Page 91 of Her Game Plan

I let that sink in. It hurt to know she hadn’t told me, but Beckett’s right. What could she say? It wasn’t a done deal. It’s still not. And there are a lot of factors that play into a trade.

Shaking my head, I say, “It doesn’t matter. Even if we put that all aside, which now that you put it that way, I likely should, I still don’t think it’s a good time for me to be in a relationship.”

“So it was too hard?” Jameson asks. “The last few months? Because it seemed like you were happy. And whether you were calling it fake or not, you were in a relationship. You were doing it.”

I drop my head into my hands, tugging at the ends of my hair. “No, it was actually some of my best months ever. Charlotte fit into my life perfectly.”

“So then, what’s the problem?” Beckett asks as Nate cracks open a beer, looking highly skeptical.

I rub my temples, trying to figure out how to explain to these men, half of whom are in serious relationships, that half a year is the easy part. It’s getting someone to stick around longer that’s challenging.

“I don’t know that it’s worth putting myself through the wringer again, only to have her leave in a few months anyway,” I admit.

The men all glance at each other.

Beckett raises an eyebrow quizzically. “Why is she leaving?”

I snag a handful of Clusters from the bowl I brought down with me and shove them into my mouth. “What do you mean?”

“You said she was leaving in a few months,” Beckett says slowly. “Why?”

I search their faces, unclear why they aren’t understanding me.

“I’ll become too much. She’ll get tired of me, and she’ll leave. That’s what people do.” I force a smile, shrugging like it’s not a big deal.

Silence.

Finally, Jameson says, “That’s not what people do.” He shakes his head emphatically. “And certainly not people who love you.”

I flex my hand, trying to dislodge the uncomfortable pressure in my chest. “My parents did.”

“And they were shitty parents. You know that,” Pitty replies.

“Do I? Or am I just not worth sticking around for? They left. Charlotte left.”

“You ended things with Charlotte,” Beckett reminds me. “And I don’t know the whole story with your parents, but I guarantee you it had nothing to do with you. My dad was gone all the time when I was a kid, and it took me a long time, but I finally realized that the choices parents make? Those are about them. The fact that your parents left? That’s about them. It says something about them. Not about you. You’ve got a grandma who loves you. You’ve got a team full of guys who would literally cry if you left.”

Pitt nods aggressively in agreement.

“Them leaving isn’t about you, buddy.” Beckett shrugs. “If you don’t want to give this thing between you and Charlotte a real go—if you never want to find out if it was anything but fake to her—fine. But don’t do it because you think she’s going to leave. Do it because you truly don’t want to be with her. Do it because you spent six months living with her as your partner and you know that’s not what you want your future to look like.”

My mind shows me images of the last few months, of Charlotte and me together in the car, at the stadium together, of my lips pressed against hers as we hide in a supply closet at the practice field, of the soft smile on Charlotte’s face I glimpse while having a tea party with Marlee.

I swallow. “That is what I want my future to look like.”

“Then why the fuck are you letting stupid shit that doesn’t matter—and yes, I’m including your parents in that—fuck it up for you?” Pitty asks.

I think about the way she would smile when I pulled Nerds Clusters out of my pockets, and how animated she would get when she started telling me something. I think about the songs she included on this playlist. The ones that tell me she sees me, maybe more clearly than anyone ever has.

And I realize I have to do something.

Chapter 36

Charlotte

“Hi, sad girl. How are you?” Addie wraps me in a hug as soon as I walk into the condo.

I hug her back tightly, wishing it were Callan’s arms around me. Fuck, I couldn’t stop staring at him in the hallway yesterday. I almost blurted out how much I like him. It felt so good to be in his embrace again.