"chapter 20- all over again"

"actually, i have a confession to make. my kids helped me write this speech tonight. i was gonna open with, what i thought was a strong joke, but apparently i'm not very funny." coach baker said into the microphone which caused the audience to laugh.

"i'd like to thank my wife, my beautiful wife. she couldn't be here, but without her, none of this would be possible. i'd like to thank the boosters, who support what we're trying to do. & last but not least, my team. my boys. every time we were faced with adversity this year, they came back even stronger. they have represented our program with integrity & accountability. anyway, we've got some work left to do, but i'm very proud to be head coach at beverly. so, thank for this honor." & the room was filled with cheers and applause as coach walked back to his seat.

"i'm ready for this thing to be over." jordan whispered in brooke's ear.

"why?" brooke asked whispering back.

"i'd kinda like to take that dress off you." jordan flirted.

which caused brooke to roll her eyes at her boyfriend.

"this is a family event, behave." brooke replied, but just as she said that jordan crept his hand onto her thigh & brooke smacked it away.

"later." brooke whispered in his ear which caused jordan to smile.

"also from beverly high spencer james." a man announced and the audience clapped as spencer walked onto the stage.

"thank you. i wrote down a list of names to thank. i want to thank coach baker. my team. jordan baker; my qb. my mom. my brother dillon. you know, looking down at that list of names reminds me of another list. quintell dennis. marcus heard. tyson glover. jamerrill maxwell. & shawn scott. you ain't never heard of them. they never got the chance to stand on no stage & accept an award. & they all lost their lives this year. see, when a gang member dies, everybody just shrugs. thinking, "hey they chose this life, right?" let's face it. most of their stories were written they say they were born. they never had the same opportunities. i think it's time we stopped shrugging. because now on, i'm winning this race for them. it ain't just about scholarships or making it to the nfl. it's about giving back to where i came from as much as i can. it's about giving them more opportunities so they can write their own stories. thank you." spencer stated & the crowd was filled with cheers at the crenshaw boys speech about facing & overcoming adversity.

the l.a. tribune event came to a close, brooke & jordan sat in parking lot in the car making out. jordan's hands reached for the zipper on the back of brooke's dress and she stopped him.

"we can't do this here." brooke said catching her breathe.

"where should we should we go." jordan asked & brooke unlocked her phone checking her fathers location seeing he was in san diego.

"let's go to my house my dads gone." brooke smiled and jordan started the car.

after jordan drove almost double the speed limit, ran two stop signs, and almost hit a squirrel. they finally made it to the madden residence in one piece. brooke unlocked the door walking into the mansion & yelled "anyone home." she then saw a note on the kitchen counter left by amanda saying her & emma were in miami.

"we have this place all to ourselves then." jordan smiled as he started to kiss brooke's neck as she let out a moan.

"that means we can be as loud as we want." brooke laughed as jordan picked her up taking her upstairs to her bedroom.

he placed brooke down on the bed & they attacked eachother. clothes were flying off left & right, then they heard the doorbell ring.

"who do you think it is?" jordan asked.

"shit what if it's my dad." brooke said running her fingers through her hair as she threw on a t shirt and sweats.

"just stay here okay." brooke ordered and jordan nodded in agreement.

brooke walked downstairs and opened the door to see asher holding her favorite flowers.

"hey." asher greeted smiling.

"oh, hey." brooke replied.

"uh, what's this." brooke said motioning to the flowers.

"me climbing out of the hole." asher retorted.

"you're going back to school." brooke grinned.

"yeah. & i've been thinking a lot about what you said. how there's always a way back." asher said referencing their last conversation.

"oh, i was talking about football. you still have a bright future, asher." brooke assured.

"all i care about is my future with you. i think it is the real thing. i just, i want a chance to prove it. i love you." asher admitted.

"i'm with jordan." brooke revealed as asher looked at her & threw the flowers on the ground and walked away.

brooke grabbed a broom, sweeping up the flowers, throwing the soiled petals into the garbage, with the rest of asher adam's heart. that she had broken by mistake all over again.