The whole way to the restaurant she keeps patting her necklace, and I’m happy that she’s smiling. She seemed nervous earlier when I asked her out for dinner, but she seems good now. I hope so. I don’t ever want her to worry about a thing.
When we arrive at the restaurant, we get seated immediately. We have one glass of wine. She orders the filet with the lobster macaroni and cheese, and I order the filet and potatoes. I’m staring at her, wishing dinner was already over and we were back home, just the two of us when my teammate and his date come over to the table.
“Dylan, hey, man! How’s it going? This is Willa—"
Dylan turns to Willa excitedly. “Wait... the Willa?” He turns back to me. “This is her?”
I smile broadly at him. “Yes, this is her.”
Dylan is excited and even leans over the table to hug Willa. “Wow. You have no idea how nice it is to meet you. I’m so glad to see you here... finally put him out of his misery, huh?”
“Har, har,” I say, taking in Willa’s red face. She’s surprised by Dylan’s reaction. I point to the woman next to him. “You going to introduce her to Willa?”
I recognize the woman from being at the games and with Dylan a few times. She’d approached me once, but I wasn’t interested. But for the life of me, I can’t remember her name.
Dylan turns to her with a smile. “Yes. Michelle, this is Willa, and you probably know JD.”
Michelle smiles at me and Willa. “Yes, hello, nice to see you both. I think our table is ready, Dylan. You ready to go?”
Dylan nods and lets her pull him away but not before he smiles at the both of us happily. He knows what it means to me to have Willa with me. It’s nice having a teammate and a friend appreciate when good things happen to you. There’s so much jealousy and ego in this game, but Dylan’s the real deal.
When our food arrives, we both dig in. I let her try my au gratin potatoes, and I try her lobster mac and cheese. Neither one of us drinks any more wine. I don’t because I want to keep a clear head. I’m coming clean tonight with her. I’m telling her all of it, and I need to do it sober.
“Would you like to see our dessert tray?” the waitress asks.
Willa shakes her head. “I couldn’t eat another bite. Everything was sooo good.”
The waitress beams at her. She’s been a great server, and I plan on tipping her accordingly. “I think we’re good. Thank you. If we can have the check…”
She sets the bill on the table, and Willa reaches for her purse. “Don’t even think about it,” I tell her.
“JD, you already got me this necklace and roses...”
“You don’t pay when you’re with me, Willa.”
She huffs. “Well, if that isn’t the most chauvinistic...”
I look up at her, and I see by the light in her eyes that she’s joking with me. “I’m not a chauvinist. You know that. I just want to take care of my girl.”
She sits up straighter when I call her my girl. “Your girl, huh?”
I nod, searching her face. “That okay?”
“It’s good with me.”
I breathe a little easier hearing that. I look around for the waitress, ready to get out of here.
“I’m going to go to the ladies’ room before we leave.”
She stands up, and I stand up too. She laughs and pats me on the chest. “I’m okay. I’ll be right back.”
“Okay.”
I watch her walk to the back of the restaurant. When I can no longer see her, I continue looking around the restaurant for the server with my credit card.
Chapter 12
Willa
I’m washing my hands in the bathroom when Dylan’s girlfriend, Michelle, comes in. I smile at her in the mirror as she stands next to me, reapplying her lipstick.
She was somewhat nice to me in the restaurant, but now I’m not getting nice from her. I’m getting something completely different. “Dylan told me about you.”
I meet her gaze and try to act like I’m not intimidated by her. “Oh yeah? I just met him for the first time tonight, so I’m not sure what he knows about me.”
She turns to me so instead of looking at me in the mirror, she’s now looking straight at me. I finish drying my hands and turn to her. The look on her face tells me that she thinks she’s better than me, but I refuse to let her intimidate me. “Was there something else?”
“I’m just happy to see you with JD.
She says it, but she doesn’t look like she’s happy. If anything, she looks the opposite.
“Thank you,” I reply and walk past her.
I have my hand on the door, about to leave, when she starts talking again. “Yeah, maybe now he can get you out of his system and move on. Give the women that are a little more worthy a chance.”
I don’t look at her. I can’t because I know she’ll see how her words affect me. I push through the door without responding and get a few steps down the hallway when JD meets me. I do my best to smile at him. “Ready?”
He nods, grabbing my hand. “Are you okay?”
“I’m good,” I tell him.
He walks us outside and helps me into his car. The drive to his house doesn’t take long at all. The whole way, he holds my hand on the console between us. The internal debate continues in my mind. I wish I could forget everything Michelle said, but I can’t. She could be right. Being here with JD, well it’s been everything to me, but maybe he does just need to get me out of his system. Does that mean I need to give up?
We’ve arrived at his house and walked into his front door, and I’m still weighing all my options, deep in thought.
“All right. What is it? What’s weighing so heavily on your mind, Willa?”
In that moment, with him looking at me with so much concern, I know what I’m going to do. “JD, I don’t care if I’m like some kind of conquest for you. Like you thought I didn’t like you in high school, so now you need to prove you can get me.”
“Willa, I don’t—"
I hold my hand up to stop him. “Please, let me get this out. I mean, of course I care. I don’t want this to be just that. But I can’t walk away from you. I know that I can’t just leave and not show you how much you mean to me... how much you’ve meant to me since high school.”
He grabs me by the shoulders. “Where is this coming from?”
I shrug. “Michelle said you needed to get me out of your system, and I don’t know if that’s the case... but I—”
He leans in and kisses my forehead. “Oh, honey.”
I try to hold back the tears, but I can’t. They spill down my cheeks as I confess. “I need you, JD.”
He whispers against my head. “I need you too.” Then he grabs my hand. “Come with me.”
He takes me up the stairs, down the long hallway, and into what I’m guessing is his bedroom. On the tour the other day, he didn’t bring me in here. We stop in the middle of the room, but I’m not looking around; I’m looking at him.
“Willa, look at my nightstand.”