“What are we then, Nate? What is this…this, whatever we’re doing? What are we to you?” All I want to do is move her goddamned legs out of my way so I can get to her mouth and kiss her, but she’ll run if I rush this.

“I can’t tell you what we are Rowe. I can’t tell you that, because that entirely depends on you. But I can tell you what you are to me. And it’s not the word friend. It’s so far beyond the word friend that I’m scared shitless right now to say it out loud, because I’m afraid you don’t want to hear it. You are the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about at night. You are the face in all of my dreams and the smile I see when I close my eyes. Your voice when you sing in the shower late at night, when you think you’re alone, is like music to my ears—and I know, that’s totally weird that I listen to you, but don’t interrupt my flow, we can get back to that later,” I say, holding a hand up to stop her.

“You’ve got me all twisted in here,” I say, running my palm over my chest. “I don’t know what to do, how to act, and what to say. Clearly, I don’t have a f**king clue what to say! It all comes out like garbage, because there aren’t any words that are good enough. And I worry—God, Rowe, I worry all the time that something I do or say is going to break you. And I can’t have that, because you’ve come so far, and you’ve come this far with me. And it’s such a gift, the way you’ve trusted me, given this part of yourself to me. And I know, I was kind of…well, shit, Rowe…I was crazy when that Tucker dude was over here, because I see how he looks at you. Hell, it’s the same way I look at you. It’s the way you deserve to be looked at—admired and adored. But I’ll be damned if I’m going to give up everything just because I’m afraid. Because I know the second I walk away, a hundred Tuckers, who all probably deserve you more than I do, will line up to take my place, and I will hate every last one of them. And I’ll hate myself for giving up.”

“What are you saying, Nate?” Her eyes haven’t moved from mine the entire time. I don’t even think she’s blinked. But I can see her heart on her sleeve, her eyes just waiting to let the tears fall. She’s so afraid I’m going to break her right here, right now.

“I love you, Rowe. That’s it. I love you. I love you. I love you!” I stand to my feet and shout those words, getting the attention of the grounds crew, who all whistle and mock me—as they should. I jump down and swing her feet sideways so I can kneel in front of her, my face pressed flat against her lap while I speak. “God, Rowe—that feels so good to say. I love you, and I meant it the first time I said it. I never should have taken it back, and I should have said it sooner.”

When I look up into her eyes, the tears are threatening to fall even more, and she’s breathing in deeply through her nose, just trying to stay strong. If she runs from me now, it will kill me. It will absolutely slay me. But it would still be worth it. Just getting the chance to tell this girl I love her once would be worth all the pain in the world.

Rowe leans forward until her head is pressed against mine, and only then do the tears fall from her eyes, landing on her legs in front of me. I reach up and rub my thumbs gently under each eye, and she leans into my palm, her eyes slowly opening to look at me, her heart pounding so hard I can feel it in every part of her body.

“You didn’t dip your shoulder,” she says, and my lungs fill completely with relief and hope—and so much goddamned love for this girl that I can hardly stand it. I bite my tongue, but I can’t help the enormous smile pushing up the corners of my mouth.

“No. I didn’t,” I say through small, breathy laughter, reaching down to grab her hand in mine and kissing it. “Anything else you see wrong with my swing…coach?”

“No,” she says with a small quiver, letting one last tiny tear fall through her smile. “Well, maybe the follow through. Oh, and your feet are a mess. And your head moves a little…a lot. But, other than that…”

“God, I love you,” I say, pulling her face close to mine and pressing my lips to hers so hard, she can barely squeeze out any more words. But she does.

“I love you, too, Fifty-seven.”

Chapter 23

Rowe

This is living.

It was like I was born the moment I told Nate how I felt. Coming here, to McConnell, was a breakthrough for me. But loving Nate—letting myself be human and feel something again…that was breaking free.