JAX (The Beckett Boys #2) - Olivia Chase Page 0,136

man before he met her!” one of the other sportscasters said, grinning at the prospect.

“Definitely a full house there— are they at home?”

“I believe that’s the apartment he shares with his girlfriend, yes— and oh! Looks like he’s getting a call now,” the announcer said.

The cameras were trained on us as all of this was said, and it hit me that a lot of people were watching us. Live. Right then and there.

Indeed, Jacob’s phone was trilling in his hand. He stared at the unknown number for a moment, the looked at me. His eyes were wavering, overwhelmed. Terrified.

“Answer it,” I said breathlessly. The room was silent— though I could hear the eager crying of Jacob’s mother behind us. A lifetime of practices, of training, of work, all leading up to this moment.

Jacob lifted the phone to his ear. It was clear he was trembling, a fact that the cameramen who had been stationed in our apartment all morning zoomed in on— I saw the image grow larger on the nearby monitor. I watched Jacob’s eyes as they grew wider, watched his mouth as it twisted into a smile and sob and relief all at once. I was grinning in the biggest, stupidest way but couldn’t stop myself— it was happening. Everything Jacob had ever worked for was happening.

“Yes sir,” Jacob said into the phone. “I’d be honored, sir.”

The coaches behind us began patting one another on the back, shaking hands; I saw Mr. and Mrs. Everett embrace tightly and my heart actually went out to them, I felt their joy so acutely.

I thought about how quickly and definitively Jacob had shut his parents down the last time they’d tried to undermine our relationship. It was months ago now, but I could still remember how his mother had made yet another comment about Jenna in front of me, and this time Jacob hadn’t let it go.

He’d told both his parents in no uncertain terms that he loved me, that he and Jenna were just friends, and that if his folks continued to be anything other than generous and kind to me, they’d be buying their own tickets to whatever games he played in the future.

The message must have been received loud and clear, because from that day on, Mr. and Mrs. Everett had been nothing but gracious and warm to me. Sure, it was going to take a lot of time for me to truly forget the way they’d treated me in the beginning, but I knew time would heal the old wounds eventually.

As it was, I’d been so consumed with moving in together, building a life together, being with the man of my dreams—the last thing I even thought about these days was the few times Jacob’s mother had said something rude to me.

I came back to the present as his mother actually gave me a smile and I returned it, marveling at the way the world worked sometimes.

Sometimes, it turned out, things actually got better and not worse.

Sometimes the good guys really did win. I looked at Jacob as he continued to listen to whatever was being said on the phone. The biggest moment of his athletic career had arrived and it felt so incredibly intense, my heart was pounding.

The phone call took less than a minute— an insanely short amount of time, really— and when Jacob finally lowered his cell, he looked shaken. I wrapped my arms around him and he leaned against me, his chest shaking, his breath hard and fast. The room cheered, someone unmuted the television and ESPN music flooded our living room.

“It’s real,” Jacob said in my ear. He stood up, pulling me along with him, hugging me tightly. “I’m a pro football player. This is really happening.”

“I’m so proud of you,” I said back, and he kissed me, again and again and again.

I looked into his eyes. “Where are you even going to be playing?”

He grinned broader. “Atlanta. You think I’d move away from you?”

I laughed. “I could have changed schools, you know.”

“I’d never ask you to do that,” Jacob said seriously, then kissed me again. “You never ask someone you love to give up their dreams.”

I ran my fingers along the nape of his neck, smiling at him, not caring at all that the cameras were catching every moment, that the room was full of people, that this clip would likely be re-aired time and time again on news stations. Not caring one bit that I, a girl who once upon a time hadn’t been to a single football game and was devoted to school, was in love with a NFL quarterback who’d barely attended class.

And he was in love with me.

Love, after all, didn’t give up when things got difficult, I thought, and kissed him again and again and again.

THE END

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