The Endgame Is You

by L A Cotton

  I opened my mouth to reply, but the guys charged at him, yanking him backwards.

  “Sorry, Fee,” Griff yelled. “But we need to borrow our fearless leader.”

  Laughter escaped my lips as I watched them.

  Part of me wanted to hate the very thing that might one day take Jason from me, but right there, in that moment, I could only feel joy.

  Jason

  We didn’t stay and party with the team. Despite their protests, after a couple of drinks, a lot of high fives and congratulations, I wanted nothing more than to celebrate with my friends and my girl, so we left.

  “Shit, man, that was really something.” Asher clinked his beer against mine as we sat huddled in a quiet booth toward the back of the bar underneath Asher and Mya’s building. I hadn’t wanted to be accosted by adoring fans, not tonight.

  “You know, after that performance, teams will be lining up for you?”

  “Don’t speak so soon, there’s still another two years left.” And after Linc, we all knew how quickly your dream could go up in flames. His surgery had gone well, but his rehab would take a while. If he played again, there was every chance he wouldn’t be the same player.

  Asher snorted. “We’ll see. Come graduation, you’ll be signed with the Eagles or the Steelers, I’ll be ready to start up a new branch of my old man’s business, and fuck knows what this one will be doing.”

  “Hey.” Cam punched his arm. “I have plans.”

  “Care to share then? Because I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk about what happens after graduation. In fact, I wouldn’t put it past you to have a ring on her finger and a kid on the way.” Asher smirked.

  “Who’s got a kid on the way?” Mya and the girls approached, frowning at the three of us.

  “Umm, no one.” He hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her down beside him.

  I got up to let Hailee squeeze in between me and Cam, before pulling Felicity down on my knee. Scooping her hair out of the way, I nuzzled her neck. She leaned back, wrapping her arm around my neck. “Tired?” she asked.

  “I’m okay.” I breathed her in before kissing her soft skin. A shiver ran through her body, igniting the fire in my veins.

  “Don’t mind us,” Asher grumbled.

  “Like you aren’t a total horn dog after a game.” Mya rolled her eyes and we all burst into laughter. It felt good.

  It felt fucking amazing sitting there with my girl and my best friends in the whole world.

  “So the Heisman—” Asher started, but I silenced him with a dark look.

  “Heisman? What’s he talking about?” Felicity glanced back at me.

  “Ash seems to think Jason stands a good chance of being nominated,” Cam answered her.

  She twisted around to look at me. “Well, do you?”

  I shrugged. “I doubt it. The Ivy League is usually overlooked.”

  “But there’s a chance?” Hailee asked, and I met my stepsister’s inquisitive gaze with a small nod.

  “I guess.”

  “Holy shit, Jase, that’s huge.”

  “The announcements aren’t until early December, but seriously, you guys, don’t get your hopes up. I’m not.” I grabbed my beer and took a long pull. Felicity threaded our fingers together, her touch like a balm to my bruised and battered body. The game had been a dog fight. Brutal and relentless. But in the end, we had come out on top.

  “Well, either way, my dad reserved the penthouse. It’s ours for the entire weekend.”

  “We already booked our flights,” Cam said.

  “And I thought we could ride together?” Asher eyed me.

  “Yeah, sure.” I leaned back against the leather booth.

  “You just won the Ivy League. You could try to seem a little more... I don’t know, hyped.”

  “I’m hyped,” I grunted. “It’s just all on the inside.”

  The girls snickered. My arm snaked tighter around Felicity’s waist and I let out a weary sigh. I was crashing, and I wanted nothing more than to go home, get naked, and fall to sleep wrapped in her arms.

  Usually after a game, the adrenaline lingered. The high of the win or low of a defeat pulsing through my veins like a synthetic drug. But we’d done it. We’d won the title with a near perfect season. All the pressure had melted away, and I could finally relax.

  I’d really done it.

