big deal.

Though Lachlan teased about coming in the truck, he slipped into the car with Chase and Ethan. Nolan blasted the heat the whole way back. As cold as he was, I could tell he’d had fun. He was back to his normal Nolan self.

I pulled into the front of the house and was relieved to see no one was home. The guys all came in and stripped in the mudroom. Since the laundry room was right next to it, I gathered everything up and threw it in the wash after a quick rinse in the washing tub.

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