Page 136 of I Got You

“Shhh. I know. I’m sorry.”

“Maggie. We need you back out there for the finale,” someone yells around us. Ignoring them, she pulls back, her hands holding my face, just looking at me. “Maggie.” We hear again.

“Just a minute,” she warns, me still holding her. “I don’t know if I can walk,” she says, holding her tears in.

I set her down. “You can. You’re almost done.” I bend down, tugging and pulling as gently as possible to unlace her shoes. Pulling one off, her foot is blistered and bloody. I make sure her ankle is still wrapped tight, and she sucks in a breath. I move to the other, and it looks just as bad. Standing, she pulls my jersey over her head and hands it to me while someone gives her a skirt to pull up over her black leotard.

“Maggie,” we hear again, with more urgency this time.

She grabs my face and kisses me quickly. “Don’t you dare move.”

I smile as she carefully limps away, peeking at me over her shoulder. “I’m right here,” I say, seeing one more tear drip down.

I hear the crowd roar and know she’s getting the ovation she deserves. In another minute, the music turns loud again, and she’s back, falling into my arms, and I carry her away. We make it out into the hall, and Maggie directs me to her dressing room.

I close the door, wanting just a second alone with her. I set her down, still supporting her.

“I can’t believe you’re really here. I’ve missed you so much. I know that’s ridiculous. It’s only been a couple days, but these past days have been….” She doesn’t finish but hugs me again. “Is Mark here?”

“Yeah, I’m sure he’s found a few fans to flirt with out there.”

Maggie laughs, not letting go of me. “I’m ready to get out of here. There’s a whole thing going on afterward, but I’m starving, need a shower, and want to crawl in bed.” Every part of that sounds good to me, especially the crawling in bed part.

Maggie starts gathering her stuff and then gasps. “What’s that?”

I turn to look at her, ready to help with whatever it is.

“Turn around.” She pushes me. “You…you wore my name?”

I face her. “I thought it was about time someone did.”

“Shane…” she whispers, coming towards me when there’s a knock at the door.

“I’m looking for the woman of the hour.” Mark’s obnoxious voice carries through the door.

Maggie smiles, and I roll my eyes, opening the door. He sweeps in and scoops her up. “You were spectacular. There’s a line out there a mile long waiting for you. Annndddd…the two of you have some serious fans after that whole jersey stunt.”

Maggie smiles shyly, biting her lip.

“That was the hottest damn thing I have ever seen.” Mark lets out a low whistle. “You sure know how to blow up the internet, Mags. Sergeant Solitary, here, just lost his quiet for a while.”

Maggie smiles, tossing the rest of her stuff in her bag. She slips on a pair of black joggers and a sweatshirt.

“Want to get this over with and then hibernate with me for as long as possible?” she asks me.

That is exactly what I want. “Can I skip the cameras and microphones?”

“Nope. I’m pretty sure I can’t walk out of here. Plus, I’ve seen you. You’re really good with the press. You can scowl and give short, quipped answers like you do after games, especially if they try to ask questions about us. Maybe that will get us out of here faster.”

“We should just let Mark handle it.” I grab her bag and scoop her up.

“Hey, wait.” Maggie stops us. “You brought me flowers.”

“Yeah.”

“We’re not leaving here without them. I want to see them.”

“I’ll buy you more. Let’s get this over with.”

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