Page 110 of Off the Mark
“Charlie?” The announcer peered at us from the stage. “Would you like to come up?”
Charlie glanced at me with an expression of pure astonishment. I grinned at her, nudging her knees. “They’re calling your name, Maddox. Go give the people what they want.”
She rose from her seat as if in a dream, slowly climbing the stairs to the podium on stage. I couldn’t have turned away from her even if I tried. She took a shaky breath, and I swear Ifeltit.
People hooted and whistled as Charlie accepted her award. “Thank you…somuch,” she said, speaking into the mic. “To say that I’m…stunnedis an understatement. This sport, this community, thesefansare everything to me.”
She swallowed and gripped the podium. “When I was five years old, I asked my dad if he could teach me how to fly. And the next day, he had me on a tiny dirt bike in our backyard. I don’t remember much except that from the moment I started, I never wanted to stop. Malcolm Maddox is a legend in this sport, but he’s also my dad, and he never, ever gave up on me. Whenever I worried there was something I couldn’t do, he was there to remind me that I was unstoppable.”
Long applause followed this mention of her dad. Then Charlie looked directly at me.
“And to my boyfriend, Rowan. Having you here tonight as my date is an honor. Thank you for always seeing me, for seeing the real me. You are extraordinary in every single way.”
The audience clapped again as she finished and took pictures with her trophy. Meanwhile, my body was in a euphoriccrisis—palms sweating, skin clammy, breath shallow.
The realization dawned so easily. I was in love with Charlie. Like,run through the streets yelling about itkind of love. And that wasn’t the part that was scary.
I’d been in love with her for a long, long time.
It was realizing that now I had to tell her.
And hope beyond hope that she loved me back.
26
ROWAN
Two hours later, the dinner wrapped up and I walked out into the lobby with my arm slung around Charlie’s neck, wearing the goofiest smile imaginable.
A bunch of other shit happened after Charlie won her award, but I barely took it in. I was too focused on touching her, whispering jokes in her ear, watching her bask in the glow of fans wanting pictures and autographs.
I was gonna tell her tonight. I had to—even now, the words crowded the back of my throat, making it tough to swallow. It’d be easy, right?Now that we’re not fake dating anymore, I figured it was the best time to mention that I’m in love with you and have been forever.
My stomach twisted into knots so fast I worried I might puke.
“I still can’t believe I won this,” she murmured, stroking a finger across her name on the gold plate. “I sent a picture to my dad and Penny, and they lost their minds over it.”
“It’s a big deal.You’rea big deal.”
She pinched two fingers together. “Maybea little. But I don’t want to brag too much and make you feel bad.”
I laughed, pressing my lips into her hair. I was just about to say something corny likeyou wanna get the hell out of here?
But then Dempsey walked up to us—mouth set in a grim line—and we froze.
“Dempsey, hey…what’s wrong?” Charlie asked.
“Can I speak to you for a second? In private?” her agent asked.
I gingerly removed the award from Charlie’s hands. “I can hold this for you. I’ll be right over here, okay?”
She didn’t respond. She was walking quickly into a side hallway, tension radiating from her body already. I raked my hand through my hair and tried to look anywhere else, not wanting to spy. It was impossible though—my focus was glued on Charlie as she listened to whatever it was Dempsey was telling her.
Shock exploded across Charlie’s face. Then a gradual, creeping anger. That wasn’t what had pain shooting through my chest—it was the way her shoulders hunched forward in defeat.
Dempsey pulled her in for a hug, Charlie nodding at what she said. In a flash, she was walking away, away from me and the crowd and deeper into the hallway next to her.
I was on the move immediately. Stalked right past Dempsey without even saying anything and barely made it to the small room Charlie slipped into in time. The door was slamming shut, but I caught the side with an inch to spare. I slipped into what looked like a small conference room with dim lighting and office chairs stored in a haphazard pattern.
