Whatever, you have fun with the guy, don’t overthink it.I shake off the feeling and let him sleep.
Padding my way into the kitchen, I see Sarah’s already made a pot of coffee. Brilliant.
“You get any sleep?” she asks, looking amused.
It’s too early to deal with teasing back. “Enough to make it for our flight today.”
“Good, and there’s another bag you might have to pack soon.” What does she mean?
A grin comes across her face as I look at her quizzically.
“Just across the wires. The coaches named the twelve reserves for the All-Star game, and you made it, Parker.” Her voice gets louder and more excited as she gets the news out.
“WHAT? Oh my god!” I’m wide awake now, and she jumps up to give me a hug.
I’m pretty sure our squealing session that follows is as loud as the fireworks last night.
“Congrats, Avery. It’s so well deserved. You’ve really turned it on lately. Not that I would expect anything less.”
“Thanks so much. Oh wait, let me go tell my family. And Rawley.”
I head back to the room, two coffees in hand. Rawley is now sitting up in bed, scrolling on his phone.
“Look at you, delivering exactly what I need.” He must see the look on my face then. “What is it?”
“I made the All-Star team.” I beam. “Just as a reserve, but still.”
“Shit yes!” He stands up, taking the coffees out of my hand to set them on the nightstand before pulling me into his arms.
“So proud of you,” he says into my hair. His arms fold around me, and I lean into his strong, warm body.
I press into his chest, and he kisses the top of my head. “Thank you. I’m so glad you were here when I found out.” The words emerge before I even think about them.
He doesn’t miss a beat though, kissing me hard on the lips. “Me too.”
I’m a little thrown off by how much I mean what I just said. My heart leaps at his excitement for me, and my head is giddy at being able to tell him.
Not just anyone, I realize. Being able to tellhim.
You’re spending all this time with him, it’s natural. Don’t freak out.
Willing myself to chill out, I break out of our hug.
“Let me call my family.” He nods.
It turns out that in the last couple of minutes Mom heard, and she dropped the news in our large family group chat. It includes extended family like Wells, his sister Cara and their mom, Aunt Sandra.
MOM: AVERY MADE THE ALL STAR TEAM
The texts that follow make my heart warm all over, with my siblings and everyone else saying their congrats.
I call Mom right away with Rawley watching on, smiling and sipping his coffee.
Instead of hello when she picks up, I get: “AVERY OH MY GOD!” Her voice is as excited as her texts suggest.
“I knowwwww.”
“Making the All-Star team your rookie year is so amazing,” she gushes. “Wait, your dad wants to speak to you too.” She switches to speaker.
