Page 133 of The Shake Off

“Holy shit,” I whispered, a nanosecond before the silence was wrenched apart by a ferocious roar of the crowds.

The entire Lions roster and coaches sprinted onto the field. Black and gold confetti rained down on the crowds, fireworks shot from the spires around the stadium and exploded over the Hudson. The Phillies and Lions fans alike were screaming themselves hoarse; they were now part of history. They’d witnessed greatness.

They’d have a story to tell their grandkids.

“HOLY SHIT!” I squealed, grabbing Lowe and Kit until we were all jumping around together, and it was only when Penn joined in that I realized I was crying.

“He did it! HE FUCKING DID IT!”

“Look!” Lowe tugged on my shirt. “Payton, look!”

I turned to Lowe to find her pointing at the big screen, which reflected back our balcony; Lowe pointing at the screen, next to Penn still hugging Kit and jumping for joy, then me trying to wipe the tears streaming down my face.

It had been brief, but my appearance was enough to get Ace’s attention. I watched him spin around from where Parker and Lux were trying to hoist him onto their shoulders, and he stared directly up to the spot where I was standing. Slowly, his perfect grin split across his perfect face.

A vacuum built itself between us, drowning out all the noise and chaos we were surrounded with as he held my gaze. My heart stopped thudding, my belly stopped twisting, and calm flooded my nervous system to the point where I could finally take a deep breath.

I don’t know how long we stared at each other, but it didn’t break until Penn tugged me away and pulled me, along with Kit and Lowe, toward the door. “Come on, let’s get down to ground level, then you can ask him on a date.”

I’d never sprinted faster to an elevator, and by the time the doors opened near the entrance to the field, the players were already exiting and heading for the locker rooms. I tried to keep up with Penn hurrying down the hallway, but then I heard the one voice that could stop me in my tracks.

“… I dunno, I didn’t want to think about it. Possibly after the sixth inning, because it wasn’t until then I realized what was happening.”

Loud laughter rumbled through the pack of reporters.

“Going from one of the worst opening games in history to a perfect game against the same club must feel good. You’ve joined an elite group of twenty-five.”

“Any perfect game is going to feel good to a pitcher, man. It’s amazing, it’s exciting… but I can’t really describe how I’m feeling right now. I think it’s going to take a few days to settle in.”

“Have you talked to your parents?”

“Dude, you grabbed me the second I came off the field,” Ace laughed, “but they’ll be my second call.”

“Who’s your first call?”

“The person responsible for getting me to this point,” he answered. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and find her.”

Cries of Ace! Ace! Ace! were still going as he rushed out of the locker room, skidding to a stop as he spotted me standing in the corridor.

“Pay…”

“I was on my way to the field and heard your voice,” I spluttered.

The smile I loved so much curved along his lips, and he took a step toward me. “I saw you watching.”

“I didn’t want to miss you pitching today. I wanted to come and support.”

He nodded, his hands pushing into his pants pocket as he inched another step closer. His cheeks were still flushed from the pressure he’d exerted, his sweaty curls twisting around the base of his cap, but nothing could dim the piercing blue of his eyes as he stared at me.

“Is that the only reason?”

“No,” I whispered and took a deep breath. “No, I wanted to see you. I wanted to apologize, and tell you how much I’ve been missing you.”

“Okay… go on.” He moved closer.

He was less than a foot away from me now, and I was finding it hard to breathe. My mind went back to the day in my office all those weeks ago when he crept as stealthily as a predator hunting prey, only this time, I didn’t have any plans to put up a fight. He could catch me.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry for everything. For being so horrible to you after you were so kind, for kicking you out of my apartment, for…” I winced and dropped my head so I wouldn’t have to look at him, “for puking on you. I’m sorry for my behavior that morning. All of it.” I swallowed the lump moving up my throat. “I’m not used to someone taking care of me. It’s not an excuse and nor is being hungover, but I freaked out. You were right, I’ve never been in a relationship…” Fuck. My lip was throbbing from how much I was biting down on it. “I’ve missed you so much, Ace. I’ve missed you being next to me, and I’ve missed talking to you every day, all of it. I’ve missed you, and I was wondering – actually, hoping – you might have missed me, too.”

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