Page 135 of I Got You

Mark picked me up at the airport last night, and it’s been absolute torture not seeing Maggie. She’s worked so hard, and I wasn’t about to distract her.

Finally entering the venue, we weave our way through people, trying not to get caught up in requests for photos or autographs, but I can feel the phones and cameras on us as we walk through. Mark can’t go anywhere in the city without being bombarded, and tonight is no exception. Just walking in, people were snapping photos and trying to get his attention.

I’m doing my best to blend in, but having M. Carter written across my back in bright white letters isn’t helping.

“Shit, bro. Don’t you ever get sick of this?” I groan.

He grins, eating it up. “Nah. Someday, I’m going to be just some old asshole, and this is what I’m going to have to live on.”

I roll my eyes and move forward with my giant bouquet of flowers without him as someone tries to grab my attention with questions about Maggie. I force a smile and nod but keep moving. Mark catches up quickly with our VIP passes that will get us into a segregated section near the sound booth.

We slide through the barrier and shake hands with a few technicians who look deep in go mode.

“Shane Carter, right? Maggie’s husband?” one of the guys says in passing.

“Yeah.”

“She’s fantastic. On fire. I’ve never seen anything like it.” He slaps me on the shoulder, and before I can respond, he’s in a chair behind a soundboard, sliding headphones over his ears.

Mark bumps my shoulder. “You alright? You’re being curt and all rigid.”

My nerves are on edge. My palms are sweaty, and my lunch has settled in my esophagus. I think I might even be more nervous than before the biggest games of my career. There I knew what I was doing. Here I just have to sit, watch, and wait.

“Yeah.” I huff out as the temperature climbs to a thousand degrees. All I want is to see Maggie.

The lights dim, and my need to see her intensifies. I may be far away, but I need to see and know that she’s ok. Talking to her on the phone hasn’t been enough. Only a few more minutes, then my suffering will be over, and in the end, I’ll get to have her in my arms.

The music starts as dancers quickly fill the stage. After a minute or two, Danny appears, and then Maggie. My breath catches in my throat as my stomach flips at just the sight of her. Her brilliant blue eyes sparkle, and her smile kicks my heart into overdrive.

Mark leans over. “I take it all back. Go to Ohio State. I’m stealing her.”

I smack him on the back of the head, knowing he’s not the only one in this theater with his eyes on Maggie, wishing. At least with Mark, I know it’s playful. You can’t help but watch her. She’s as bright as the sun, and I’d follow her anywhere.

The show moves from one song to another, dancers changing in and out from one routine to another, with Danny and Maggie highlighting most of them. I have to admit that Mr. Hip Hop is pretty awesome. His strong and rugged movement and Maggie’s grace and fluidity are really something. It’s electric.

The show continues, but soon enough, the music calms, the lights dim almost to black, and I know that the show has to be almost over. A song starts that I feel like I’ve heard before. It’s soft and haunting, and then the lights snap on. Maggie stands in the middle of the stage alone, her pointe shoes laced up with…my jersey on.

“Oh, shit,” Mark says next to me. “Dude.”

My mind stills as she begins to move. I can’t think as I watch her move and jump and turn. I’m caught in a trance. The song is about being lost and then found. If the jersey didn’t do it, the song has. This is for me. She’s telling me again that she’s got me. She engraved it on my ring and now my heart. She found me. This whole time, my entire life, I was lost, and she stayed and helped me dig my way out. She pulled me out of the dark and brought me into the light showing me what love is. Real love. The kind that stays.

Tears drip down my cheeks, getting lost in my scruff, and as the music winds down, she stops in the middle of the stage, trails of tears marking her makeup. The crowd erupts, and I’m gone.

I push through the barrier, daring anyone to get in my way. I find the side door that leads backstage, and thankfully, the security guard recognizes me and lets me through.

I ignore the stares as I slip into the wings, making sure to stay out of the way but needing to find Maggie. The audience cheers as the music starts again, and I can only hope that I’m in the right spot when she comes off stage.

I lean against the wall, looking at the bouquet filled with bluebells that remind me of her eyes as my body tenses with nerves. My heart picks up pace with the anticipation of being able to see her, touch her. When I look up, she’s there, limping off stage, wiping at the tears still in her eyes. I have just a moment to take her in before she sees me, and nothing else matters. She’s everything.

She stops in her tracks, blinking, and then she’s limping and running. I drop the flowers and sweep her up. Her legs come around me, and she’s crying all over again. I wrap myself around her, holding her, supporting her.

“It’s ok. I’ve got you.” I’ve never been happier in my life, and it’s a new feeling. She hugs me so tight I can’t breathe, but I will actually die a happy man.

“What are you doing here?” Her voice quivers as she sniffs.

“I couldn’t not be here. I’m so proud of you. You did it, and you were…”

She sniffs some more. “I can’t believe you’re here. I wanted you to be here so badly.”

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