Eric’s head snapped back to her. He knew too much about what had happened with Jude. She was sure he wasn’t comfortable with her thinking about him. After what had happened the last time she was with Jude, Eric likely wanted to beat Jude’s face in.

“Why?”

“If Hugh can forgive me, maybe I should forgive Jude.”

Eric took the burger off the grill and set it on a plate. He took his time closing the grill and turning it off before walking over to her and taking her hands.

“I’m not just saying this as your boyfriend or because I love you. I’m saying this as your friend and as someone you trusted before you trusted anyone else, but you have no reason to forgive Jude. And I think you have long put him in your past,” Eric told her. “In fact, I think you put him behind when you took off that awful necklace you always wore that he gave you.”

“What do you mean, I shouldn’t forgive him?” she asked, confused.

“He doesn’t deserve your forgiveness in that way, and honestly, he won’t care if you’ve forgiven him or not. You care that Hugh forgave you. It just proves that the difference between you and Jude is vast.”

“I know that.”

“Jude is never going to change, Bri. He proved that when he was here last year. I don’t think you need to do anything to make that right with him because it never will be. It is not up to you to change him. It’s up to him.”

Bryna took a deep breath. On instinct, she wanted to argue with Eric. If she could change, then Jude could change. But the truth was that she had wanted to change. She had had a rude wake-up call in Barcelona and worked on making herself better. Jude had had that same wake-up call when Felicity caught him with Bryna and whoever the girl had been before her. Still, he had advanced on her in the hotel room last year.

She hadn’t felt the weight of her scarlet letter in some time. Maybe Eric was right after all. Maybe she had officially left Jude in her past, where he belonged.

THE CROWD ERUPTED.

It was senior night in the stadium, and LV State was paired up against USC. This rivalry game would determine who would go on to the conference championship. Both teams were playing as if it were do or die. The crowd grew unbearably loud. The dome echoed all the voices until it was a cacophony of cheers.

The LV State fans grew quiet as the ball was snapped to Marshall. He looked twice, found his man open, and let the ball loose. It was a beautiful pass.

And then…a USC player leaped in front and snatched the ball out of the air.

Bryna’s mouth dropped as everyone screamed.

No. No! This is not how it’s supposed to end.

Touchdown.

USC had won. Their fans went wild.

Bryna stood there, staring at the end zone. The irony didn’t escape her that this was the same way they had won the national championship last year.

Stacia’s shoulders sank next to Bryna, and when Bryna turned to her, Stacia burst into tears. Real hot tears streamed down her face.

Stacia covered her face with her hands and let the sobs wrack her body. “We lost!”

Bryna patted her on the back. “We did.”

“I can’t believe that was our last home game of the year!” Stacia cried.

“There’s always next year, I guess.”

“Ugh! I need to get drunk and fucked tonight.”

Bryna laughed. “I’m opposed to you doing either. I think you should definitely do that.”

“It’s more that I’m tired of fucking being alone.”

“It hasn’t been that long.”

Stacia swiped at her eyes. “Whatever. I need someone to make me forget this happened. Where is that stupid brother of yours?”

“Stacia!”

“What?” she snapped. “I miss him! Don’t judge me, Bri.”

“I’m not judging you. But do you think that’s a good idea?”

“I’ll make him grovel and crawl to me on all fours, all right?”

“Ew. I don’t want to know the details,” Bryna said, holding up her hands.

“Just don’t be mad at me. I’m horrible at staying away from him.”

“I noticed,” Bryna grumbled. “I won’t be mad, but I will voice that I think this is a terrible idea.”

“Noted,” Stacia said before scampering off in search of Pace.

Bryna shook her head as Stacia left. It was such a bad idea, but she wasn’t going to change Stacia’s mind. She would have to figure out the consequences herself.

“What are you shaking your head for?” Eric asked. He came up behind her and grabbed her around the middle.

“Stacia is about to make a big mistake.”

Eric laughed and spun her around. “So are a lot of people after that loss.”

“Not me.”

“For once,” he joked.

“Ass!”

Eric grabbed her face in his hands and kissed the breath out of her. It was pure heaven. She could so easily get lost in that kiss even amid a crowd of ninety-thousand people.

“Well,” she asked when he pulled back, “how does it feel?”

“Your body? Amazing,” he growled.

She laughed. “No! I mean, how does it feel to be done?”

He shrugged. “I liked your body better.”

She gave him a pointed look.

“I’m not done yet, am I?”

“No. But it was our last home game and your last game as an undergrad. You might be back next year, but this feels pretty final.”

“I suppose it didn’t go as expected.” He looked up at the scoreboard that showed their loss.

“Two national championships in four years. Not too bad, if I do say so myself,” she said.

“Pretty fucking awesome actually.” He smiled down at her with all the love in his heart. “I want to soak it all in. We lost, but it’s not the end. We’ll be back next year, and we’ll take back our title.”

“Sounds good, Cowboy.”

He laughed and poked her in the stomach at the nickname. “How does it feel to you? Huh, Hollywood?”

“It’s not the end for me.”

“It’s one end.”

“But you’re my beginning, so it doesn’t feel like anything is ending.”

“True. We didn’t make a championship game this year, but I have you, so I’d say it all worked out.”

“I have to agree.” She tugged him closer. “Maybe you could show me how much it all worked out.”

“It sounds like you want to skip Posse tonight.”

“Are you complaining?”

“Not a bit.”

He grabbed her hand and dragged her off the field. The locker rooms were packed with players and coaches. Eric quickly veered away from them, looking for a place that wasn’t going to be a madhouse. The likelihood of finding somewhere quiet was slim, but he seemed to know where he was going.

He opened a door to the workout room, and Bryna walked in after him. It was dead quiet. The only problem was that the building was all glass on three sides. People streamed by the room from the stadium back to their cars, completely oblivious to the fact that they were inside.

Eric ignored the crowds. It was dark outside, and the interior lights were out. So, hopefully, if anyone saw any movement, they wouldn’t put two and two together.

He pulled her against him, and their lips joined together again. The kiss wasn’t hesitant. He couldn’t care less about the chances of getting caught.

It was just them. Here and now. And in the moment.

This was all she’d wanted. Eric was all she would ever need.

The fact that she had ever contemplated wanting something else felt like a dream, as if she had been living someone else’s life for so long. Being with Eric was like coming up for air.

Speaking of coming up for air…

She pulled back and took a deep breath. Her fingers worked at the button on his khaki pants, and she slipped them down his legs. She dragged his boxers off as she slid to her knees in front of him. His eyes were wide as saucers and ravenous for her.