  “One more drink and then I think we’ll head out,” Felicity said, as if she had a direct line to my thoughts.

  I fucking hoped she didn’t.

  Because there were things she didn’t know yet.

  Decisions I’d made that would affect us both.

  “We can stay,” I said. There was no pressure here. No guys chanting my name or fans wanting autographs. These guys knew me well enough to keep me grounded, to give me space.

  And I fucking loved them for it.

  Felicity

  “So, you and Griff?” I waggled my brows at Elodie across the table.

  “Are just friends.” She pursed her lips, pretending to finish up the notes she was making.

  “Friends who spend almost every night together?” My brow arched.

  “Griff is...” She let out a long breath, tapping her pen against her lip. “He’s complicated.”

  “Aren’t they all? But the season is over now.” The Quakers had ended with a perfect season, only making their title win all the sweeter.

  “I’m happy to see where it goes, but I’m not under any illusion it’s the real deal. Besides, Griff is a jock, his eyes will wander eventually.” My stomach twisted and she paled. “Oh shit, Fee, I didn’t mean...”

  “I know.” I did. She was firmly in the Jason/Felicity fan club.

  “You guys are okay, right? Things seem... good.”

  “We’re fine.”

  Elodie smiled. “And you have your weekend away to look forward to. New York in December will be so romantic.” She let out a dreamy sigh.

  “Yeah, it will be nice.” I was looking forward to seeing Hailee and Mya and spending some quality time with them without the pressure of classes. “I can’t believe the semester is almost over.”

  “And we survived.”

  “We did,” I said around a smile. I didn’t doubt that my sessions with Darcy had a lot to do with my improved grades, but I was still relieved. I only had a couple more papers to submit before I was officially done for the holidays.

  “Is that the time?” Elodie frowned. “I need to go.” She collected up her things and stuffed them in her bag.

  “Hot date?” I snickered.

  “Griffin is taking me to The Gridiron for burgers.”

  “Romantic.”

  “We can’t all be you, jetting off to New York for a weekend of romance.” She stuck out her tongue before moving for the door.

  “Hey, Elodie,” I said as she grabbed the handle.

  “Yeah?”

  “I’m really glad I talked to you that day in class.”

  “Yeah.” She beamed. “Me too.”

  Elodie left and I got comfy on the sofa. Grabbing my cell phone, I noticed I had a new text from Jason.

  * * *

  QB#1: Need to talk... are you home?

  * * *

  Me: Yeah. Elodie just left. Is everything okay?

  * * *

  QB#1: I’ll be home soon.

  * * *

  My brows pinched. If Jason wanted to make me worry, he’d done a pretty good job of it. By the time I heard his key rattle in the door, I had a giant pit in my stomach.

  Sitting forward, I waited for him to enter the apartment. “Hey.” I searched his face for any sign of what was wrong, but he wore a mask of indifference.

  “Hey,” he said weakly, dropping down on the couch. Before I could ask what was wrong, Jason pulled me into his arms, burying his face in my shoulder.

  “Jason, what is it? What’s wrong?” Dread snaked through me.

  His body trembled beneath my fingers as I held onto him as tight as he held m
e. Nudging him away with my shoulder, he finally straightened to look at me. “Coach called me.”

  “He did?”

  “I’m in, babe... I made the final four.”

  “The Heisman Trophy?” My eyes grew to saucers. “Oh my god, Jason, that’s amazing.”

  “I think I’m in shock.” Another shudder rolled through him.

  “Hey.” I cupped his face. “You deserve this; you deserve it so much. Oh my god, your dad is going to freak.”

  “I already called him. He got all choked up.”

  “Well, yeah he did.” I smiled. No one wanted this more for Jason than Kent Ford. “I thought you were coming here to tell me something bad.”

  “What?” Jason’s brows furrowed. “What would I be—” his expression fell. “Us. You thought I was coming to talk about us.”

  “Honestly, I don’t know what I thought, but you were so certain you wouldn’t make the final cut.”

