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“Uh…” I pause. “Not exactly?”

“You know…” she starts. “You never told me who you’re working with this year. Are you dating him, is that why you won’t tell me?”

I cough out a fake laugh, acting completely oblivious. “Oh, I totally thought I did!”

“Nope,” she pops on the P. “Who’s the lucky guy working with my Ellie-bug this season?”

I take a deep breath, debating whether or not I should just man up and tell her the truth, or come up with some bald-faced lie about it.

“It’s… It’s Wyatt, mom.”

Silence.

I look at my phone after a few seconds to make sure she didn’t hang up on me.

“Wyatt…Who?” She asks. Now she knows damn well which Wyatt I would be talking about.

“Mother, there’s only one Wyatt in this universe that I would call by first name, and you’d know who I’m talking about.”

Silence settles between us again. Either she’s really pissed, or she’s really surprised. Maybe both.

“Eliana…”

The disappointment in her voice hurt me more than I expected.

“Of all the players they could’ve selected on the roster.”

“Trust me, I said the same thing. I had no idea who I was going to be working with until I got to his house,” I explained to her. “If I had known it was him? I would’ve asked for a different player immediately. But they’re also paying me a lot of money this year, Mom…”

“And you’re okay living in his house with him? Are you at least getting along?”

“We’re working together. It’s all part of the contract. I manage his social media. That’s it. Nothing else is going to happen.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I can’t break the contract. If I do, it could potentially ruin any future opportunities I could have with the league.”

Mom sighs. “I just worry about you, mi amor. I don’t want him taking advantage of you in any way.”

“I’m fine, Mom. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“I’m your mother, of course I’m going to worry. I just want to know what’s going on in your life.”

There’s a beat of silence again. I understood where she was coming from – I’m the baby of the family; she was going to always be the protective mama bear.

However, if anyone knew how I truly felt about Wyatt, it would be my mom.

I glanced back at the field just as a handful of players started drifting toward home plate for batting practice.

“I know, Mom. You’re just looking out for me.”

“Exactly, baby. So, tell me about your projects. What have you been working on? What’s new?”

There were so many things I could tell her about; instead, I focus on the upcoming projects I have planned and the upcoming road trip.

“I’ve been working on a new video for Wyatt’s socials that’s taking off of some trend that’s going around on TikTok,” I laugh to myself. “You probably don’t even follow the trends, but people have been making them for summer to Halloween. I made it my own spin and did summer baseball to postseason.” I explain to her, knowing she won’t have a clue what I’m even talking about.

“And that…people like that?” She asks, curiosity lacing her voice. “I only stick to Facebook, hon, you know this.”

I giggle. “Yes, Mom. It’s popular. It’ll probably be on Facebook too; I’ll send it to you once it’s done.” I sigh, leaning back in my chair. “And then we’re heading off on another road trip soon. Which, should be fun. I like traveling with the team.”

“And you don’t sleep in the same hotel room, right? They get you your own room?” Mom asks, and I can’t help but let out a sigh, tapping my foot against the chair.