Page 121 of Necessary Roughness
Through the cacophony came a voice as clear as crystal: “SLOANE!”
“LOGAN!” I shouted back.
Like a crowded game of Marco Polo, we shouted each other’s name, drawing closer, until two students parted and Logan wasthere. His helmet was off and his hair was matted to his head with sweat, but he looked more beautiful than I ever could have imagined.
I threw my arms wide to hug him, but he came in for a kiss instead. His lips tasted like sweat, and victory, and love, and I clung to him like I wanted to make sure Ineverlost him again.
Then he was passing me off to Knox, who was in the process of being pulled in one direction by three sorority girls. I shoved my hand in one of their faces and let out a curse that I hoped none of the cameras around us recorded, then hugged Knox tightly.
“You did it,” I whispered. “You won!”
“I meant what I said,” he whispered, voice seizing with emotion. “You’re the reason we got this far. And you’re the reason we won today.”
I brushed aside one of his tears with my thumb and gazed into his handsome face. “Maybe I helped a little. But you did most of it.”
Roman appeared to my right, and wrapped his arms around both of us like he was executing a tackle. “I really am quite fond of you,” he said.
I nuzzled my head against his arm. “I’m fond of you, too.”
Knox took my hand, then began leading me out of the crowd. “Come on. There’s something we need to do. And no, it can’t wait until later.”
Once we got through the throng of celebrating students, we had a gauntlet of reporters and cameramen to avoid. “Two minutes!”Knox shouted at them. “Then I’ll spend the rest of the night giving interviews!”
We passed by the benches of equipment and the pile of ice where the Gatorade had been dumped over the coach. Then Knox was lifting me up, pushing on my ass so I could reach the railing and climb up into the stands. A cluster of fans was gathered there, watching and celebrating.
Knox climbed over the railing right as I recognized two of the fans.
“Mom, Dad,” Knox said, gently putting a hand on my lower back and nudging me forward. “I want you to meet the woman that I love.”
54
Sloane
“I am so sorry for last week,” Knox’s mother, Darlene, told me at dinner. She leaned closer to me and put her hand on mine. “I can’t believe you were too scared to introduce yourself to us at the game! And you were sitting right behind us!”
“Meeting parents can be intimidating,” Robert, Knox’s father, said from the other side of her. “I was so scared to meet Darlene’s parents that I took a shot of vodka in the driveway before walking up to their door.”
Next to me, Knox perked up. “You never told me that story.”
“He was afraid of my father,” Darlene explained. “But it was really my mother he should have been worried about! She was always the one with strong opinions about who I dated.”
Robert leaned in close to kiss his wife on the cheek. “Your mom loved me.”
“That’s how I knew you were the one.”
Across the table, Logan said, “Aww.” Roman even smiled, before returning his focus to his plate. With his right hand still bandaged, he was struggling to keep the pasta on his fork with his left hand. I planned on teasing him about it later, when the two of us were alone.
Darlene turned back to me. “I am so sorry for what we said during that game. This is the most important year of Knox’s life, and we only want what’s best for him.”
“Which, at the time, meant no distractions,” Robert told me. “But you’re not a distraction, Sloane. Knox has made it very clear to us that you’re the opposite.”
“She’s my lucky charm,” Knox said, lightly touching my back. “I couldn’t have done so well this year without her.”
“Yes, well…” Robert lifted his wine glass. “I don’t believe in luck, but I do believe in having the support of a good woman behind you.”
“Cheers to that!” Darlene said, and we all toasted.
My phone buzzed with a text, which I discreetly tried reading under the table.
