Keeping Score: A Sports Romance

by Dee Lagasse

  There was no way I was waiting until tomorrow to see her, though. Not after hearing the way her voice shook. Not after feeling the gut-wrenching agony of not being able to pull her into my arms and comfort her.

  After putting the last of my things into my suitcase, I grabbed my phone then stopped by Fox’s room next to mine, before heading down to hand my room card into the front desk.

  On the way to the airport, I sent a few texts to Coach Robertson and members of the team so someone knew I went home. We always traveled to the away games as a team, but there were always a few players that elected to go right home after games. I’d never considered it before tonight. Something told me I’d be taking the red-eye back to Boston a lot going forward.

  Isa

  I wasn’t quite sure when I fell asleep.

  After I disarmed the home security system at Jake’s, I rearmed it. As I made my way to Jake’s room, I stripped out of my shirt, bra, and jeans. I went right to his T-shirt drawer, grabbing the first one on top, and pulled it over my head.

  I lay down on the right side of the bed—Jake’s side of the bed—and as soon as I rested my head on his pillow, I knew I could let out the breath I’d been holding since Devon grabbed me.

  I was safe here.

  “It’s just me! It’s just me!” Jake called out as the wailing screech of the alarm filled the house. Within seconds, the alarm stopped and the sound of Jake’s phone ringing in his pocket replaced the noise.

  “Hi,” he answered. A pause, then he chuckled, and a grin spread across his face as he assured the alarm company everything was fine. “My girlfriend just forgot to tell me she set it.”

  My girlfriend.

  Maybe it was the overwhelming emotions from earlier today. Maybe it was my exhaustion. But, my eyes welled with tears at those two little words.

  “I’m sorry,” I began to apologize as Jake stepped forward and wiped the tears from my cheeks.

  “It’s okay.” He smiled. “They just wanted to make sure no one was breaking in.”

  “Can you say it again?” I asked.

  I knew there was so much that needed to be talked about, but we could do that in the morning. Right now, I just wanted to fall into his arms. Before I could allow myself to relax, I had to know what I was waking up to in the morning.

  “It’s okay?” he repeated. “Let’s get you back to bed.”

  “No.” I shook my head and stopped him. “You called me your girlfriend.”

  His lips tilted in a small smile of understanding. “I did. I know we need to talk about what happened and I know it’s not going to be easy, but if the last few days have taught me anything, it’s that I would rather fight with you than spend the rest of my life without you. I can’t do it. I won’t do it.”

  Sighing contently, I fell into his chest. We stood in silence for a few minutes, his arms wrapped tightly around me. The security his very presence gave me was exactly what I needed to feel.

  “Come on, girlfriend.” He chuckled. “Let’s go to bed.”

  Once we were settled, my head resting on his chest, Jake began to stroke my hair.

  “Isa?” he asked quietly, as his fingers ran through my hair.

  “Yessss?” I mimicked.

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  Epilogue

  Isa

  One Year Later…

  It had been six months since I moved into Jake’s house—our house—and I still found myself wanting to pinch myself in the mornings to make sure this was real.

  “You ready, Bug?” Jake called out as I tied the laces of the waterproof ‘bog boots’ he’d given me as a gift for our first Valentine’s Day together. He even had a matching pair for himself. It was so cheesy. It was so us.

  “I’ll be right out,” I yelled back, pulling my ponytail through the distressed Boston Bluecoats hat I decided to wear.

  Before Jake and I were a couple, sports apparel had always been limited to jerseys on game day. But…more and more I found myself adding Bluecoats items to my wardrobe.

  Since I wouldn’t need money or my phone where we were going, I left everything right on my nightstand. I found myself walking slowly down the hallway, admiring the photographs we’d hung together just last night.

  Some of my favorite moments of our first year were captured within the photos—Jake’s second Super Bowl win, a family shot of us at Javier and Adam’s wedding, horseback riding together in Montana, and most recently, our trip to Disney World with Finn and Salem. A birthday present for Finn from his favorite uncle Jake.

  It hadn’t always been easy.

  During the off-season, Jake took matters with his birth father into his own hands. There was an ugly court battle with the tabloid that printed the story—the one that had pushed him over the edge when he ended things between us. Jake’s publicist set him up with interviews on shows, from Good Morning America to Sports Center, to allow him to tell the truth—again. And then, when all was said and done, Jake finally started the therapy he needed to work through the years of emotional turmoil bestowed upon him by the (lack of) grace from his father.

  Jack and I, as a couple, were still learning new things about each other.

