Levi smiles and approaches me, leaning into the car and grabbing the box with ease. He places it on the trunk as I close the door and hit the lock button on my key fob. Just as I’m about to speak, I hear footsteps running up behind us. I turn just in time to see Claire before she comes skidding to a halt right in front of me, her arms wrapping around my waist as she looks up at me.
“Is my glove in the car?” She asks, completely unaware of the man beside me. “It’s not in my bag.”
“Did you take it out?” I ponder, unlocking the car and opening the back door so she can climb in and look. “I told you to leave your stuff in your bag, baby.”
Claire dives into the back and starts digging around the bag with her new Legos and my bag of new books before atriumphant sound escapes her lips as she slides back out. “I know, but I needed to make sure it fit.”
“And why wouldn’t it fit?” I raise a brow as she stands directly in front of me again.
“I was messing with these laces during practice,” she informs me as she points to them. “I wanted to see if they did anything and then I couldn’t remember if they did or not.”
I can’t help as a laugh escapes me as I ruffle her hair. She swats my hand away with a smile, tucking a loose piece of hair behind her ear. Claire suddenly glances to the right, and it’s only in that moment I remember Levi is standing there, witnessing this interaction.
“Who are you?” She asks with zero reservation.
“I’m Levi,” he responds just as easily, holding out his fist so Claire can knock her knuckles against his. “And who are you?”
Claire beams up at him. “I’m Claire. Are you the friend my mom was talking about?”
Levi looks at me with a raised brow and a smile tugging at his lips while I narrow my eyes at him slightly. I turn to look down at my daughter. “Yeah, baby, he is.”
“I thought you said you wanted to wait a little while before I met him?”
I slap my hands down on her shoulders and spin her around, resting a hand between her shoulder blades as I push her toward the field. “Go warm up with your team, honey. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Don’t forget the snacks,” she yells as she runs off, completely oblivious to what awkward conversation she just forced me into.
Spinning around, I see Levi leaning against the trunk with his arms crossed and a giant smile. I shake my head as I walk up to him, grabbing the bag of granola bars while I gesture for him to grab the box.
“Make yourself useful, will you?” I tease as I spin on my heel, leaving him to follow.
My white converse crunch on the loose gravel of the parking lot before I step up onto the sidewalk. I hear Levi following behind me and glance over my shoulder.
“I can bring this where you need it to go and then I can take off,” he says, causing me to stop in my tracks so I can turn to fully look at him. “I don’t want to overstep.”
I shrug. “She’s already met you, which means if you leave now, she’s just going to ask more questions. Cats already out of the bag, Levi. No use in trying to shove it back in.”
“Are you sure?” He continues, shifting the box in his grip. “I honestly didn’t know your daughter was playing or else I wouldn’t have shown up like this. You weren’t replying to my texts and after last night, I guess I just got a little worried about you.”
“I’m positive,” I confirm as I place a hand on his bicep. “And I’m sorry I didn’t respond. I kind of had my hands full trying to untangle what happened at her sleepover last night.”
Levi releases what appears to be a relieved sigh. “So, you weren’t second guessing the kiss?”
I shake my head and smile up at him. “Not even a little.”
He beams at me, so I turn and lead the way to the field she is playing at today. As we approach, I see some moms looking at us with narrowed eyes and murmured whispers. Ignoring them, I walk over to the table that the coach had set up and set the bag down.
“For now, we can just leave it here,” I tell Levi. He sets the box down next to the granola bars. “I’ll set everything out near the end of the game. Less chance of bugs.”
I walk up into the bleachers, hissing slightly when the hot metal hits the back of my bare thighs. No matter how many games I’ve been to, I always forget how hot these bleachers getduring the summer. I stand and pull my jean shorts down as much as I can before sitting down once more. Levi slides in next to me, leaning his elbows on the row behind us.
“All right,” he suddenly says, gesturing with his right hand. “Tell me everything I need to know.”
I raise a brow. “Like what exactly?”
“Best players, her team, the other team,” he lists, turning his attention to me. “I want to make sure I am completely up to speed.”
My heart clenches and I fight off the tears that threaten to well in my eyes. Travis never came to any of her games, and whenever he was around after them, he never truly listened to a thing Claire was saying. And now here is this man who has literally just met her and he wants to know every single detail. This is what Claire deserves.
