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“Well.” Her mother tucks Ellery’s hair behind one ear. “It’s a good thing I’m here. How about some soup? And a cool compress.”
“Or maybe an iced coffee?” Ellery counters.
“Oh honey…” Her mother pushes up from the bed and makes her way over to the drapes and throws them open. “Tea with lemon would be better.”
“Momma,” Ellery groans and throws herself back against the pillows.
“All right.” Saffron holds up her hand. “Iced coffee it is. Anything else?”
“A croissant?” Ellery looks back up and smiles sweetly.
“Coffee and a croissant,” her mother nods. “You got it.Marta’sI assume?”
“Yes, please?”
“Alright honey.”
Saffron makes her way to the door, then stops and looks around her room. “This room is a mess, darlin.’ There are clothes everywhere.”
I freeze, hoping to god my clothes are buried under hers.“Sorry Momma,” she drawls. “I’ll clean it up later.”
“Okay.” She blows Ellery a kiss. “See you in a bit.”
Her mother makes her way out of the room and back down the stairs. I wait until I hear the front door open and close, before coming out of the closet.
“Please don’t tell me what just happened is going to make you all weird?” Ellery says as I make my way over to the bed.
“What just happened was hilarious and a story we’ll tell our grandchildren someday.”
“What?” She shakes her head, clearly not understanding what I’m saying.
“Romeo and Juliet,” I say simply.
“What about them?” She laughs nervously.
“Fermina & Florentino.” I kneel on the bed, then place both hands on either side of her and lean in, so she has to lie down. “Elizabeth Bennett & Fitzwilliam Darcy.”
She eyes me curiously, pillows puffed up around her head. She’s completely naked, and looks better than any dream, and yet, I only want to look her in the eyes when I say what I’m about to.
“They were the greatest couples in literature,” I continue, “and do you know why? Because they weren’t afraid to fight for who they wanted and that’s you, Ellie. You’re what I want.”
Her mouth falls open and I can tell she wants to say something, but can’t, which is perfectly fine because I need to get this out. It’s long overdue.
“That’s why I stayed away the past few years. If I couldn’t have you, I didn’t want anyone else to. And I knew if I saw you again, I would want you. Yes, you were young, and yes, I had baseball, but the truth was I was afraid because what I felt for you was stronger than anything I’d ever felt before. So I ran from it. I ran as far as I could, but all this time, I’ve felt you pulling me back…pulling me here, where we began.”
“But what about your career?” she asks weakly, as if she’s finally found her voice. “All the reasons you said we couldn’t be together?”
“I don’t give a fuck about any of that. Not anymore.”
“Baseball?” Her brows shoot up. “You don’t give a fuck about baseball?”
“Yes, I love baseball. But that night of the party, when you said it was my dream, you only got part of it right. It was my dream until I met you and then you were my dream. You still are. I was too much of a coward to say it that night I left you, but I’m not now. I want you, Ellie. I want us. You’re the one.”
She tries to look away but I reach out and grab her chin, holding it steady. “Ellie, are you listening to me?”
“But you said we would be a scandal,” she swallows.
“Fuck scandals. I am tired of some bullshit society dictating what I want. And any team that thinks our relationship is a problem, isn’t a team for me.”
