“On it.” Fletcher leaps to his feet. “Because asswankers have to make points that they’re not always asswankers sometimes.”
“Is he really your favorite teammate?” Ziggy asks me.
“Not even close, but he comes with Goldie, and he doesn’t need a second job to get by in the off-season, so it’s a default thing.”
“He’s obnoxious, but he’s very self-aware about it,” Goldie says. “But might I point out, Silas also doesn’t work in the off-season. You could be hanging with my brother instead.”
I grimace.
She grins, then turns to Ziggy again. “You worked cruise ships? That sounds exciting.”
Ziggy takes the opening and starts telling stories abouther life before she came back to Copper Valley. It’s fun to realize I know some of these stories.
Most of them involve her friend Francesca.
No one asks about the baby.
No one asks if we slept together last night.
Ziggy asks Goldie about what she’s been up to since high school too, and by the time we leave for the movie, my girl’s bright-eyed and happy.
Yes.
My girl.
I licked her. She’s mine.
For as long as the world lets me have her.
The subtle cramping in my gut is warning me it won’t be long enough. That I should keep her at arm’s length. That I should acknowledge this is for fun, not for forever.
Eventually, I’ll consider admitting this could be just infatuation.
It might fade.
Probably for her first.
But today?
Today, I get to be with her. And that’s all that matters.
“Feel better?” I ask as I limp along with my crutches out to her car.
The smile she gives me makes me believe this could last forever.
That there’s still good in the world. That maybe my bad luck streak is over.
If we can prove to ourselves that this is worth fighting her dad over.
“You’re very good at knowing what people need,” she says to me.
“Tell that to Jessica.”
“Not to brag, but I think Jessica’s pretty happy with the dog sitter you got her.”
“Accident. Good accident, but still an accident.”
“Was it though? Or do you have magic powers you don’t even know you’re using sometimes?”
