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"Thanks. The Kookaburras were tough. It was a pleasure to hand them their beaks on a platter."
I smiled. It could just as easily have been the Rapids who were handed their beaks…or tails. I thought better of saying so. He knew better than I did how close they came to losing.
He stepped closer to me. "I didn't come here to talk about the game. Not right away at least." He grinned again.
I rolled my eyes at him, but smiled. "What did you come here for then?"
His expression became serious. "I came to see you." He frowned slightly. "You were at the game?"
"Yeah." I shrugged one shoulder, then gestured toward the couch. "I sat with Bec. She helped me to understand the rules better." It wasn't that complicated, but every game had its nuances if you knew what to look for.
He didn't seem surprised. "I went looking for you, but you'd left."
My heart raced at his words and the implication.
"You did?" I sat down a little too fast and almost missed the couch.
He caught my hand and helped me down, but then didn't let go. Did he feel me trembling? Or maybe that was him.
"Yeah. I've been a dick," he said. "I shouldn't have stood you up or pushed you away."
"You got hurt," I said evenly. "It makes sense that you wouldn't want to jump into something so soon."
"So did you," he reminded me. "Got hurt, I mean."
He didn't need to remind me; I spotted a balloon hiding under the table. How many more of the horrible things had I missed?
"Yes, I did, but it's one thousand percent over." I told him about the balloons and the conversation with Kris.
Chase laughed, and looked approving when I told him where I donated the balloons.
"I'd have seen how many I could fit in Bam's locker," he said. "I still might do that. His face when he opens it would be totally worth it."
"Just keep them away from me." I shuddered.
Chase drew me in and put an arm around me. "I promise, I will never, ever give you any balloons. If I ever break that promise, I'll…"
"Walk in the spring parade wearing a pink tutu?" I suggested. That would almost be worth it.
Almost.
He snapped his fingers. "Yes. Bright pink. And a matching blouse with a unicorn on it."
"I'll hold you to it," I said. Although, he'd look cute dressed like that.
"What else will you hold to me?" he asked in my ear.
My mouth went dry and I had to swallow before I replied. "That depends. What else do youwantme to hold to you?"
He sat back.
For a moment I thought I did something wrong.
"Everything," he said finally. "But I don't want to rush you."
"I don't want to rush you either," I said softly. "But I'm not scared to try. You're not—" I waved a hand as though I'd forgotten the name of my ex already. "You're not that guy. You wouldn't do the things he did. I'd never do what she did either." I didn't want to mention Brandi's name. Our exes were in the past. I wanted to think about the present.
For the first time in a long time, I wanted to think about the future too.
