“Seriously?” I say. “That’s awesome news!”
He nods. “She’s not twelve weeks yet. We were going to wait to share our news, but then we couldn’t. Not from all of you. We just told these guys this week,” he says, gesturing to Dylan and Brayden.
“You and Sky will be incredible parents,” I say. “I know your dad’s so happy right now.”
Colton’s blue eyes go cloudy, reflecting his emotion over his late father, who died when he was a teenager. “Thanks, Cam.”
“Do Ayden and Jenson know?” I ask, assuming he told Jenson first. Jenson and Colton are best friends and have been forever.
“J, yeah. He knows.” Colton shrugs sheepishly. “I had to tell someone as soon as Sky took the test. Jenson’s the only one of us with kids, so he got the phone call. We’re going to tell Ayden and Bella when we get back to L.A. They would have come with us to Montana, but ever since Bella was signed to a songwriting deal, she’s been getting invitations to perform. She had a huge slot this week, and Ayden stayed to support her.”
“I’m stoked for her,” I say.
Colton points his beer bottle at Dylan. “Dyl and Jasalie are expanding their family also.”
Brayden and I look at each other in confusion and then at Dylan.
“Jasalie’s pregnant?” Brayden asks. “You two never said anything when we were in Montana.”
Dylan smiles, his enthusiasm matching Colton’s. “Jase isn’t pregnant. Maybe someday, but we haven’t tried yet; we’re adopting out of the foster care system first.”
Dylan’s wife grew up a foster kid, and her dream has been to give a child a permanent home through adoption, something she didn’t get to experience.
Dylan tells us how he and Jasalie are taking classes first, and then they’ll eventually be matched with a foster child who’s legally free to be adopted.
“They want the kids in the system to be able to return to a blood relative who is stable and can care for them,” he says. “But of course that doesn’t always happen. If it did, the system wouldn’t have so many homeless kids.”
“The entire system needs help,” Colton says. “Jasalie was telling me about her childhood and how much she was bounced around.”
“That’s amazing you two are doing that,” Brayden says to Dylan.
He shrugs. “It’s what we want to do. We want to be parents, and it doesn’t have to be in the traditional way. I know it will come with its own unique set of challenges, but I can’t wait.”
“My two football cousins about to enter fatherhood,” I say.
“Yeah, we’ll be grandparents before you even decide to date again,” Colton says to me with a smirk.
I flip him off and stand up. I push past Brayden and head for the bathrooms.
When I see the familiar quick steps and swinging ponytail just ahead of me in the hallway, I hang back. I don’t want to scare her. But my reaction to seeing Savannah is the same as always—I gravitate toward her despite myself. And like always, I feel better just being near her.
* * *
Savannah
I take my time in the restroom, needing as much time as possible away from Celie.
Ever since some mystery guy sent drinks to our table, she’s been bugging me to find him and ask him out.
“Who cares if you don’t know him?” she pestered me. “He obviously noticed you. Maybe he could help you achieve your new year’s resolution. You know, since you can’t date Cam,” she says with a laugh.
Molly groaned. “Give it a rest, Cel. Leave Vannah alone!”
Finally, I excused myself for the bathroom. And I’m still here, mindlessly staring into the mirror over the sink. My green eyes look especially murky right now because I’m feeling very out of sorts. Mama used to tell me I didn’t need a mood ring when I had my own permanent disposition gauge.
I don’t want some strange man creeping on me in a bar. Only one man has ever turned me on, and he’s off-limits. Coach Craig would flip out if I were to date a player. To date the star player, the only one he can count on to score goals and keep our fans happy? He’d no doubt want to fire me on the spot.
If Cam really and truly asked me out, though, I don’t know that anything would be enough to scare me off. I want him so much it hurts. The idea of kissing him makes my insides turn to mush, and I get warm—hot, really—all over, but especially between my legs. It’s a new sensation for me, but one I enjoy quite a lot.
