“I know, Daddy.”
“Baby, is there anything going on between you and that young man?”
“Mama, no! Why would you ask that?”
“I just saw how protective he was over you when he dropped you off this morning, and how you looked at him. Then there was how he looked at you.”
“How did he look at my baby? MVP winner or not, that’s still my baby,” Daddy fussed.
“He didn’t look at me in any way, Daddy. Mama’s doing too much,” I complained, rolling my eyes.
“We’ll see,” she replied knowingly.
My belly twisted in knots because I didn’t make a habit of lying to my parents. While nothing was going on, there were definitely feelings being stirred between Ashton and me.
“I’m so tired,” I declared through a yawn as we pulled up to the cabin.
“I know your parents must have been excited to have you for an entire day.”
“They were. I told you Mama started cooking the minute that I told her I was coming.”
“Can’t wait to dig into that soup. It smelled so good. I get tired of eating at restaurants all the time.”
“Mama definitely can throw down in the kitchen,” I declared as I climbed out of the truck with Titan at my side.
“Smells like it,” he stated, walking up behind me and unlocking the door. “Did you want something else to eat? I know you’ve already eaten the soup and bread earlier.”
“No, I’m good with leftovers. I love my mama’s cooking.”
“I can tell.”
“What’s that supposed to mean, sir?” I asked, nudging him with my elbow as he held the door open for me to step inside.
Chuckling, he replied, “The way you made sure she gave you an extra serving and how you pawed two slices of cake and had the nerve to tell me to get my own.”
I laughed. “Sorry. I love her cakes. They’re so moist and buttery. Wait until you taste it.”
“Shit, I was gonna wait until I finished showering, but I don’t think I can. The way you’ve been talking about it on the drive back and how good it smelled when I stepped into your parents’ house, there’s no way I can wait.”
He made his way to the kitchen, and I followed him. I washed my hands and placed the container in the microwave to warm up, while he fixed Titan’s food and water.
“You didn’t talk about practice much on the way back. When I asked you, you grumbled something. Wanna talk about it?” I asked, pulling two glasses from the cabinet to fill with coconut water.
“It was okay.”
“Why just okay?”
“It’s hard focusing with all that’s going on.”
“Everything will all settle down in time.” I tried to encourage him, despite my frustration, as I filled our bowls with soup.
Ashton glanced at me and laughed.
“Why are you laughing?”
“Because you don’t sound like you believe that any more than I do.”
“Well, after today, it’s kind of hard to feel very upbeat about it.”
