AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, I saw that one.”
Just the one?
Chewing on her bottom lip, Sunday stares a hole through my windshield. “So we just get photographed together a lot?”
When she puts it like that, it sounds so simple.
“Do we have to… kiss?”
I can’t help myself; humor soothes me. “If you’re lucky.”
An unamused gaze swings my way. “Cass.”
“Not if it makes you uncomfortable.”
Does it?I silently ask.
She averts her gaze.
“How long do we do it for?”
“You're due at the end of September.” It’s not a question—the date is marked in every calendar my family owns—but Sunday nods anyway. “Okay. So we have a few months before the season starts. I’ll leave for training in February and we can just kinda phase it out.”
“That makes sense.” White teeth worry a full bottom lip. “So you’re gonna play next season?”
“That’s the plan.” The goal, the dream, the fucking need.
“So you’re gonna leave.”
“Yeah.” I shift, something in my gut twisting. “For a while. But I’ll come back whenever I can and you can come visit and my family is still here, they’ll help, and-”
“Cass.” Sunday reaches across the center console, her hand settling over mine where it clutches the steering wheel. “It’s okay. I’m not complaining. I’m not judging. I get it. I just…” She sighs, the sorriest excuse for a smile pulling at her mouth. “You’re gonna miss stuff, y’know? Makes me sad.”
Yeah.Guilt. That’s what that is. “I’m sorry.”
“Not for me.” Her fingers squeeze mine. “Foryou. I know how it feels. August took his first steps with a babysitter ‘cause I was working and it sucked. I still—” She cuts herself off abruptly, lips pressed together as she grimaces apologetically. “Sorry, I swear I’m not tryna make you feel bad.”
I wave off her apology. “I’ll figure it out.” I neglect to mention that I hadn’t really thought about that, not in any meaningful capacity. It just seems so far off but now that she mentions it… It’ll be fine. Plenty of players before me have had kids while being on the road. It’s not like it’s unheard of. “Even when I’m not there, I’m still gonna help. Financially and stuff.”
Like I anticipated, Sunday tenses. “I don’t need that.”
I strongly suspect she’s usingneedandwantinterchangeably but either way, my response remains the same. “You’re already doing the hard part, sunshine. Let me make the rest of it a little easier.”
“We can split the costs. Fifty-fifty.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Because fifty percent of her income does not equal fifty percent of mine. Because I can afford to, and I want to. Because if I don’t do this one thing, cough up what’s pennies to me but a lot more to her, then what am I doing? How am I contributing? How am Ineeded?
“I have more money than I know what to do with,” is the answer I settle on, the safest answer. “I wanna use it on our kid.”
Our kidsoftens her but not all the way.
Faced with no other option, I plaster on a pathetic pout. “You feel bad for me, remember? Take pity on me. Let me help.”
“Fine. But nothing ridiculous, okay? I’m not raising a spoiled little monster.”
