All In (The Kings of Kroydon Hills, #1)

by Bella Matthews

Mr. Sinclair starts to walk away but stops and turns to study Murphy. “Aiden?” Murphy looks up nervously. “Yes, sir?” “Why the hell do you look like you rolled around with a sweaty stripper?” Mr. Sinclair asks Murphy this with an absolute sincerity that’s not shared by the group. Everyone else in the room explodes with laughter. Natalie manages to keep a straight face. “Well, Dad, Murphy made the mistake of comparing me to Tinker Bell. Then, he got the entire football team to start calling me ‘Little Sinclair.’ The. Whole. Team.” She pouts at her dad, who’s laughing now too.

Joe Sinclair’s eyes meet mine next. “Brady, can I speak with you for a moment?” Not waiting for an answer, Mr. Sinclair heads away from us and toward his office. Cooper fails at hiding the grin that has overtaken his face. “Ohhhhh. Somebody pissed off his girlfriend’s dad already.” “Shut the fuck up, Cooper.” I flick his ear as I pass by.

“You better be nice to me, Brady Ryan. You’ve seen what I can do with a glitter bomb.”

“Mine, Nattie. God, you’re all fucking mine.” Thrust. “Mine to fuck.” Thrust. “Mine to protect.” Thrust. “Mine to love.”

I know I have a game tomorrow. I know I’m supposed to be at the school at ten. I know I need to be sleeping. But right now, I just don’t care. Right now, I’m lying in this bed with my girl curled up in my arms, and I can’t seem to force myself to stop watching her sleep.

I have no doubts the guys would tell me I’m a total pussy, but I don’t care about that either. This girl is it for me. She’s everything. She’s the endgame. And I’m all in.

“I love you, Natalie Sinclair. I know I said it earlier, but I want to make sure you know I meant it. You’re the first person I’ve ever said that to. I love you, and I need you to know that.” “Brady.” She reaches up and runs her fingers through my hair. “I love you too. I was worried that I’d scare you if I told you. But it’s true. I’m completely, madly in love with you, and I don’t think that’s ever going to change.”

A nurse comes in just before five in the morning to check my vitals. She glares at Natalie, who’s beside me in the bed. “Mr. Ryan, we may have allowed your girlfriend to spend the night, but you need your space. She should not be in that bed with you.” Trying to flash her my most charming smile, I read her name tag and answer, “Nurse Macy, my girlfriend is the size of a large child. Having her next to me is helping me more than it’s hurting, I promise. Do you know when I’m getting discharged?” “Probably around eleven, Mr. Ryan. And she may be the size of a large child, but she has the determination of a four-star general. She didn’t care what anyone said. She was not leaving your side yesterday. You’ve got yourself a keeper there. How’s your pain level?” Nurse Macy points at a picture on the wall beside me, demonstrating smiley faces that show pain on a scale of one to ten.

“I love you, Brady. When you were hurt yesterday, I lost my mind. I only just found you. You aren’t allowed to go anywhere. Not without me. Got it, QB?” “I’ve got you, sweetheart. I wish you didn’t have to go through all the craziness yesterday, but if you did, I wish I could’ve been there to help shoulder some of it. I’m glad Cooper was able to help, but it should have been me. I love you, Natalie Sinclair.” She kisses me again. “I love you too, Brady Ryan. I’m pretty sure the best thing that ever happened to me was moving to Kroydon Hills because it led me to you.” One day, I’m going to marry this girl and give her my name.

Nat turns around and throws her arms around my neck. Lifting her off the ground, I squeeze her as tight as I can and kiss her on this field one last time. “You ready for the rest of our lives, sweetheart?” “I’m ready for anything with you, QB.” A graduation cap hits me in the head. “Stop kissing my sister!” is heard one last time. We all laugh and leave this field and this school behind, on our way to bigger and better things. Together.