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Mom had picked the perfect spot to park so that I could walk up to the baseball diamond hidden by the tall announcer’s booth behind home plate. No one would see me coming.
I didn’t get a glimpse of Jayden before I entered the booth, but I could hear him, calling out to his teammates. The sound of his voice made me shake with nerves. My cheeks were inflamed and my knees wobbly as I climbed the stairs to the announcer’s window where I’d blasted Adele only last week. Sitting at the table, I moved quickly to put a new CD in the drive, pressed play, and cranked up the volume to high. It was time for another Adele song. But this time, there was no moping involved.
The pitcher was just about to wind up when “One and Only” came blasting through the speakers. He and the rest of the guys immediately looked up at the booth for the source of the disturbance, but I ducked away in time so they couldn’t see me, and headed back down the stairs, my heart thundering.
This is going to work, I kept repeating in my head.
It was easy to see when I peeked around the corner of the booth that the boys were confused. They had all frozen in their places. Jayden had torn off his mask and was shaking his head, his brown shaggy hair mussed from wearing the gear. His back was to me, but I could tell from the way his body tensed when he clapped eyes on Audrey as she entered the baseball diamond with the chocolate lab. I would’ve given anything to be able to see his expression in that moment. She walked toward him and he dropped to his knees to scratch the dog on the head.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, looking up at Audrey. “Is this your dog?”
At this point, I could only see the side of his face, but he definitely looked confused.
“Read the sign,” she said with a beaming smile as she cocked her hip.
He reached for the chalkboard sign tied around the dog’s neck and read it aloud, “Triple Dog.” With a furrowed brow, he looked back up at Audrey. “What does that mean?”
“Cool your jets, Jayden,” she said with a wink, handing him the leash. “More’s coming. Believe me, the wait will be worth it.”
Next, came Trina with the golden retriever. She hit the field just as the Adele song crescendoed into the chorus. Jayden stood to watch her walk toward him and hand him the second leash. He leaned down to read this sign as well, his eyes narrowed.
“Dare You.”
He looked up to see Charlotte already headed his way with the white fluffball of a dog. I had wondered if he’d pepper her with questions the moment he saw her, but he stayed silent. She gave him a quick side hug before handing him the leash and running off.
“To Go To,” Jayden read off its sign, fending off dog kisses. A reluctant smile played on his lips.
Their part was over. This was my grand entrance. I entered the field as quietly as I could through the gate behind him, holding up my sign. My entire body was on fire with nerves. I was pretty sure I hadn’t taken a full breath for the last hour, because my head was spinning. Somehow, despite all that, I managed to stay upright and wait for Jayden to turn around.
It wasn’t until the dogs spotted me and tugged on the leashes in my direction, did he realize I was there. He turned with an agonizing slowness, his face a blank mask as his gaze landed first on my face and then flicked down to the sign in my hands.
“Prom With Me,” I read aloud for him, my voice trembling. “Triple dog dare you to go to prom with me, Jayden Paul.”
Never in my life had I thought I would be the one to do a promposal, especially not after the embarrassment of last week with Collin and Mason. But even I had to admit, Charlotte’s idea was brilliant, and if this didn’t work, nothing would. I’d come up with the bit about using the dogs. I was hoping they’d earn me a little extra credit in the forgiveness category. Who could hold a grudge next to three ecstatic tail-wagging pups?
Adele’s voice continued in the background even as everything else seemed to melt away. All I could see was Jayden, staring at me with a hardened expression, his jaw flexing. I swallowed hard, willing my hands to stop shaking. And as Jayden reached up to run a hand over his chin, I tried to take a deep, calming breath.
“You’re asking me to prom?” He licked his lips, confusion flickering in his eyes. He looked down at the dogs, vying for his attention, and then back at me. “I don’t understand. I thought you were done with me.”
I took a step toward him, my pulse throbbing in my neck. I’d tried to plan out what I was going to say to him, but my head and heart were pulling me in a way I hadn’t prepared for.
“Since I sprained my ankle three weeks ago, I’ve learned a lot. Thanks to you, I learned that I am more than just my running ability. I am an accomplished pinball master. A professional jelly-bean taster. A fantastic team manager, and a potential water boy.”
His expression remained neutral, but I thought I saw a flash of humor in his eyes. It emboldened me to move closer, my breathing getting shallower.
“I learned that it’s not a bad thing for me to accept help sometimes. That it’s useful to have someone who can sweep me off my feet when I’m hurt. Who can talk me through my problems. Put a smile on my face. And even help me to look out for the ones I love.”
My gaze darted over to my sister where she stood outside the fence next to our mom and my friends. They were watching everything closely with hopeful expressions on their faces. My heart swelled with love for them. Mom had been right. I didn’t have to handle everything myself. I could give up control. They would always be there to help me.
“And finally,” I continued, looking back at him, emotion entering my voice, “I learned that I could hurt you deeply with my carelessness. And that I would regret it for the rest of my life.” That confession stung, but I was pretty sure both of our hearts had needed it. I took a deep breath to help me wrap it up. “You can tell me that you’re over me. And you can say that you’ve already forgotten me, but I would regret it even more if I let you walk away before I asked you if you would forgive me.”
I pressed my lips together and waited for a sign from him—any little sign that might give me a clue if this humiliating show had been a success or an epic failure. But Jayden wasn’t going to go easy on me. He stared silently at me, his chest rising and falling under his catcher pads, his nostrils flaring slightly. My body buzzed under his gaze, my cheeks flushin
g and the tips of my ears hot. I would’ve given anything in that moment to know what was going through his head. Did he hate me? Did he still love me? Had I ruined our chances forever?
The longer the moment stretched out between us, the harder it became to hold my sign up. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes as I lowered it. I gave him the best smile I could muster and tried not to let the sorrow leak into my voice.
“I love you, Jayden Paul. I’m sorry it took me this long to tell you.”
