We drove to the stadium quickly, getting to the cheerleader’s locker room, then I waited as Ridge went to the boys’ locker room. He came out with Creed’s stuff.
A few seconds later, Creed’s coach, Gary Johnson, rushed over to me, “Is Creed okay?”
I nodded, “He has to stay here for a while though.”
“Fuck. Of course he does. Well, we lost anyway.”
He looked over at Ridge, who stood watching him.
“Coach, no offense, but your best quarterback was hurt today, and you don’t seem to care?”
The coach nodded, “Of course, but now it doesn’t matter, does it? We lost because of him.”
I rolled my eyes as Ridge shook his head, “You didn’t lose because your quarterback was hurt. You lost because you didn’t seem to care that your star player was hurt.”
The coach sputtered at me for a second, then he slowly nodded, “I know. I was shocked he got hurt, and I let everyone down.”
Ridge walked over to him, “You are a great coach. Don’t worry. You have next year to make up for lost time.”
The coach nodded, and I grabbed Ridge’s hand, walking out of the stadium with him.
I pulled him to a stop before we reached his truck, “You are a good man, aren’t you?”
Ridge looked down at me, “What?”
“You could have been a total jerk to Creed’s coach. He let his team down when they needed him the most.”
“Any time someone gets hurt like Creed did, it’s understandable to be shocked. He has so many people to worry about, that anyone would be upset.”
I smiled at him, and Ridge cupped my face in one of his hands, his thumb running over my cheek.
He leaned in, kissing my scar on my forehead, “I love you, you know?”
I nodded, “I know. I love you too.”
He looked down at me, “Thank you for making my dreams come true.”
I felt my eyes burn, “You made my dreams come true.”
He kissed my lips softly and helped me into his truck so we could go back to his house.
His phone rang, and he looked down at it, grinning. “It’s my dad.”
“Answer it.”
Ridge answered, “Hey, Dad.”
“Ridge! My boy. That game was something else.”
Ridge chuckled, “Thanks dad.”
“I hated seeing Creed get so hurt.”
“I did too. But he is recovering. He only sprained his knee.”
“That’s still horrible. Your grandma is so worried about him.”
Ridge looked over at me, “He is staying at my house while he recuperates for a bit.”