  It only took me a few weeks to realize not only did Jake still not like cooking—which was why he always hired someone to prepare his food before I moved in—he also didn’t like doing the dishes. And, had no problem letting them stack up in the sink.

  To be fair though, Jake wasn’t exactly impressed when he came to discover that laundry was the very bane of my existence and I waited to do it until I had no other choice.

  The one thing we agreed on was that Tuesday nights were date nights. It was the one night during football season he would never have a game. Plus, chances of travel were pretty slim that day, and unlike Friday nights, we weren’t obligated to attend family dinners at my parents’ house.

  This Tuesday was different, though. Tomorrow night, after a year of construction, renovation, and securing all of the artwork, I would finally open Coleman Collective. So, tonight, instead of finding a new restaurant to try or a beach to explore while summer still graced us with its presence, Jake and I were heading to the bog.

  “Nice boots.” He grinned when I joined him in the kitchen.

  Swiping my keys from the counter next to him, I shook my head when his hand swatted my behind.

  “Nice butt,” he teased.

  I rolled my eyes but couldn’t help returning the smile. “Are you ready?”

  “You could say that,” he said, chuckling as he made his way to the door.

  His response didn’t make sense but before I got the chance to ask him what he meant by it he added, “You don’t need your keys, babe. I’ll drive. I want to drive.”

  “Are you okay?” I asked. “You’re acting weird.”

  “Yeah,” he said, waving me off. “It’s just been a while since we’ve been to the bog. I’m excited.”

  I could understand that. It had been a while. We’d been so busy building our life together that we hadn’t gotten the chance to slow down and visit the place that was so special to both of us.

  Once I was settled in the passenger seat of Jake’s truck, I noticed the picnic basket from the first dinner I had over at the house, sitting on the seat behind the driver.

  “What’s in the basket?” I asked, as Jake started the truck.

  “Don’t open it!” he practically shouted as he turned placing his hand on the headrest of my seat.

  “I never said I was going to.” I eyed him suspiciously as he backed out of the driveway. “What’s going on with you? And don’t say nothing because I know when you’re lying, Jacob James.”

  He let out a small laugh and shrugged. “Okay, you caught me. I wanted to pack a special lunch—a celebration of sorts—to commemorate your incredible achievement of opening your own gallery. I’m just really proud of you and I know we won’t have time to make a big deal out of it tomorrow.”

&nbs
p; Adoration for the man next to me filled me to the brim. “You’re kind of perfect, you know that?”

  Following up my question with a question of his own, Jake asked, “You know what song I haven’t heard in a while? ‘I Miss You.’”

  “The blink-182 song?” I questioned, though I was sure there couldn’t possibly be another song he was referencing.

  “That’s the one,” he said as he reached for and then handed me his phone from the center console. “Wanna put it on for the few minutes we have left till we get to the bog?”

  I obliged his request. Though, I was baffled by the randomness of it. It was easily put to the back of my mind as Jake slid his hand in mine. We never said it or made it “official” by any means, but ever since the night we both admitted that the song had reminded us of the other during those years we didn’t talk, it had become our song. At least to me.

  Somehow, as if he had timed it perfectly, the song ended just as we pulled into the parking lot of The Bog House.

  “Should we go in and say hi?” I suggested, noticing Hugh Fairgrounds’ SUV parked in the far end of the parking lot.

  “How about after?” Jake said as he pulled into a parking spot, once again answering my question with a question. “I just don’t want the food to spoil in the heat.”

  “After works for me,” I said as I unbuckled and hopped down onto the concrete below.

  The moment I saw the woods peeking out from behind the bog house, butterflies began to flutter in my stomach. Now I understood what Jake meant when he said he was just excited to be going back here. It just took me being here to realize it.

  With the picnic basket in one hand, Jake offered me his other. We walked hand in hand until we got to the opening of the bog trail. With unexplainable reluctance, I let go of his hand and led the way down the path that’d take us to the fallen tree we’d claimed as our own.

  Once we were both sitting, Jake placed the basket down on the ground between us. “Go ahead, I know it’s killing you not to know what’s inside of there.”

  Since there was no point in denying it, I opened the lid of the basket. Confusion settled in immediately when I realized there was no food in the basket. “There’s nothing in there? Jake, what’s going on?”

  A small grin began to form on his lips when he asked, “Are you sure? Maybe reach all the way in the back.”

  I did as he suggested, and sure enough, my hands felt something small in the very back corner of the basket—a small black ring box.

  My throat tightened at the very idea of what could be happening right now. I sure as fuck didn’t want to be wrong in assuming, though. “Jake, what is this?”

