Then it hits me. She must have seen the bullshit Tiffany said to the reporters. That’s why she sent me that text message. I told her nothing happened with her. The bitch is batshit crazy. I’ve ignored it up to this point. Now she’s fucking with my girl. This shit is going to end.
Willow is still fighting the demons of not being good enough to be loved that her parents instilled in her. I’ve spent the last few months trying to show her what she means to me with every touch.
The game keeps going as we get our stride back, blowing them out of the water. Everyone is screaming and cheering. We did it. We’re national champions. My attention goes back to Willow. Without thinking, I head for her. I grab the wall, pulling myself up, wanting to share this special moment with her. Enough is enough.
Her eyes go wide as she watches me. I grab her, pulling her in for a deep kiss. More cheers ring out. I take her hand, pulling her with me back over the wall and onto the field.
“What are you doing?” she hisses at me. I wrap my arm around her, holding her close as the reporters close in for a post-game interview. The whole time I keep Willow tucked into my side.
I ignore the looks, not giving a fuck what anyone else thinks. If they want to fire me, have at it. Nothing is more important than Willow, and I’m over this hiding shit.
“Is this the lucky girl you spoke of earlier?” The same reporter pops up. Willow ducks her head, her cheeks turning pink. I have to fight to not get hard. Every time my girl blushes, I want to pin her to the nearest wall and fuck her, which I’ve done on many occasions. And what I plan to do for the rest of our lives.
“Told you I’m the lucky one.”
“Everyone wants to know how serious you two are.” People are fucking nosy. Why the hell does anyone care? What the hell? Now is my chance to let the whole world know that Willow is all mine, and I refuse to let it pass me by.
I drop to one knee, pulling out the box in my pocket. “Bear,” she gasps. Everyone around us stops celebrating, their eyes now focusing on us.
“Willow, you are the most important thing to me in this world. If you let me, I’ll spend my life showing you that. You’ll never doubt that I love you.” A tear escapes down her cheek. She wipes it away quickly.
“I love you too.” She throws herself at me. I rock back on my heels, getting my balance as I lift her. She wraps herself around me. Her words warm me to my core. And even though I’ve achieved so many things in my life, she is the greatest of them all.
“I take that as a yes.”
“Yes! Yes! Yes!” I put her back on her feet. The crowd bursts with screams once again. I take the ring out of the box. She holds her hand out, letting me slide it on her finger. Allowing me to mark her with a symbol that shows she’s mine forever.
“This was my grandmother's ring.” A large circular diamond sits in the center, a halo of smaller diamonds surrounding it. It makes the ring look like a snowflake. It looks perfect on her finger, as though it was always meant to be there.
“Bear.” More tears stream down her face. I cup her cheeks, kissing her. I take her hand, leading her over to the sidelines. I never let her hand go while I introduce her to everyone as my fiancée. I try not to rush through the celebration, but all I want to do is get Willow back to the hotel.
It feels damn good not having to hide this anymore. I can kiss her whenever I want. Tell other punks to fuck off when they hit on her.
“Bear.” She leans into my side as we ride the elevator up to our floor. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” I drop a kiss on the top of her head. If I get my mouth on hers right now, I’ll end up pinning her to the elevator wall. The elevator dings, and we step off.
“Bear!” Willow laughs. “My legs aren't as long as yours. Slow down.”
“I want you naked with only that ring on your finger,” I tell her when we get to our room. I slide the key in. As soon as the door closes, I’m on her. This time is different from all the other times, though. Seeing her with that ring on her finger makes me ache for her more than I usually do, and I didn’t think that was even possible.
“Bear, I have to tell you something,” she gets out between kisses.