  “Come here, woman.” He anchored his hand at the nape of my neck and guided my face to his. “What do I have to do to show you that me and you… we’re endgame?”

  “Jason...” I averted my gaze to escape his intense stare.

  “No, babe. You need to hear me when I say it’s you.” He forced me to look at him. “It’s always going to be you.”

  “I love you, Jason,” I said, because it was true. It would always be true.

  No matter where the future took us, my heart would always belong to Jason Ford.

  Jason

  “Good evening and thank you for joining us. Without you, the fans, college football and the Heisman Trophy would not be what they are today. I’m honored to be here this evening, representing the Heisman Trophy Trust. Congratulations to this year’s finalists for their incredible feats on the field this college football season. We have so enjoyed watching you and following you in this year’s Heisman race…”

  The Heisman Trophy Trustee’s voice was drowned out by the blood roaring between my ears as I sat beside the other three finalists. My heart was beating like a bass drum in my chest, my palms were slick, and sweat beaded across my brow under the glare of the lights as the Trustee continued her speech.

  “And now it’s time to welcome a new member into our Heisman family. It is my pleasure to announce this year’s winner…”

  Time slowed down. I never expected to be here tonight. I never expected to be announced as a finalist… but now I was here, now it was a possibility, I wanted it.

  I wanted it so fucking much.

  “Jason Ford, University of Pennsylvania.”

  Cheers erupted behind me as I stood and shook hands with the other finalists, hardly able to believe my ears.

  I'd won.

  I'd fucking won.

  “Congratulations, man,” one of them said, but it all became white noise to the thrum of my heart in my chest.

  This was… I had no fucking words.

  Nothing.

  It was a good thing Cameron and Asher had helped me write an acceptance speech just in case… because, fuck.

  I moved toward the aisle behind me and my dad grabbed me, pulling me into a bear hug. “I’m so proud of you, son. So fucking proud.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” I managed to choke out over the giant lump caught in my throat.

  Denise was next, her overpowering perfume making me cough as she enveloped me into a hug. “Congratulations, Jason. I know what this means to you.”

  We’d had a tenuous relationship when she and Hailee first moved in with me and my old man. Right up until senior year, I’d wanted nothing to do with her or her daughter. But as I moved along the line to my stepsister, I could no longer imagine not having her in my life.

  “I’m so proud of you.” Hailee hugged me, and I let her. Because I was no longer that same boy who had tormented her, and she was no longer the girl who rubbed me the wrong way.

  “Get over here, bro.” Cameron and Asher pulled me into a big group hug. The three of us silent as we acknowledged this moment.

  The two of them had been there for every high, every low. They had seen me at my best, my worst, and every shade in between. And their loyalty and friendship had never faltered, not once.

  Before I broke away, Ash grabbed my neck and pulled me close, “Now you go up there and own it, you hear me?” He shot me a wink, stepping aside to let me kiss Mya’s cheek.

  “Go get her, tiger,” she whispered.

  Felicity was waiting on the end, tears brimming in her eyes as she watched me close the distance between us. She looked stunning in the jade-green dress that fell over her curves like a silk waterfall.

  “You did it,” she breathed as I hauled her against my body, not caring we were in a room full of people, live on national television.

  “I couldn’t have done it without you.” I couldn’t explain it to her, but Felicity grounded me in a way that no other could. Her wild spirit and empathy, her passion and insecurities, everything about her anchored me. I needed that.

  I needed it more than I’d ever realized.

  “Go,” she nodded to the stage, “they’re waiting.”

  Stealing a kiss that barely touched my bone-deep need for her, I looped back around to the other row of chairs to shake hands with my coaches.

  “Never doubted you for a second, son,” Coach Faulkner said, giving me a rare smile.

  “Thanks, Coach.”

  “Now get up there and do Penn proud.”

