Page 70 of A Game of Ruck

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I rip it free, clutch it close, and surge to my feet.

One last push.

One chance to finish this.

I burst out of the pile, the defense scrambling to recover, but I’m already past them.

Blood in my mouth, sweat in my eyes, and fire in my chest.

I roar like a fucking animal as I cross the try line and slam the ball into the turf.

Try time.

Rovers take the lead.

The stadium erupts.

My teammates rush me, hooting and hollering, but it’s not their faces I’m looking for.

It’s hers.

Annabeth.

And when I spot her in the stands—hands clutched to her chest, eyes wide with wonder and tears, and something that looks dangerously like love—I know I’d go through a hundred rucks just to see her smile like that.

This game?This win?

It’s all for her.

But I’m not done yet.

Because the real victory?

That comes when I win her.

The real plan starts now.

I didn’t just fight off the Gators today.

I fought off my past.

My fear.

My fucking last name.

All that’s left is one final play.

And this time, it’s not on the pitch.

It’s in front of the whole damn world.

Because if I’m going to win Annabeth Martinez for good?

She deserves the kind of love that gets announced at full volume.

And I plan to deliver.

Chapter Seventeen-Annabeth

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