I slowly blinked awake, taking in my surroundings.

My good cheek was lying on Bryce's chest, and I was staring right into his eyes.

He was awake as well, and he just smiled down at me.

"How long have you been awake?" I asked, my voice hoarse.

He slowly traced his fingers up and down my arm. "Not too long."

Lies.

I just snuggled deeper into his chest, closing my eyes again and letting him caress me.

And then I shot straight up.

"What's the matter babe?" Bryce asked, watching me with a look of concern on his face.

"My parents!" I whispered. "Oh my God, I never went home last night. My parents must be freaking-"

"I took care of it," Bryce promised, interrupting my mini-rant. "They think you stayed the night at Kylie's."

I slowly lowered myself back down onto Bryce's chest, my heart still pounding in my chest.

"What am I going to tell them?" I whispered, reaching up and touching my bruised face.

I couldn't see it, but it was tender to the touch.

"Don't worry about it," Bryce said, slowly running his fingers through my hair. "One step at a time. We'll get through this."

I relaxed into his chest, letting him console me.

"How long have you really been awake?" I asked, after a few moments of silence between us.

"A little while," Bryce admitted. "It was harder to sleep last night than usual."

"Because I was snuggling all over you?"

"Because I was worried about you," Bryce corrected.

I love this boy so, so much.

"Which kind of sucks, because my first game is tonight," Bryce continued. "But I'll just down an energy drink and get through it."

I'd completely forgotten.

And the Worst Girlfriend Award goes to...

"I'm so sorry," I said, pushing myself off of his chest again.

"For what?"

"Well you didn't sleep last night because of me and-"

He pulled me back towards him, lightly kissing my injured cheek. "If me not sleeping could fix this situation, I'd become a professional insomniac."

"I love you Bryce Harrison."

"That's good to know. Because I happen to be in love with you Sophie Allen."

The door opened, and I glanced over to see Clayton striding in.

"I thought I heard voices," he said, his eyebrows wrinkling when he saw our current position.

"Can we help you?" Bryce asked, keeping his arm firmly wrapped around me.

"My mom's making breakfast," he informed us. "And there's a strict no making out rule."

"Then I'm not sure we'll make it," Bryce said, smiling at me.

"It's too early for this shit," Clayton muttered, leaving the room again.

"What are your plans for today?" I asked Bryce, as he continued to run his fingers through my hair.

God I love this feeling.

"To spend as much time with you as humanly possible," Bryce responded.

"I'm okay with that."

He chuckled, disentangling himself from me and standing up.

"Where are you going?" I pouted, jutting out my bottom lip.

"Well there was mention of breakfast," he reminded me, with a half-smile. "And you know... Food."

I took his hand, standing up as well and smoothing out my clothes from the previous night.

I felt sticky and gross.

"We can go back to my place after breakfast," Bryce promised, pressing his lips to my ear. "My mom's at the office."

That was all the incentive I needed.

~*~

"You're being ridiculous," I said, with a long sigh.

"Ridiculous?" my mom demanded. "Sophie, have you seen your face?"

"Unfortunately."

"Do not cop an attitude with your mother," my dad snapped.

I slumped over in my seat, letting out another sigh.

My dad came around the counter, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and lightly kissing the top of my head. "You know that we love you honey. And we just want the best for you."

"I know."

"And we're worried," mom added, tears in her eyes.

"Worried?" dad asked, his voice rising. "I'm going to find this Eric kid and rip him limb from-"

"Enough," mom said, reaching across the counter and laying her hand on his arm.

"Worried is not the correct word," dad mumbled, his jaw clenched.

"I get it," I said, looking between the two of them. "I get that you're upset. But tearing Eric limb from limb, or pressing charges against him or whatever, that isn't going to make this situation any better."

"You can damn well bet it will," dad said, his voice rising again.

"We are pressing charges against him," mom said, in a firm voice. "That is non-negotiable."

This is a nightmare.

"He's lucky that that's all we're doing," my dad mumbled.

"Can we at least-" I started.

"This isn't negotiable," my mom repeated, her tone closing the conversation.

"Do you need some ice?" dad asked, switching the conversation direction. "Some ibuprofen?"

I shook my head. "I'm okay. Can I go get ready?"

My mom nodded. "But if you need to talk-"

"I'm okay," I repeated. "Really, I'm fine."

Her lips pulled down into a frown, but she just nodded, dismissing me from the conversation.

I headed upstairs, leaving my parents to continue their conversation without me.

To say they were upset would be the understatement of the century.

I'd already taken a shower, over at Bryce's place, but I needed to get ready for his game.

It was his first game back since the surgery.

I checked my phone again, but I still didn't have any messages.

When I'd left his house he'd been planning on taking a nap, at my encouragement. I knew that he hadn't slept much last night, and he was going to need his energy for tonight.

I went over to my makeup counter, wincing at the sight of my bruise in the mirror.

It was an eyesore.

I gingerly applied heavy makeup to the side of my face, covering up what I could. I let my hair fall around my shoulders, spending my time curling it to draw more attention away from my face.

