I Dare You (The Hook Up 1)

“I have no idea.” I look at Delaney and Raven. “We’re still waiting to hear.”

I do know that whatever happens, I’ll be okay.

Delaney comes out of the kitchen, wearing a big grin and her May the Fork Be With You apron. She and Raven are making dinner and pecan pie for Ryder since he helped us move into her place a few weeks back.

It’s the end of the year, and we’re celebrating.

I think back to how everything played out after the interview. After much discussion and interviews, it was determined that the only technical rule I broke was accepting money. There was no indication of foul play, and most importantly, no gambling. Because the scandal involved several star players in the SEC who’d been preyed upon by offerings of big money, the NCAA decided not to kick us out of college football completely. Myself, along with the other players, would be sitting out the first five games of the year.

It was enough.

It was hope.

As far as Muffin went, none of the players on the team would even talk to her anymore. Rumor has it she’s transferring schools for her senior year.

This fall is going to be the year—my year. I look at Delaney and watch as she shows Raven how to make her Nana’s pie. She catches my eye and smiles as Han weaves between their legs, meowing for a table scrap.

“I love you,” I mouth at her as she straightens up. She’s everything, mine, and maybe she has been since the night of the bonfire. We just had to figure it out.

She smiles, a slow blush working up her cheeks. “I know,” she mouths back.

I burst out laughing.

Forget this being my year. I look at her and Raven.

This is our year.

Few years later

Delaney

I wake up, and Maverick’s not in bed. That’s weird. It’s not quite eight in the morning and it’s the off-season, which means he gets to sleep in before training starts. Spotting the blue dress shirt he wore last night when we went out to dinner, I pick it up off the floor where I tossed it before we made love. I pull it on, pad over to the window, and look out over the Nashville skyline from our penthouse.

I sigh contentedly. After winning the national championship with the Waylon Wildcats, Maverick went on to be drafted in the first round by the Tennessee Titans. He’s already broken two records, and they went to the Super Bowl this year. They were defeated, but like he says, it gives him something to work for.

I look at the picture of him and me and Raven on the nightstand and smile. Somehow we managed to juggle her and classes and football our senior year, and because Maverick was so open about the reason he fought, people came out of the woodwork to help us. Mrs. Watson from Pineview herself volunteered to donate services to Raven, including riding lessons and art classes at Pineview.

She lived with us until Maverick was drafted, and then made it clear that while she loved us, she did not want to be attached to us at the hip. So, we did some research and found her a facility nearly identical to Pineview in Nashville.

As for me, I’m designing a line of clothing for my new Geek Girl fashion label and volunteer weekly at a local animal shelter. Maverick loves coming with me too, although I don’t think he’d ever admit it. Rescuing animals has become his charitable calling card, whether he meant it to or not.

I hear clanging from the living room and make my way there.

“Mav?” I call. “Where are you?”

I make my way down the hall and into the den then come to a halt at the vision I see. Standing smack dab in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows is Maverick dressed as a…Jedi?

I give him a careful once-over, taking in the white leggings with brown boots, the beige tunic with a utility belt, and the light saber holder. A brown overcoat is draped over the getup, and I rub my eyes. The detail is amazing and he looks professional, like something straight out of the movies.

“Morning, gorgeous.” He strikes a pose, waving around a blue light saber that makes a whooshing sound with each movement.

“Morning, babe. Where did you get this outfit?” I’m impressed and starting to wonder if I can get a Princess Leia one. “Are we going to a comic con somewhere?”

“I had it made. And no, we’re staying in today. Just you and me.”

Cool. We’ve been busy these past few weeks, and it would be great to just relax at home. Maverick swings the sword and Han darts from behind a chair, paws swatting at the light saber as he runs past.

I giggle. “Nice moves. You’ve got Han riled up now.”

I expect him to laugh with me, and he does flash me a brief smile, but there’s something about his expression that’s different. It’s intense, as if he’s about to head out to the most important football game of his life.

“What’s going on? Are you okay?” I say, moving in closer.

“More than okay. It’s the best day of my life,” he says as he sets the light saber on a chair and kneels down in front of me. From the coffee table, he picks up a black velvet box that I hadn’t noticed yet and pops it open. Inside is a ring with the biggest square cut solitaire diamond I’ve ever seen.

I blink. My body flutters and I can’t breathe.

He gazes up at me with those steel blue eyes, the ones I hold close to my heart every night when I go to sleep.

“It feels like I’ve waited forever to do this. Delaney Renee Shaw, will you marry me and make me the happiest Jedi in the universe? I promise to always love you—and your cats—and give you everything you could ever want, body and soul.”

Tears flood my eyes as I take him in: his pure heart, the way he fights for those he loves, the way he loves me.

“Yes. Always. You are everything.”

“You’re everything, Buttercup, and I couldn’t have made it without you by my side.” He stands up, cups my face, and kisses me, and I know that no matter what, he and I can do anything together.

THE END