  With a swift nod, I made my way to the stage. “Congratulations, Jason.” Someone guided me to the podium where the trophy was situated. I curled my hands over the bronze sculpture and lifted it in the air to hair-raising applause.

  My heart beat so hard I felt a little lightheaded, but I couldn’t wimp out now. This meant everything… everything to me. Placing the trophy back on its stand, I pulled the scrap of paper out of my pocket and looked out over the crowd.

  “This is… wow. I should warn you now, I perform much better on the field.” Emotion welled up inside me and I inhaled a shuddering breath, but the gentle laughs from the crowd settled my nerves. “I want to thank my team first. At the beginning of the season we lost our captain, Lincoln Manella, and Coach Faulkner asked me to step up as captain.”

  “Hell yeah, he did,” Asher yelled, and everyone chuckled again.

  “The team didn’t only accept my leadership, they respected it. My O line: Gio, Klein, Macca, Treyvon, Austin, Louis, Paulie. Those guys have been unbelievable this season and I couldn’t have done it without them. All my teammates have supported me and made this possible. I want to thank my coaches for guiding me right and keeping me grounded. For imparting their knowledge and pushing me to work harder.” I gave an appreciative nod in the direction of Coach Faulkner and his team.

  “I want to thank the team at Heisman for everything this weekend. For allowing me and my family to be here. It’s an honor to stand on the same stage with some of my childhood idols.” I glanced at the line of previous winners standing tall, all here to celebrate this moment. “I want to thank my dad, for pushing me to go harder, faster… for showing me what it takes to be the best. To my stepmom and sister, for being here today despite our history. My friends, my brothers in all the ways that matter, for always having my back. I’m so grateful. To the other finalists here tonight, it has been an incredible experience sharing our journeys and being in the company of such talent.”

  Taking another deep breath, I steeled my spine. “Earlier in the season, someone suggested that I could be in the running for the Heisman Trophy, but I dismissed it. No way a kid out of a small town in Pennsylvania, playing for an Ivy League team, was going to end up here tonight. But here I am.” Another round of applause washed over me and I soaked it up. “So to anyone sitting at home, thinking it will never be them, that they will never make it… play harder, work harder… love harder, and the rest will follow.”

  My hand slid into my dress slacks pocket, my body vibrating with restless energy. I felt like I’d been standing up t
here for an hour, not ten minutes. But there was still one person left to thank.

  Rubbing a hand over my jaw, I forced down the wave of emotion threatening to bring me to my knees. “Before I say goodnight, there’s someone else I need to thank tonight.” My eyes found her down in the audience. “Two years ago, I believed the only way to get to the top was with rigid determination and narrowed focus. I won’t sugarcoat it; I was a bit of an arrogant ass. But then Felicity barreled into my life and showed me it didn’t have to be like that. Love doesn’t make us weak, it makes us strong. Football will always be the dream, always. But what’s a dream without a pretty girl by your side and a future laid out before you?”

  I left the stand and walked along the far aisle to Felicity. Her eyes widened, filled with fresh tears. “J- Jason, what the hell are you doing?” She pressed a hand to her mouth as I dropped to one knee and presented her with the ring box I’d been carrying all evening.

  “Felicity Charlotte Giles, you once permanently inked my stamp on your skin, but what I didn’t tell you that day was, you’re permanently tattooed on me too. You own me, babe. And I wasn’t kidding when I said we’re endgame.”

  Mya and Hailee let out little shrieks of approval as I flipped the lid.

  “So, what do you say, Giles? Want to really make this a night to remember and say yes to marrying me?” The words coiled through me, filling me with so much emotion I had to blink the tears right out of my eyes.

  “You’re crazy.” She slid off her chair, kneeling with me.

  “Crazy about you.” I grinned. “I know this season has been hard. I know the next two seasons will probably be equally as hard. But I thought that maybe if you’re wearing my number as well as my ring, it would help you remember that I’m all in, babe. I’m so fucking in.”