  “Oh, thaaaaat,” he said as he gently took it out of my hand. “That’s the ring I’m going to ask you to marry me with.”

  When he opened the box, I gasped. As he took the round cut ruby ring from the box, my heart raced. I was suddenly very thankful that he decided to do this while I was sitting down.

  “Bug,” he started, taking my left hand in his. “You are my very best friend. You are my family. My whole heart. I love you more than anything—even football—-and I would love nothing more than to spend the rest of my life proving that to you. Isabel Coleman, will you marry me?”

  “I love you more than football” I repeated back to him. “And nothing would make me happier than being your wife.”

  As he slid the ring on my finger, tears of joy fell freely down my cheeks. When the ring was securely placed onto my finger, I pulled his face to mine with my free hand. Just as our lips touched, the sound of crunching earth behind us grabbed my attention.

  “Did you really think I was going to be able to pull this off without them?” Jake laughed at the sight of my parents, Ruth, my brother, Adam, and Abuela making their way down the trail. “I tried to tell them we would just come to the house afterward. There was no need for Abuela to come down here, but she wasn’t hearing any of that.”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way,” I told him, after I stole a quick kiss before everyone got to us. “By the way, you win. All of it. There’s no more keeping score. I could never top this.”

  Isa, in love.

  Jake, forever.

  Acknowledgments

  As always, the first person I have to thank is my husband, Jeffrey. Thank you for all of my lattes and for holding my hand…and picking up the slack…as I wrote, mommed, and facilitated remote learning during a pandemic. Team Lagasse for the win, but let’s be real…YOU THE MVP. I love you endlessly, Cracker Jack!

  The Minis: Dillon, Kallie, and Hunter. I LOVE YOU THE MOST.

  My family, especially my siblings. Thank you for always standing in my corner.

  The team at Savage Hart Book Services, per usual, you ladies are a dream to work with. Thank you, Christina, Kat, Amanda, and Jen, for being on top of your game. Let’s keep doing this together, okay?

  Victoria Ellis. My work wife! Thank you for letting me bounce ideas off you, helping me dig myself out of plot holes, and being there to “squeee” over the exciting moments…and, you know, all that jazz.

  Travis Soucy. The best of all best friends. Thank you for not giving me (too much) crap when it takes me five to ten business days to answer your texts, and for still being the same person since we were twelve. I don’t know what I would do without you!

  Chelsea Davis and Abbi Sullivan. If I were cool enough to have a squad, you two would be it. I don’t know how I got so lucky to have not just one, but two partners in crime—and, by “crime” I obviously mean eating tacos and drinking margaritas during our wild moms’ nights out—but I am thankful for it every day.

  Daniele Derenzi, AKA the only human that has read every single version of this book. Thank you for your faith in Jake and Isa. Thank you for your faith in me.

  Autumn Wrought. Thank you for always being there to lend a hand, an ear, or to moderate Dee’s Bees when I need to step away from social media to write. You’re such a bright light in my life.

  Cristina Bon. There is no way I could have written this one without you. Thank you so much for reading Keeping Score early and for making sure I did right by Isa and her family.

  My alpha and beta team: Vicci Kaighan, Haley Dauel, Tricia Ciak, Amanda Modschiedler, and Julie Moss. Thank you so much for giving me your time and your feedback! I am so grateful to have people I can count on to tell me when I need to both step up my game AND to cheer me on when I’ve succeeded. I appreciate all of you!

  Dee’s Bees. My favorite little corner of the book world. Thank you for always being there with Taron Egerton GIFs, music on Fridays, and to hype me and my books up.

  Thank you to all of the bookstagrammers, bloggers, and readers who read ARCs, made graphics/teasers, and shared their love for Jake and Isa. You make my whole world go round.

  Though they’ll never see this, the fellas of blink-182. Thank you for being the first band that made me really fall in love with music. There is no better feeling than watching your favorite band live—something I wrote about in Keeping Score. But, I personally learned that for the first time seeing blink as a teenager at Warped Tour. Thank you for music, and the memories.

  And you. You took a chance on Jake and Isa. You took a chance on me. You’re amazing.

  About the Author

  Dee Lagasse is a mom of three from New England. When she’s not writing, Dee can be found stalking The Royal Family, reading Marvel comics, or harassing her husband to reach something on the top shelf.

  www.deelagasse.com

  Email: dee@deelagasse.com

  Other Books By Dee Lagasse

  Capparelli & Co

  Without Warning

  As Fate Would Have It

  West Brothers

  Meet Me Halfway

  According to Plan

  Kismet: A Royal Romance

  Kismet Ever After : A Royal Short Story

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