Page 108 of Second Down Darling

If I wasn’t already in love with him, that would’ve doneit.

But I’ve been so worried about Coach’s reaction to making that statement that I needed to get outside. After walking Duke for a while, I headed out again by myself, wanting to get my thoughtstogether.

Hopefully, Jake’s not upset about the video I sent Kota. I’m not sure, since he hasn’t mentioned it yet even though my sister has been calling and texting nonstop. I finally blocked her number. I may need to talk to her eventually, but not until I touch base with Jakefirst.

I waited until his game was over to send the video. Today was his last regular season game, and I didn’t want anything to mess with hisfocus.

I pull out my phone and read his message for the tenthtime.

I’m on my way. Don’tmove.

I’ve been going crazy waiting for him to get back from Fort Worth. Is he mad about the video? Could it affect his custody arrangement? I hadn’t really considered that until after I sent the text, and then it hit me—Dakota might take out her wrath on Jake, which is the opposite of what Iintended.

I bite my thumbnail again and scan the gentle sloping hills in front of me. I’m sitting just a few yards away from where I did that photoshoot months ago for the calendar. I hope Jake and I have a very different kind of reuniontoday.

Movement catches my attention across the park, and I jerk my headup.

It’shim.

My heart batters my rib cage as Jake getscloser.

The sun sets behind him, and his thick, dark hair blows in the breeze. He’s wearing jeans, a t-shirt, and his letterman jacket. He looks so handsome, and I’ve missed him so much. It takes everything in me not to jump up and run tohim.

When he reaches me, I smile hesitantly. “Great gametoday.”

The words are barely out of my mouth when he grabs me by the lapels of my coat and yanks me up into a fiercekiss.

Everything I’d planned to say to him blows away in the crisp breeze. I toss my arms around his neck and hold on as he threads his fingers in my hair and holds me tohim.

His tongue battles with mine, but after a minute, he slows down until he’s pressing tender kisses to mylips.

“I fucking love you, Charlotte. Please don’t be upset with me anymore.” I open my mouth, but he places a finger over my lips. “Hear meout.”

I nod and reluctantly let go of him. We sit side by side on the swings, but he swivels around to face me, and I do thesame.

He exhales. “I’m sorry for how I reacted when I found out you might be pregnant. I can’t explain why I had an out-of-body experience. I think one of the biggest shocks was hearing it from Dakota instead ofyou.”

“I’m guessing she used the bathroom before I got there?” I ask. Nodding, he reaches over to grab my hand. “She obviously saw them in thetrash.”

“I just felt really fucking overwhelmed. I thought, ‘I’m stretched so thin as it is with Asher. I never get enough time with him. Every moment with you feels stolen. Some days I’m barely awake in class. Football consumes all of my energy. And I have a mountain of laundry and no time to doit.’”

I squeeze his hand. “I get it. I’m sorry you misunderstood. Only one of those tests was mine. The negative one.” I explain the situation with Roxy. She’s given me permission to tell Jake what’s going on withher.

“Jesus. I feel dumb.” He lets go of my hand to scrub hisface.

“But I will admit it’s been hard not comparing that night to how you responded to my sister when she told you she was pregnant. And the fact that you didn’t flip out on Kota when she was saying all of those horrible things? It felt like you weren’t defendingme.”

“Baby,lo siento.I’m sorry. When I thought you were pregnant, my brain short-circuited. I guess I needed a few minutes to process it. And once the blood flow reached my brain again and I could focus on your conversation, I couldn’t just tear her up. Asher was right there. I won’t yell at Dakota, even when she deserves it, when Asher’s around. I remember my parents screaming at each other, and that shit fucks youup.”

I never thought about it like that. I remember him sharing those details with me when we were in high school. How awful it was to hear his parentsfight.

He leans forward. “Did I have the best reaction to a potential pregnancy? No. But here’s the truth—when I found out youweren’tpregnant?” Pressing a hand to his chest, he swallows. “I was disappointed. Because there’s no one else I want to have a family with. The thought of you having my babies?” He shakes his head, his eyes a little glassy. “That would mean the world tome.”

I wipe the tears that leak from my eyes. “Really? You’re not just saying that? You want to have kids with mesomeday?”

He pulls me out of the swing and into his lap. “Did you watch my pressconference?”

Inod.

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