Holding Onto Forever (Beaumont: Next Generation 1) - Page 77

My girl’s a superhero.

My girl’s also back at school and I’m missing her terribly. I bow down to Steve Jobs and the Apple crew for creating FaceTime because without it I’d be going stir crazy. I never thought I was an obsessive sort of guy until Peyton and I finally figured it out. Now it’s like I can’t get enough of her, and the days I am home in Chicago are spent being domesticated. We created a rule in our home when it comes to football. I love that she’s walking the sidelines for the Bears, but hate it as well. Selfishly, I want her in Portland, but know it’s not possible and likely never will be. If she were there, I’d be distracted and worried about whether she’s out of harm’s way all the time. When we’re together for the few short days each week – it’s no football – just us. We cook together, take walks through the city, watch movies with the fire roaring in the background, and I help her study. I didn’t want our relationship to be based off the sport we love. It had to be based on everything else that makes us who we are.

Today is our season opener. The weather is utter crap. It’s cold and overcast. Everyone is here though, making the trek for the first game. The last time we were all together was when news of Peyton’s accident brought us all to Chicago. So much has changed since the moment my dad told me Peyton wasn’t going to make it. Spiritually, I battled for her and begged her to stay, but at that time I had nothing to offer her. Emotionally, I was a wreck. I couldn’t fathom not having Peyton in my life and hated that our friendship had dwindled because of the relationship I was in. After seeing Peyton lying there, dying, I realized life was too short to wait idly for something to happen and despite the turmoil I was caught up in, my thoughts never strayed away from the life I wanted with her.

And now I have it.

The Pioneers take the field under the loud thunderous applause of the Portland faithful. I love this city, but my heart is in Chicago. Peyton and I haven’t talked about what will happen when she graduates, but I’m expecting my girl to have a plethora of jobs to choose from. I’m confident in her ability to call a game. Unless it’s mine in which case I’ll stay on the bench.

I look out over the stands at the sea of people dressed in our colors of green, blue and yellow. Bringing football to Oregon was the best decision the state made. Of course, drafting me is also on the top of my list.

Today, I’m the starting quarterback. For a while, I thought my career was hanging by a thread, but I worked my butt off to prove to the organization that their investment in me would be worth it. We have a few new faces with our new draft picks and a couple of off-season trades, all of which excite me. Rookie running back, Brandon Garrison, is supposed to be legit. I watched him a little in college and liked what I saw. Happy to say I’ll have no problems giving him the ball.

As I warm up, the normal game day activities are going on around me. The

media is clamoring for early interviews, fans are filling the seats and the smell of popcorn is making my stomach growl. I look over and see my family, taking them all in. Nick and Aubrey are here with the kids, and sure enough, Mack is sitting next to Betty Paige. My mom thinks it’s cute that they have a little crush on each other. My dad, on the other hand, is onto the “game” Mack is playing. As the big brother, who loves them both, I want Mack far, far away from Little B.

Right smack in the middle, next to my mom is Peyton. She gives me a small wave, likely thinking she’s being shy. I’m tempted to go to her and pull her over the railing to kiss her senseless, but I refrain. I’m beyond in love with my girl and can’t wait for this game to be over so I can show her.

Our warm-up clock winds down and the nerves start to set in. There’s some ceremonial stuff happening on the field. Someone’s getting a key to the city, another won season tickets, and there’s a speech about how the city of Portland is the best place to play football.

Before the coin toss, my name is called and I’m asked to come out to the center of the field. Coach hands me the microphone and pats me on the back.

“Is this thing on?” I ask, earning a raucous roar from the crowd. One quick glance up and I see my mug all over the JumboTron. I wave and the fans go wild. “Last year I let you down as your starting quarterback. My life was thrown into a tailspin when my best friend was in an accident that almost claimed her life. I couldn’t think, sleep, eat or even focus on football, all because she was lying in a bed with machines fighting to keep her alive while I was here, trying to play a game that she and I share an immense love for.”

Once again, I look up at the big screen and catch Peyton wiping her tears. “There she is. That’s my girl.”

The crowd, who was already loud, raises the decibel of noise up a notch.

“Peyton’s accident opened my eyes. Not only to what I was missing out on but to what I was doing wrong. I was here, surviving. Taking each day as it came and never planning for the next step. Because of her, I am no longer that person. Because of Peyton and her will to live and learn to walk again, I’m stronger, braver and have better footwork, all thanks to her.”

The crowd erupts.

“I’d like to invite Peyton down to join me out here.”

The fans start chanting her name as security helps her navigate her way through the mess of wires, cameras, media and players on the field. “As she’s making her way onto the field, I want to thank our families, who are with us today, for being the best parents, aunts, uncles, cousins and siblings that either of us could ask for.”

When Peyton steps into our logo, I smile brightly and drop to one knee. In my hand is a black velvet box with her engagement ring, if she’ll marry me. “Captain, you have been my best friend since forever. We may have been brought together by our mothers and forced to hang out, but secretly I have loved every single minute of it. It never bothered me that you were younger; it only bothered me when you weren’t around. You’ve shown me what determination looks like, how to persevere through whatever life throws at you, and how true love feels. Without you, I’m a shell of the man I need to be. With you though, I’m confident, self-assured and the man I want to be. With that, I want to tell you that I love you and I’m going to hold onto you forever.”

Peyton’s hand covers her mouth and she starts nodding. “Yes, Noah.”

“Yes, what?” I ask as her eyes go wide.

“Oh my God.” She looks around and covers her face.

“Hey, Peyton?”

She looks at me through her fingers. “Will you marry me? Maybe add Westbury to your already long last name?”

This time she tackles me to the ground and peppers me with kisses. Thankfully, I dropped the microphone or everyone would’ve heard it when she called me an ass. When I’m finally able to slip the ring on her finger, I keep her with me for the coin toss before I help her back to the stands, where our families congratulate us.

Before heading back to the field she calls my name.

“Yeah, Captain?”

“Did you ask my dad?”

I nod. “Both of them,” I say, winking and pointing my finger up to the sky. After I asked Harrison for his permission to marry Peyton, I took a trip to Beaumont and had an in-depth conversation with Mason.

Tags: Heidi McLaughlin Beaumont: Next Generation Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net
readsnovelonline.net Copyright 2016 - 2024