A reporter walks up to me for my pre-game interview. The questions start off standard. Then she hits me with one out of left field.
“You were voted the hottest football coach. Does that attention bother your fiancée?”
“Wait. What fiancée?”
“Are you not engaged to Tiffany? She gave us an interview twenty minutes ago. She’s pregnant with your first child.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I have a woman in my life, and it is not Tiffany. There is no way she can be pregnant with my child.” We never even shared a kiss, let alone had sex. I’m starting to think Tiffany is crazy. That she has gone all fatal attraction on me or some shit.
“Who is the lucky woman? You’re breaking girls’ hearts everywhere.”
“It’s me that’s lucky,” I respond. “The game is about to start.” The urge to tell the world that Willow is mine and off the market is so great, but I don’t.
I turn, heading back over to the team. The game starts. The first half was a little rough, but we still lead by one touchdown. Reid is playing the best game of his life. It’s the defense that’s the problem. They are having trouble stopping them.
The next drive Anderson sacks the quarterback. The ball goes flying. Rich scoops it up, sprinting down the field to score a touchdown. The crowd goes wild. Even Willow is on her feet screaming. Her eyes meet mine. I stare at her for a moment, noticing her eyes look a little puffy. Has she been crying?
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.
“Tell me.” I kiss her neck.
“I can’t think when you do that.” She tilts her head to the side. I lift my head to meet her gaze.
I carry her over to the sofa, sitting down with her in my lap. I tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear.
“You can tell me anything, Willow. You’re going to be my wife. No secrets. We stick with each other.” She nods in agreement. “Is this about the bullshit text you sent me?”
“Tiffany is trying to blackmail me.” My grip on her hips tightens. “She has pictures of us.”
“It really doesn't matter at this point. Everyone knows.”
“I still can’t believe you did that.” Her face lights up with a smile.
“I want everyone to know you’re mine and I don’t share.” She lets out a small laugh.
“She tried to get money from me too.”
I close my eyes, hating that she has to deal with this bullshit. “That woman needs help.”
“There is more I need to tell you.” She licks her lips. My cock jerks under her. The heat of her pussy is pressed against it. “I’m pregnant,” she blurts out. I kiss her.
“How did I get so lucky?” Before she can answer, I’m kissing her again. “Wait. Have you eaten dinner? Do you need something to drink?” I lift her off my lap.
“I’m fine,” she tries to tell me. I grab the room service menu and call down an order. I make my way back to her. I drop down to my knees in front of her, my hand going to her stomach.
“How do you feel about this? What about school? What about all of the things you’ve worked so hard to accomplish on your own? Your future?” Even though I am over the moon, worry settles inside of me. The thought of her resenting me one day creeps back in.