“Hey, why are you laughing?”
“It’s just funny being congratulated for something over eight years later. I’ve accomplished more since then, football-wise.”
I debate saying anything at all, but the truth is already pressing at my lips. “I haven’t really seenanyfootball over the years.”
“You haven’t seen any of my games?” He leans against his bedroom dresser, folding his arms in front of him.
My breathing is a bit uneven as a hollow feeling settles in my stomach. “No, at least not by choice. I avoid the sport entirely. I didn’t even know who you were playing for right now. I looked you up before I came. I…I’m finding it difficult to express what the last ten years were like for me. And I’m honestly not sure you’d want to know.”
He searches my eyes. “I want to know, Gracie. I told you I want to know everything.”
“I know you say that, but I can see the pain in your eyes when I say certain things, like me not watching the draft,” I say quietly.
He shakes his head. “The pain in my eyes isn’t because of you not watching my dumb football games. That’s simply an effect. It’s because of us losing so much time together.”
I nod, slowly, and sit down on one of the oversized chairs by his bedroom window. I want to sayyou’renotalone in this, I miss you, but it’s hard to be vulnerable after all of this time. It feels like writing with the wrong hand.
He gives me one last moment to respond. When I don’t, he graciously changes the subject. “Okay, enough about me. Tell me something about you. You’re a vet, Gracie girl. Wow.”
Is that pride in his eyes?
“Erm, yeah. I actually run an animal clinic in Columbus.”
“I knew you’d own a clinic one day,” he says softly. “I’m confident there’s no better vet than you anywhere.”
The certainty is soDanny. Growing up, his unshakable faith in my abilities always made me melt. To be the object of hissteady confidence again disarms me, and I blink hard to pull myself out of the daze he puts me in so easily.
“I’m not sure aboutanywhere, but maybe within twenty miles of Columbus,” I joke.
“Who’s managing your animal clinic while you’re here?”
“My partner, Elle. We went to the same vet school in Indiana and knew we wanted to work together long-term. She’s from Northeast Ohio, so we both had plans to move back after graduation. After much convincing, she decided to join me in Columbus at the animal clinic. You’d get along really well with her. She’s very charming, but also slightly neurotic.”
“Iamextremely charming,” he quips with a wink.
“Don’t forget ‘slightly neurotic.’ That part’s important,” I add as he rolls his eyes. My lips curve in a gentle smile. “So how is it playing professional football after all these years? It was always your dream, and you finally achieved it. Was it everything you hoped for?”
Danny takes a few steps in my direction and sits on the edge of his bed, facing me. His gaze is unwavering and wrought with intensity. He seems to carefully choose his next words. “I wouldn’t say that playing in the league was my entire dream. I actually don’t think I’ve come close to achieving my full dream yet. There are definitely some…key parts missing.”
I suck in a shallow breath, trying my best not to dwell on the missing parts.
“I do love it, though. The team is pretty great. The guys are nice and chill, and no one has an unmanageable ego. I’m lucky to be a veteran with the organization.”
“So, you’ve played in New York this whole time, then?”
“Yeah.” He shyly ducks his chin, as if that hadn’t been his lifelong goal as a child.
“The biggest Mustangs fan becomes the best Mustangs player. It’s wonderfully poetic. Janie must be so proud.” I smile.
“She’s just happy she has an excuse to visit the city. Mom’s here for the art galleries more than the games, I think.”
“I bet,” I say fondly. Janie is an amazing freelance photographer in Columbus. Her creativity is one of the many reasons why I love her. “I’m sure being a professional football player has a lot of perks, though. I bet going out is more fun, especially with all the guys. I can’t even imagine all the attention.”
Danny shakes his head. “Actually, a lot of the guys on the team are either married or have serious girlfriends. There’s not a ton of ‘going out’ anymore. Even if there was, I’m not interested.”
I don’t want to explore why a feeling of solace washes over me with his words. “Oh. So what do you do in your spare time then?”
He nods in the direction of a few medals hanging above his dresser. “I run. You saw on the gallery wall that I’ve been running 5Ks, sometimes with Tessa. My mom still lives in Columbus, but Tessa actually moved out here for fashion design school. She’s also an amazing marathon runner, but I can’t do those due to football restrictions.”