I dressed in a pair of white shorts and Bryce's team shirt along with a pair of gold flip-flops. Hello summer.

I headed back downstairs, texting Kylie in the process to make sure she was still going to come to the game with me.

I didn't enjoy sitting on the sidelines alone.

"Be careful tonight, okay?" mom asked, as I reached the living room.

"I will, I promise," I said, bending down and kissing her on the cheek.

My parents might drive me crazy sometimes, but I can't help but love them.

"Do you want me to come with you?" dad asked, his eyes searching mine.

I shook my head. "Kylie is coming."

His expression didn't soften.

"I'm going to be fine, I promise. It was a fluke accident."

"That boy didn't hit you by accident."

My mom slowly rubbed the palm of her hand up and down my dad's arm. "Go on and have fun honey," mom said, in a soft voice. "We're just worried is all."

My dad just grunted.

I bent down and kissed his cheek. "I love you daddy."

"I love you too," he relented.

I left the house, swinging by Kylie's house to pick her up.

Standing outside, next to her in the driveway, was none other than Asher.

I rolled down my window. "What do you want?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him.

"I'm coming too," he informed me, dropping his cigarette to the ground and crushing it beneath his shoe.

"Over my dead body."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

I rolled my eyes. "Why is everyone suddenly so overprotective?"

Asher reached over, brushing my hair out of my face and exposing my cheek. "Take a wild guess."

I slapped his hand away from me. "Hands off the merchandise."

He just slid into my backseat, while Kylie took the passenger seat.

"I tried to make him go away," Kylie defended. "I only have so much power."

"So none at all?" I questioned.

Kylie just pouted, folding her arms across her chest and sticking her tongue out at me like a child.

"You're lucky I love you," I muttered, backing out of her driveway.

"Whoa princess," Landon said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "Moving a little quick there aren't we?"

"Mouth shut," Kylie ordered, casting him a look.

He just smirked, like the jerk that he is.

I turned up the radio, Kylie and I singing along on the drive over to the fields.

Asher surprisingly kept his mouth shut, his attention drawn to his phone for the entire drive.

He was probably playing some stupid game, like Bryce and his Candy Crush addiction.

There were a fair number of people at the fields, and it was a bit more difficult to find a spot on the bleachers than usual.

"What's the deal?" Kylie asked me, as I wedged myself between her and a mom with a video camera.

I just shrugged, popping an M&M into my mouth.

I saw Bryce out on the field, warming up with the team. It was pretty close to game time, so they were wrapping up.

Clayton was over with the coaches. He wasn't technically a member of the team, since it was just over a month until he left for the University of Florida to join their baseball team.

But Bryce doesn't like to talk about it.

I could feel the bubble of excitement inside as I sat in these stands again, my boyfriend down on the field. It had been a long time since we'd been in this position.

Bryce was finally going to play again.

The Eagles, Bryce's team, was out in the field first, since they were home.

And Bryce took the mound.

I felt Kylie squeeze my arm, and I couldn't stop staring at Bryce, anxiously awaiting his first pitch.

He was wearing his glasses as he tossed the baseball around in his hand, his sights focused on his catcher.

He had a couple of warm-up pitches before the first batter came up.

And his first warm-up pitch was a ball. By a long shot.

I let out a long sigh, and Bryce just rolled his shoulders, catching the ball that the catcher threw back to him and re-positioning himself.

His second warm-up pitch was a ball. Even worse of a pitch than the first one.

I crossed my right leg over my left, feeling my stomach start to twist up into knots.

Bryce had one more warm-up pitch, and it was no better than the first two.

My right foot was dangling in the air, shaking around as I tried to calm my nerves, the first batter stepping up to the plate.

"I'm too nervous," I said, without looking away.

Kylie just hummed in agreement.

I'm not even sure that Asher was still here.

Bryce slowly positioned himself, before winding up and letting the pitch fly.

My breath was hitched in my throat as my eyes followed the ball from his glove to the home plate.

Strike.

I let out the breath of air I'd been holding, my death grip releasing on my pack of M&M's.

"There's the Bryce Harrison we know and love," Kylie commented.

"You know, I love," I teased.

She just laughed, shaking her head at me.

His next few pitches followed suit, and he successfully struck out the first batter.

"I never doubted him," I commented.

"Shut up," Kylie commented, giving my shoulder a good shove.

"I did," Asher piped up.

"Get out of here," Kylie and I both said in unison.

We both cracked up as Bryce threw another strike across the home plate.

It felt good to be back here again.

~*~

I waited for the players to emerge from the dugout, waiting for my blue-eyed boyfriend to show his face so I could celebrate his victory with him.

He was one of the last players out. His glasses were long gone, his hat turned backwards on his sweaty head. The bottom half of him was covered in clay, his bag slung over his right shoulder.

But that didn't make much of a difference to me.

I jumped into his arms, wrapping my legs around his waist as I pressed my lips against his.

I'd waited five long months for this.

"Take that somewhere else," an all-too familiar voice commented. "Nobody wants to see you guys have sex on the field."

"Fuck off," Bryce suggested, his voice deep.

