It wasn’t a blow out, but we won the Rose Bowl 48 to 38, clinching a no. 3 or 4 final for the season. My bones hurt, and I knew I’d be icing some serious bruises and swollen joints for most of the night. I had taken a beating. But I’d also gotten back up. And I hoped that’s what the important people watching tonight’s game focused on. I wanted to show my toughness, show that I could take anything thrown at me, no matter how hard I got hit.

I wasn’t sure where my mother and Sam were sitting for the game, probably in one of the boxes upstairs. And part of me was glad my mom wasn’t closer to the field where she could hear the crunch and the sounds of the wind being forced from my lungs. My dad could take it, but she was always convinced that football was going to kill me.

I hung out on the field for about an hour for interviews and the trophy presentations. And I was proud as hell that I’d earned the offensive MVP award. There were times in my life where I’d been on cruise control, just gone through the motions and gotten what I’d wanted because it was easy. But tonight I had to fight, and I was honestly a little surprised that I could fight, and even more that I still came out on top.

I was reveling in my dream; it was all falling into place. I knew I did enough to get the right teams talking. And I knew that Dylan and her father were going to be busy over the next few weeks fielding calls and working on my behalf. I was going to get to have this game in my life, and it was the most amazing feeling in the world. Or at least I thought it was.

When Noles finally made it through the crowd, squeezing through with my dad and brother behind her, pushing and elbowing just to get to me, my football fantasy went black in an instant—all I could see was her. I’d give it all up for her. Just like that. Yeah, I’d said that before. But for some reason, right there, right then, I meant it. I knew I would. I’d proven everything I wanted to out there on the field tonight. I was f**king amazing. But none of it mattered if I didn’t have her.

When her lips hit mine, it was like morphine, my head going dizzy with relief, and my arms squeezing her to me, suffocating her with my need to not let go. I lifted her off the ground and kissed her for every damn camera in the stadium to capture, finally lowering her and pressing our foreheads together so I could hear her over the frenzy and the buzz.

“You were amazing, Reed! Amazing!” she said, a little teary eyed with her pride. Fuck the trophy. This was all I needed to know my worth.

“It was all for you. All for you,” I said, my heart rapid in my chest, and my hands at the side of her face.

“No, this was for you. You deserve it. I’m so proud of you!” she said, kissing me again, and then snuggling into my side, while my dad and Jason came close to congratulate me now. Eventually, everyone made it to the field. And I’m sure being seen with Brent Nichols had the sports world talking. But I wasn’t going to worry about it tonight. Or tomorrow. Maybe not ever. I had my girl, and I knew what was important now.

The press conference was carried by every sportscast in the Southwest. My dad, of course, had secured all of the clips. “My dad, the press secretary,” I mused to myself. I spent the rest of the winter break with my family and Noles. The insurance settlement had finally come in on her parents’ house, so it looked like she’d have an actual room to return to for spring break. Of course, her mom had planned to turn it into a library and a guest room, knowing her little girl would probably not be coming back home for good.

School was starting soon, though it all felt like a formality for me now. I’d still finish, even if I had to do some online work or take in a class here and there. Having a college degree was important to my mom, even if I had a multi-million-dollar football contract. Mom had been trying to engage me more about Nolan. Still not the warm and friendly way she was with others, but she was trying, and I could tell. I had to give her the benefit of time.

Nolan was taking me out tonight, some surprise date she said she had planned for months, which sort of surprised me, given the rocky road we’d been on. She invited Sean, Becky, Sienna and Sarah, too, so I wasn’t sure how romantic this date would be. When I teased her about it, she just elbowed me and lectured me about how we wouldn’t see everyone as much in the spring, and that friends were important. She was right, and I’d actually miss the hell out of Sean when he went back to California. But I was really hoping like hell I’d land in San Diego, maybe get to see a lot more of my best friend.

Nolan drove us to some coffee shop in Tempe, right outside ASU’s campus. Sarah followed her there with her car loaded with the rest of their stuff, and Sean trailed behind, my ride home. Sarah, Noles and Sienna would be moving back in at campus after tonight, and the thought of not waking up next to Noles like I’d been doing (behind her father’s back, which I wasn’t very proud of) made me sick. I didn’t want to leave her. And I knew that distance was only going to grow.