“I know. And that’s absolutely correct,” I agreed because it fucking was. Like I’d told her, baseball demanded sacrifice … and not just from me.
“I took our time apart seriously. I considered all the options. I even looked online about what dating a professional athlete was really like,” she said with a sheepish grin before frowning. “That wasn’t fun reading.”
I had no idea what she was talking about, but I assumed the worst. The internet was probably filled with stories about being cheated on, lied to, and left behind. Not that those things weren’t true, but I wasn’t a typical athlete. Hell, I wasn’t even a typical guy when it came to all of those things, and I hoped she knew that.
“Did it make you not want to be with me?”
“It had very little impact on my decision,” she said, and I felt marginally relieved. “But I talked to my dad earlier.”
I perked up a little but only because her voice had lifted. “Okay. And? What did he say? Does he want you to come home? Get back together with Jared?”
“What? No.” She giggled. “My dad does not want me and Jared together.”
That was news to me. “He doesn’t?”
“No.” She waved me off. “Listen to me. I suggested something for his company that I’d like to be a part of.” She smiled so big, and I found myself smiling back at her, mostly because she seemed so cheerful, just talking about this. “And he agreed.”
“Is it a good thing? What is it? You look so happy right now.”
“It would be a whole new division for property purchases outside of New York for high-end clients. I’d still have an office in New York that I’d need to be at sometimes. And I’d also have to travel, depending on the client and the location of the property, but the majority of the work would be done online and via video-conferencing.”
“And your dad said yes?”
“He did.”
I sat there for a minute as everything she’d said processed in slow motion inside my brain. Is she saying what I think she’s saying?
“So, wait,” I stumbled, making sure I got it right before I got too excited. “Are you saying that you can work from anywhere?”
“I can work from anywhere,” she reinforced the point.
“And you want to do this?” I asked again, still not wanting to believe that she was saying she was mine.
“I can’t wait to start doing this.”
“Does this mean what I think it means?” Clearly, I needed her to spell it out for me, and I wasn’t even sorry about it. I was vulnerable, and even though I hated feeling weak, she also made me feel safe.
“If it means that you can’t get rid of me ever again, then yes.” She grinned before jumping off the chair and landing in my lap, straddling me.
My arms wrapped around her waist as my skin buzzed with the contact. “I’m in love with you, Danika,” I said, no longer able to hold back the words due to pride, ego, or fear. I’d been scared that it was too soon, that we had gotten too serious, too fast, or that I didn’t know what real love was, but saying the words brought me peace and calm that I’d never experienced before, and I knew it was right.
“I’m in love with you too,” she said, and my heart had never felt so full in my entire life.
I’d had no idea that hearing those words could make a guy feel like he could do anything. Walk on water. Save the world. Stop global warming. I was invincible as long as this girl chose me.
And all night long, I showed her how much I appreciated her choosing us.
Parental Advice
Danika
We fell back into our routine like we’d never been out of it. Chance never made me feel bad for taking time away to decide if I could handle things or not. There was no guilt, no pressure, no constant bringing it back up and throwing it in my face. I wasn’t sure why I’d expected a side of asshole behavior to accompany us getting back together, but then I reminded myself that this was Chance and not Jared, and everything made sense.
It was interesting to become aware of the dysfunctional things I had put up with once they had become a part of my life. I’d stopped seeing the behavior as crazy because it had slowly become the norm, and it had been easy to make excuses for it. Life had a funny way of showing you things but only once you were free of it. Hindsight truly was twenty-twenty.
Sunny had a paper she was struggling with finishing and wanted to get done before it ruined her entire weekend, so I was on my own for tonight’s game. Grabbing a bottle of water from the commissary and stuffing it into my bag, I headed toward the baseball field. From the looks of everyone around me, mostly girls clad in various baseball jerseys—Chance’s included—I wasn’t the only one going to the game.
“Isn’t she with Chance now?” I heard someone ask, and I couldn’t help but start listening in.
“I think so. If he’s anything like his dad, that won’t last long,” another female voice said from behind me, and I heard giggling.
“I heard his whole avoiding girls’ thing is just an act, and she’s just one of many,” another voice said.
I refused to put up with this bullshit the entire walk.
I stopped and turned to face them, the look of surprise on their faces fueling me on. Of course, they hadn’t thought that I’d say anything. “You have something you want to say to me? Something you’d like to ask about my boyfriend? I’d be happy to fill you in.”
“Uh, no,” they stuttered, completely caught off guard.
“Well, if you do, say it to my face next time and not my back.” I was not afraid of confrontation and had no issues with standing up for myself.
The girls stayed quiet the rest of the walk to the field, where I had tickets waiting for me and they didn’t. I knew they would be sitting in the shitty student section, and I silently hoped their makeup would melt off. Petty, party of one.
By the time I walked down to my seat, Jacey and Cassie were already sitting there, their blonde hair pulled back into ponytails with a baseball cap covering their heads. I got super excited to see them both, but I hadn’t seen Jacey since the dinner at her house, and that was months ago.
“It’s about time you came to a game,” I said as I pulled her into a hug.
She was a beautiful teenager, who was going to turn into an even more beautiful twenty-something-year-old. Chance and Jack were going to lose their minds with her.
“Me? You’re the one who hasn’t been here!” Jacey spouted back, and I realized that she was right. “Please tell me this means you and my dopey brother are back together.” She rolled her eyes the same way that Chance did, and the gesture was so familiar that I found myself staring at her face like a weirdo before pulling out of it.
“How did you know we weren’t together?” I asked her before looking around her shoulder at Cassie, who was grinning at our exchange.
“Because he was so annoying. I couldn’t take it anymore. If it lasted any longer, I was going to have to call you and demand you take him back.”
I looked at her, confused. “He was at your house?”
“Oh my God, he came over, like, every night, moping and whining and asking Mom and Dad for advice. I pretended to be in the other room, but I heard everything.”