I slid back down to the floor, my arms still wrapped around his neck and my body pressed against his. "You played a great game."

A smile spread across his face. "I did, didn't I?"

"Cocky aren't we?"

"I think I deserve to be a little bit."

"I'll give it to you."

He bent back down, pressing his lips to mine again for a few, lingering moments. "And I deserve that too."

"I think this calls for a celebration."

His smile widened.

"Get your mind out of the gutter," I said, reaching up and tapping him on the nose. "I was thinking an ice cream celebration."

"That's not what I had in mind."

"I'd like to go out," I pressed. "Just you and me. Let's go to the park and get some ice cream. My treat."

"Well I can't turn down free ice cream."

"I have to drop off Kylie and Asher."

His nose crinkled at the mention of Asher.

"And then I'll meet you back at your place?" I suggested.

"I rode here with Clayton," he said, nodding somewhere behind me. "So that sounds like a plan."

"Alright, what do they say in football at the end of the huddle?"

Bryce chuckled. "Break?"

I reached up around his neck, clapping my hands. "Break."

He gave me one last kiss, this one lasting a bit longer. "Break," he agreed.

I met back up with Kylie and Asher, taking the two of them back home.

"So do you usually have hot, makeout sessions with your boyfriend on the field postgame?" Asher asked me.

"Depends on the game," I mused, with a half-smile.

But I couldn't control the blush on my cheeks.

"The Eagles did so well," Kylie gushed. "That's one the better teams they've had."

"I'm excited for this season," I agreed. "I think we're going to have a solid tournament season."

"What about the Tigers?" Kylie questioned, naming Steven's team. "Have you seen them play?"

I shook my head. "But it's Anderson. How good can they really be?"

I dropped her and Asher off, promising Kylie I'd see her at Ms. Wilcott's on Monday morning, before heading back over to Bryce's place.

Clayton's car was already gone, and Bryce was waiting for me on the front porch, still in his baseball uniform.

I didn't mind.

"I'm locked out of my house," Bryce informed me, sliding into my passenger seat. "Clayton went to get a key from his house. He's gonna leave it out back."

"What about the key under the turtle?"

"I took that one inside yesterday. I told myself to put it back too, and I never did."

"Well that's what you get."

He jutted out his bottom lip, pouting.

"So did your coach say anything about your playing today?" I asked.

"He said that I caught the attention of some scouts there."

My head whipped over to face him, only for a brief moment before I refocused on the road. "What scouts?"

"He wouldn't say. Just said that if I kept doing what I was doing I shouldn't have to worry about securing a scholarship."

"No way."

"I apparently impressed somebody."

"Sounds like it was more than just a somebody. Bryce, that's so awesome."

He took my free hand in his, kissing the back of my palm. "Well you're the one who convinced me to keep going to therapy. So I really have you to think."

"Don't even try that. You know how hard you worked to get back to where you are," I said, squeezing his hand.

He didn't argue, because he knew it was true. Bryce had worked incredibly hard to get back on the field.

"I couldn't have done it without you by my side," he said, sincerely.

I could feel the blush creeping back up onto my cheeks.

"I mean it," he added. "Your flowers are on my kitchen counter, but I don't need flowers to tell you how much you mean to me. Your support is everything to me Soph. I wouldn't be half of what I am right now if weren't for you."

And now there were tears in my eyes, and I reached up with our intertwined hands, catching the one that escaped.

Bryce leaned over, kissing my tear away. "I love you."

"I can't," I managed to say, my voice shaking.

I couldn't start sobbing behind the wheel of a car.

"Then let me," he said, running his thumb over the back of my hand. "Let me tell you that I know that I haven't been the easiest person to deal with. And I know that there have been times when you should've left me for someone much more deserving of the incredible person that you are. And I just want to say that I love who you are Sophie Allen. I love that you've stood by me, even though I tried pushing you away. And I love that you've always been there to support me, in everything that I do. And I just want you to know that I'll always be there for you, in anything and everything. That this isn't a one-sided relationship. I'm in love with you. And I will spend every day proving that to you."

Well so much for the crying.

I pulled into a parking space downtown before climbing across the center console, wrapping my arms around Bryce and burying my face into the crook of his neck as I cried, my emotions all over the place.

He wrapped his arms around me, rubbing my back.

I could feel him laughing underneath me.

"Don't laugh at me," I muttered, wiping my face on his jersey.

"I'm not laughing at you," he promised. "I think you're adorable. And sweet."

"I love you Bryce Harrison."

"That's a relief," he said, reaching up and brushing my hair off of my tear-soaked cheeks. "Because I'm head over heels for you."

So what did you guys think about the snuggles? Was there enough of it for you? (Probably not, because you guys all have dirty, dirty minds. You naughty people.) What about Bryce's first game back? Were you nervous at first? And then Bryce's love confession to Sophie? Did it hit you right in the feels?

I can't believe we're already at chapter 50. How did we get here? It doesn't feel like it guys, it really doesn't.

Teaser: Sophie starts her summer job, and Bryce leaves for his first baseball tournament for the summer. Which I know doesn't sound like much, but I promise there will be more.