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It wasn’t a blow out, but on 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 soht I had taken a beating But I’d also gotten back up And I hoped that’s what the iahness, show that I could take anything thrown at ot hit

I wasn’t sure where ame, probably in one of the boxes upstairs And part of lad my mom wasn’t closer to the field where she could hear the crunch and the sounds of the wind being forced fros My dad could take it, but she was always convinced that football was going to killout 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 tione through the otten 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 evenin h to get the right tea to be busy over the next feeeks fielding calls and working on a in the world Or at least I thought it was

When Noles finally h with et 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 soht then, II wanted to out there on the field tonight I was fking a But none of it mattered if I didn’t have her

When her lips hitdizzy with relief, andher with round and kissed her for every da her and pressing our foreheads together so I could hear her over the frenzy and the buzz

"You were a!" she said, a little teary eyed with her pride Fuck the trophy This was all I needed to knoorth

"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’ling into ratulate me now Eventually, everyoneseen with Brent Nichols had the sports world talking But I wasn’t going to worry about it tonight Or toirl, and I kneas 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 roo break Of course, her uest roo back hoh it all felt like a formality for me now I’d still finish, even if I had to do so a college degree was important to my mom, even if I had ato engage me more about Nolan Still not the war, and I could tell I had to give her the benefit of tiht, some surprise date she said she had planned for iven 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 , and that friends were iht, 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, et to see a lot more of my best friend

Nolan drove us to soht outside ASU’s campus Sarah followed her there with her car loaded with the rest of their stuff, and Sean trailed behind,back in at ca 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