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She was right. Everything good, and noble, and gentlemanly in him said to agree. But he didn’t want to be gentlemanly. He wanted to keep Angela in his life. Wanted Angela to be the woman in his life.
A rush of adrenaline hit him harder than his first professional game. A mixture of fear, excitement and panic sent his pulse into overdrive. Was he ready to give up the history he had with Bridget for this intense, fiery feeling he had for Angela? Was he making a mistake to consider this, or would walking away be the bigger mistake? He needed time to think, time to consider, before he did something he’d regret forever.
“I called the producer in that documentary,” he said with a casualness he didn’t feel.
Her shoulders relaxed. He couldn’t tell if she was disappointed because she focused on the pizza again. “Really? How did it go?”
“He may let me come out on the boat with them when they search for sharks off the coast.”
“That sounds really scary, but also kind of cool. Why do you love sharks so much?” She took a small bite of the pizza.
Isaiah leaned back into the couch, comfortable with a nonlife-changing topic. “Because they’re big, strong and graceful. When a great white comes into the area, all other animals hide. They aren’t afraid of anything because there aren’t many things that can hurt them. They’re the ultimate embodiment of confidence.”
She swallowed, nodded and licked pizza sauce off her lips. “I guess I can see that.”
His gaze had followed the movement of her tongue and his cock twitched with interest. He shifted in his seat. “I’d love to work with him on this. Maybe even get a spot on the documentary he’s doing. It’s supposed to air during Shark Week.”
Angela’s eyes widened. She’d just taken another bite and placed her hand in front of her mouth. “I may see you on Shark Week?”
Her enthusiasm brought a grin to his lips. “You watch Shark Week?”
“Every year since I was eleven. It’d be so cool to actually know someone on one of the shows.”
“I’ve watched it every year, too—obviously. My family thinks I’m crazy for being into sharks. They would really lose their minds if they knew I’d love to get into underwater filmmaking after I retire.”
“Why? That would be the coolest job,” she said as if underwater filmmaking was all the rage.
“My parents are college professors. Engineering and mathematics, which means they’re both very practical. They think my journalism degree would better serve me in broadcast journalism when I retire. I agree, but after a career playing ball, which I love, I’d like to retire into another career I’d love. Broadcasting isn’t something I’m interested in.”
And speaking of his parents, they’d think he was being impractical for even considering breaking things off permanently with Bridget in order to be with Angela. Regardless of her job advocating for kids, all his parents would see was her work at a strip club. They’d warned him off groupies and gold diggers from the second it became obvious he was gifted with a basketball. If they found out he’d met Angela there, they wouldn’t care about his feelings and would assume he was making a decision with the head between his legs.
“Forget what they want, go for what you want,” Angela said. “You’ve only got one life—don’t spend it making other people happy. In the end, they won’t be the one living with the regret. I’d rather do things on my terms. That way if things go bad then I’m the only one to blame. Don’t give others control. Believe that you’re strong enough to survive any mistakes.”
“Is that how you live your life?”
She looked down at her wrist, at the symbol of strength. “If you’re afraid every decision you make may be the wrong one, then you won’t make any decisions. After having someone make a decision that nearly ruined my future and then bouncing back from that, I trust myself and any choices I make for myself a little more.”
What regrets would he be left with? Ever since his hero antics, as his dad called them, when he was younger, he hadn’t made a move without thinking of the consequences. All because he was worried of how the consequences would affect other people. His parents, his teammates, his relationships. Would his actions upset his parents, upset his coaches and upset his career. When was the last time he’d gone for what he wanted, consequences be damned? Angela leaned forward to grab a can of soda. Were the consequences of telling Bridget that asking her to move here was a mistake enough to stop him from doing it? From getting closer to Angela?
