She is.
“The timing’s all off,” I say. “I won’t have time to commit to anything other than football.”
“You know…” Dad begins, and I know he’s about to mention Mom. “The only regret I had when your mother passed? All the moments Icouldhave spent with her but didn’t. Because I thought I had to work. You don’t regret missed moments of work on your deathbed.”
“Dad, I get it, but my career is for all of us. You know that.”
“Yes, but more than anything, Mav, we all want you to be happy. You love football. And you love us, and I know you’ll do the best you can for everyone. Just like you always have. But if you love someone else now, too, that’s a good thing. Don’t let her slip away. You can have both, son. The girl and the game. Take the leap.”
“Love you, Dad.”
You can have both. The girl and the game.
I stare at my phone for a few minutes. And then, I take the leap.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Hannah
“Maverick just invited me to his practice,” I say to Kia as I stare at his text message on my cell phone.
She curls up across from me on her L-shaped couch. “Perfect. Let’s go.”
“It’s not open to the public, but he said he’ll leave two passes at the gate.” I read his text over three times, and when I finally look up again, Kia’s smiling at me.
“Sounds like he’s ready,” she says. “The question is—are you?”
I stare past her at the TV, which has a commercial showing two people jogging on it.
“He was supposed to be a rebound,” I say.
“And yet, what if he’s a forever?” she asks me.
“How can you meet a forever guy as you’re literally running away from your own wedding?” I say. “It sounds crazy.”
“Loveiscrazy,” she tells me. “It doesn’t make sense. If it did, we’d all just choose our partners like figuring out a math problem.” She reaches for the remote and turns off the television. “The bottom line is you’re miserable without him, and you’re happy with him. Why overthink it?”
She’s right. I overthought everything with Craig, and all that did was delay the inevitable.
I nod at her. “Let’s go to his practice.”
* * *
“I don’t see him,” I say to Kia as we take seats in the front row to watch Chicago’s practice the next day.
I’m wearing a new sundress today. A purple and blue flowered one with matching purple sandals. This is not a rebound dress. It’s a forever one. I hope I dressed for the occasion and that it’s not wishful thinking.
Kia shields her eyes from the sun as she scans the field. “What number is he?”
“I have no idea.” I look from one player to the next. “He plays wide receiver.”
The scrimmage is intense with players shouting and fighting for position as the quarterback takes the snap and looks for a target.
He throws the ball down the sideline and it’s caught.
I jump up and clap.
The receiver turns with the ball and runs for the end zone. He evades two tackles and dives across the line.
