Page 75 of Resisting the Fall

Ben’s attention shifted to the line of people ahead of us. “So, a pretzel for Penny and…” his gaze flicked back to me “…nachos for you?”

I grinned up at him. “You remember my weakness for that globby orange cheese?”

“It’s not the only thing I remember you having a weakness for.” The way he said it, in combination with his weighted look, sent a wave of heat coursing through me. I might not know precisely what he was referring to, but there was no way I was taking his bait.

Not knowing how else to respond, I held up a fist between us and put my thumb down, causing Ben to laugh loud enough that several gazes drifted in our direction.

“Shhh.” I jabbed my elbow into him. “You’re going to give people the wrong impression about our reconciliation.”

He shrugged, his arm brushing against mine as he leaned in. “And what if I do?”

I glanced up, locking eyes with him, his face inches from mine and stealing my breath. “There are going to be a lot of disappointed people.”

By the time we made it to the stands with our snacks, the halftime performance had just started. Tom and Mayor Monroe had moved to the row below to make room for Carson, my mom, and Penny on their bench, which meant the only open seats were further down by Tate and Liv. I passed Penny the pretzel, and she turned toward me with a smile and a thumbs up before fixing her attention back to the marching band.

With Ben still carrying my nachos, I started side-stepping down the row, giving a quick greeting to Juliet Monroe as I passed. When I made it in front of Ann, she took hold of my hand, so I leaned down to give her a hug.

“You just keep getting prettier,” she said, taking me in.

“Says the woman who hasn’t aged a day since I last saw you.”

Ann gave a small laugh, shaking her head. “I’m so glad you made it.” Her gaze shifted to her right where Ben stood waiting. “And I know I’m not the only one.” My lips parted, but I wasn’t sure what to say. “Penny was just telling me about her Halloween costume and how excited she is to try it on for you.”

Oh, Penny. Not Ben. That made so much more sense. “I can’t wait to see it on her.”

Ben leaned forward. “No offense, Mom, but unless Maven eats these soon, they’re going to be cold.”

“Fine.” Ann released my hand. “But if Ben and Tate get too intense watching the game, we can always squeeze you in by us.”

Ben’s hand came to my waist, guiding me forward and making my heart go into a frenzy. “Unfortunately for Maven, she has to stick with me. It’s court ordered.” When I scowled at him, Ann laughed. “But you’re welcome to come sit with us anytime.”

I’d never been much of a football person—most of my appreciation for the sport had come from watching Ben in those tight pants when he was playing or cuddling up next to him with snacks in hand while he watched games on TV—but as the clock ticked downward and the crowd sat in tense anticipation, I found myself right in the thick of it, feeling all the feels.

The scoreboard read 29 to 31, and we were down by two.

“They’ve got to get this,” Ben said under his breath. He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees and his hands clasped between them.

Liv Rawlins sat on my other side, her palms pressed together and her fingers resting against her mouth. “Come on,” she whispered.

I scanned all the tense faces on our row. Even Penny sat rigidly on Carson’s lap, her focus fixed on the field. Tate seemed like the only one unaffected by the stress, which was typical for him.

I leaned toward Ben. “It’s fourth down, right?”

Ben smiled, clearly delighted by my attempt to speak football. “Yeah. And they’re out of field goal range, so if they don’t get a first down with this next play, it’ll be an automatic turnover. And with less than two minutes on the clock, Autumn Ridge won’t have another chance to score.”

The play started and the quarterback looked downfield, but defenders were on the Autumn Ridge players like they’d been glued together. In what felt like a choice of desperation, the quarterback lobbed the ball to one of his nearby teammates, but the kid didn’t make it two yards before being tackled. I glanced over at Ben to determine if it had been enough for a first down, but the collective groan from the crowd made it clear it hadn’t been.

Ben shook his head, heaving a heavy breath like the game was already over.

Irritation pricked me at how easily he was giving up. “They can still get an interception, can’t they?”

“Poplar Grove won’t throw the ball. They’ll play it safe and run down the clock.”

“Autumn Ridge still has a timeout left,” Tate said.

“It won’t matter.”

Tate gave a reluctant nod of agreement.