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He fumbles the heart but manages to recover it before it hits the ground. “Wait, what? You slept with your professor?”
“Yeah, and to make a long story short, now, uh, we’re kind of dating.”
He purses his lips. “Is that the woman who was at the game a while back? Close to the end of the season? You two kept looking at each other.”
“For someone who’s usually oblivious to that kind of shit, you sure picked up on that fast.”
“Well, shit. That explains a lot.” He keeps flipping the heart between his fingers. “I knew something was going on. I hadn’t seen you with anyone in months. And even when your truck was in the driveway, you were hardly ever home. I guess now I know where you were always disappearing to. I can’t believe you kept that under wraps all this time.”
“I didn’t want to put you in an awkward position before the school year was over, and I couldn’t put Clover’s career in jeopardy. And then you and Lav moved to New York.”
“I get it. We were students; she was a professor. The fewer people who knew the better.”
“I wanted to tell you.”
He clinks his bottle against mine. “You don’t have to explain. Or feel bad, Mav. You always put everyone else before yourself.” His smile is a little sad. “I’m sorry you couldn’t talk to me about it.”
“It was the circumstances, and it wasn’t your fault. Hopefully you’ll get to meet her before you head to training camp.”
“That’d be good. I’d like that.” He leans back on his hands, looking at the sky. “How old is she, anyway?”
“Thirty.”
“Wow. That’s settling-down age.”
“Says the guy who’s been waiting to settle down with my sister since you could say her name.”
“Touché,” he says dryly. “You really do live up to your name.”
“How do you mean?”
“You’ve never been one to conform. You make your own rules. And you never take the path of least resistance.”
“Nothing good ever comes easy.”
“Isn’t that the truth?”
He clinks his beer against mine again, and we both tip our bottles back.
I know the road ahead is going to be bumpy, but I’m ready for the ride.
* * *
Nashville offersme a spot at training camp. I don’t have to accept right away, but based on the way my palms start to sweat and I nearly have a panic attack, I already know I don’t want to accept.
I don’t think I want it enough—not judging from the invisible weight that seems to lift when I make a list of pros and cons and it leans heavily on the con side.
I’m not disappointed by the offer, or jealous of Kody’s choices. I’m happy for my best friend and relieved for me. And that tells me everything I need to know. But I ask my dad if we can sit on my decision. I don’t want Kody’s dad to try to convince me to change my mind. And I don’t want to steal Kody’s thunder.
I call Clover, and she and I plan to meet up at her cabin in Pearl Bay later in the evening. Today has been intense, and while it’s been good to have the support of my dad and my best friend, I want to run it all by Clover and tell her everything that’s happened over the past forty-eight hours. I feel like my entire life has changed course, and this new path is the one I really want.
At six fifty-two, I get a message from Clover that she’s heading for Pearl Bay soon, and she’ll let me know when she arrives. But when I still haven’t heard from her by eight, I start to get antsy, especially when my text messages go unanswered. She turns her alerts off when she gets in the car to avoid distractions, but maybe she forgot to turn them back on. It’s happened before. When I call, it goes to voicemail.
“Maybe her cell died, and she doesn’t have a charger?” Kody suggests.
“She’s usually prepared for things like that.” Although if her charger isn’t in her car, it could explain the issue. “I’m gonna drive over there and see what’s going on.”
“I should probably head back to my parents’ since I have to be on a plane balls early.” Kody is meeting with the general manager of Philly tomorrow morning and then flying back to New York in the evening.
