Page 17 of The Love Duet
“It’smyfuture,” I pointed out.“Do you honestly think I give that much a fuck about football?Because I don’t.Sure, I’m good at it.Sure, I might get drafted.Still, that’s not my future.I’m going to college to get a degree in business management and economics.Football has always been second, Roxie.And since you?It’s been third.”
The girl scrambled off my lap, her hands flying a mile a minute.I couldn’t understand most of it, but I caught the words crazy and insane in her physical rant.Since she’d admitted to feeling more comfortable signing, my guess was that she had reverted to signing because she was so upset.Staring at her going off, I didn’t have the signing experience to have an ASL argument with her, so I had no fucking idea what we were supposed to do now.We were arguing, but we weren’t.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure what the fuck we were doing.However, there was one thing that I did know without a doubt.
I hated seeing Roxanne upset.
~
Roxanne~
My hands were going non-stop, and I knew that it wasn’t fair, but I could admit to being an emotional wreck right now.While Royce hadn’t told me that he loved me, wanting to follow me to a little, no-name, special educational college was close enough.
The problem was that I loved Royce too much to let him make such a sacrifice.Sure, it’s only been three months, but it’s been a fantastic three months.We’d really gotten to know each other, and my parents absolutely adored him.They thought Royce was a great guy, and they weren’t wrong.He was polite, respectful, and not too cool to love on me in public.He held my hand at school, walked me to classes, bought my lunches, all the stuff that guys no longer did.Plus, he’s been extremely patient in the bedroom department.
There was also the fact that I got along with his parents as well.His mother had confessed to taking ASL classes about two months after Royce had signed up because there’d been no way that she wasn’t going to have a relationship with the girl that her son adored-her words, not mine.While Mr.Cameron didn’t sign, he always made the effort to speak clearly, so that I could read his lips.
It was perfect.
Everything was perfect.
Still, how much would his parents like me now, knowing that their son was debating attending freakin’ Grandstone University?Royce was smart, stunning, athletic, and charming.He could go to any college in the country and rock the hell out of the experience.There was no way in hell that I was going to hold him back.
No freakin’ way.
Finally, realizing that we weren’t going to get anywhere with me signing like a dope fiend and Royce just standing there, stewing, I calmed down enough to talk to him.While I still hated talking because I didn’t know what I sounded like, Royce had obviously been hurt when I had unintentionally lumped him in with talking around strangers.
“Royce, think about it,” I implored.“Even if Grandstone does have a football program, I doubt that it’s one with a lot of NFL recruiting power.”
I watched him do his best to gather himself together before repeating, “Football isn’t my future, Roxie.It might bepartof my future, but it’s not my entire future.”
“Royce-”
“No,” he interrupted, walking towards me.“Even if I go into the pros and have the best career of any quarterback ever, football isn’t forever.I want a solid future.Playing a sport as physical as football doesn’t always guarantee that.What if I get hurt during my rookie season?What if I end up sucking against the pros?”His hands came up, then started rubbing my arms.“Baby, the only thing that I am certain of in this world is you and my educational future.I want my degree more than I want to play football.If I do make it to the pros, I want to be knowledgeable enough to know what to do with all that money.Sure, I can get an agent, manager, and financial planner, but I’m not one to trust my financial future to anyone but me.When they speak, I want to know enough to understand what they’re telling me.Like hell am I trusting strangers with my future, no matter how reputable.”
“But don’t all athletes do that?”I argued.
“Not all athletes haveyouto look after,” he replied, and his words were like a warm wave throughout my body.“I have every intention of marrying you one day, Roxie.I have every intention of giving you the most perfect life that I can, and I can’t do that if I let someone else mismanage my money or career.”His hands went to my face, and those green eyes of his were like lasers.“My future goal has always been to be able to take care of myself.Now that my future includes you, I’ll pick my education over football any day.And I choose you over both.”
“Royce...”I whispered, humbled beyond what I thought that I could ever be.
Dropping his hands from my face, he spoke and signed, “I love you, Roxie.”My heart skipped at finally seeing him say those words to me.“I love you so fucking much, baby.You’re it.You have been the only one since I first laid eyes on you.So, if I want to go to a different college because I’ve already wasted too much time by not asking you out last year, then let me.Please, Roxie.Please, let me, baby.”His signing had been a bit erratic, but I’d also been watching his lips, so I understood everything that he’d said.
So, I did the only thing that I could do.
Letting the happy tears fall, I threw myself in his arms, then just held on like something might threaten to take him from me.When Royce’s arms wrapped around me, he held on just as fiercely, and I wondered how in the hell I’d ever managed to meet such a wonderful person.Royce Cameron had chosen me, and I wasn’t going to throw away what that meant over college.
I wasn’t sure how long we just held each other, but as soon as the tears dried up, I released the poor guy, happily embarrassed to have our first argument out of the way.
As soon as I stepped back, Royce was right there, grabbing my face, then kissing the hell out of me.I grabbed his wrists and let him, knowing that my heart and soul were moving too fast.My mind kept trying to shove reason into all this emotional mess, but it wasn’t working.
Pulling back, I looked into those bright green eyes as I said, “I love you, too.”
Royce threw his head back, but not before I caught him saying, “Oh, thank fuck.”
I smiled and waited until he was looking at me again.As soon as he was, I signed and voiced it again.“I love you, Royce.And I’m not just saying that in response to you saying it first.I love you, even if you don’t love me back.”
His arms reached down, and after grabbing me by the hips, he lifted me until my arms were wrapped around his neck and my legs were wrapped around his waist.Leaning his head back, he said, “You have no idea what you mean to me, Roxie.I swear to God.”
