REPORTER: Have you talked to your dad?
AVERY: I have. It was nice.
Despite the short answer, this sounds more genuine. Soft, even. Interesting—since I know her dad isn’t a favorite topic.
REPORTER: What about Rawley?
AVERY: We texted right before I came in here and it was alsonice. Yes, that is all the info you’re getting.
She’s smiling at the tail end of her reply, and the reporters chuckle again.
Damn, this is making me want to see her, sooner rather than later. She’s in Orlando for the week, so technically we could find time to hang again even tomorrow. And I really want to.
But fuck, it’s not part of our plan. The next time we’re supposed to see each other is the concert in a few days.
So all I do is text her again, around the time I think she’ll be back at Sarah’s.
RAWLEY: You home now? Or did you go out to celebrate?
AVERY: Home. I need quiet. My brain is
RAWLEY: I can imagine.
RAWLEY: This is probably the wrong time to do this, but I just wanted to say I had a good time last night.
AVERY: Me too :)
AVERY: And who knows, maybe that mattress is my good luck charm.
There’s a really bad joke somewhere that I could make, but I restrain myself.
RAWLEY:
AVERY: So with the concert coming up, have you started your homework?
RAWLEY: What homework?
I truly don’t know what she means.
AVERY: Leading up to a concert, you’re supposed to listen to the band’s music a lot. That way you can really get into the songs live.
RAWLEY: I didn’t know that was a thing.
AVERY: It is.
I guess I’m listening to a lot of TriPostal this week.
Because if that’s what Avery wants from me, consider it done.
Our texting winds down, and I drift to sleep.
I wakeup hyped about everything that’s happened the last two days—and for the day ahead, even if it doesn’t involve Avery.
With the last OTA coming up and his field closing for Grace’s track renovations soon, Johnson has invited me over to go through more plays.
Only, when I show up, playbook in hand, I see Bailey there too. Not a bad thing at all; I know he’ll offer a lot of guidance on top of wanting to practice himself.
As I approach them, I realize how similar the setup is to when I visited last summer and played here with just the two of them.
