Page 95 of Scoreless Nights

“Simone would know,” I laughed.

“Mmm,” Erin moaned as she started wiping my neck with the towel. “That girl knows all about style, and the freshly fucked look is definitely in her portfolio.”

The day Cruz met with Nike to sign his contract, I went with him, but not before I made a trip back to Sean LaLa for the perfect outfit. Nike wasn’t requiring my presence, but we had decided not to hide and Cruz wanted me with him.

Erin went shopping with me that time, and she and Simone hit it off. Now they were an official couple, who we often doubled with when all our schedules worked out. Cruz, Simone, and I even went to Erin’s games for her new team in Fort Lauderdale. It was a group of friends a million times better than the one I thought I needed.

As for Angel, she and Jackie were no longer friends, and she was dating Deon, which meant we saw her on occasion. Angel and I were never going to be as close as I hoped we would be, but we didn’t have any ill feelings toward each other either. Seeing one another every once in a while was enough for me.

When Erin had me cleaned up and presentable, she and I made our way back to the suite. Atlanta had yet to score and when I sat down with Mariana, she filled me in on how well Cruz looked despite his earlier injury and that he must have had it looked at during halftime. I just smiled and nodded, sparing her of any awkward stories of how he spent his halftime.

When the final whistle blew, and Miami was up 3-0, the guys celebrated in the middle of the field while Mariana and I hugged one another, and everyone else that was in the suite.

“Your boyfriend was on fire that second half,” Erin squealed as she ran up to me. We jumped around in an excited hug. When we stopped turning, my back was to the field and Erin backed away, pulling her phone from her pocket. “Okay, say cheese.”

Giving her a confused look, I shrugged, but then I felt Cruz’s arms wrap around me from behind. Erin held the phone up and I smiled, letting her take the shot before turning around and letting Cruz pull me over the short wall that divided our seats with the field.

He took a minute to hug his mom and Erin, and a few others that were in the box with us, then pulled me onto the field. We walked with his good hand holding mine towards the goal as fans were still screaming and cheering.

“I’m not humping that goal post,” I joked as Cruz pulled me along.

His head fell back in a laugh before he shook it and eyed me. “No one is going to watch you hump my goal. No one but me. But I want to show you something.”

He knelt down and pointed to something written in marker on the white post. I had to squat to see it but in his handwriting were the words:

Ask her to marry you.

“Who wrote that?” I laughed, not understanding what was happening.

“You know how I write my goals on the posts because I love the irony?”

“Yeah,” I gasped, finally realizing what he meant.

“Put this on there a few games ago and I wanted to show you before they changed the goals out for the playoffs.”

He was still on one knee, running a finger over the marker, before making me stand up from my squat.

“I want everyone here to see the moment I ask you to marry me.”

“Oh my God.”

He positioned himself to where it was more obvious what his intentions were and the crowd still lingering on that side of the field started screaming. My right hand went to my mouth and I started crying as he pulled my left hand toward him.

“Lily,” he smiled. “Will you please let me take care of your heart forever? Let me love you and make you happy everyday for the rest of our lives? Will you marry me,Señorita?”

I was nodding yes before he even finished his words. He reached up behind him and I saw Ivan standing with my mom, along with Mariana. Ivan winked at me and handed Cruz a ring.

With his bloody hand holding mine gently, he used his good hand to slide the ring onto my finger. He popped up and pulled me into his arms, spinning around as those around us clapped.

When he let me down, I turned to my mom and Ivan, who weren’t at the game and shook my head in disbelief. “Where did you two come from?”

“We got here around halftime,” my mom hugged me. “We went to the suite, but you weren’t there. Mariana had said you went to the restroom but when you didn’t come back, we decided we still had time to sneak back out and surprise you.”

“I helped with that,” Erin laughed as she stepped forward and hugged me, then turned to Cruz and whispered. “You and that bloody hand almost got her in trouble.”

He shrugged and smiled, then moved on to hugging his mom and dad.

“You knew about this?” I asked Ivan, when he pulled me into a huge, fatherly hug.

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