And again.
And again.
Without question.
If in the end, I got my sunshine girl.If in the end, I’m right here with her by my side.
After my resignation and my mother following through on something for the first time in her life by selling our story to the news, everything seemed to happen at once.
Shit got crazy, fast.
Gossip sites picked up on the story, and it spread through both the city and campus like a fire that couldn’t be contained, and Maisie had to deal with the brunt of it since she was still attending classes.
I fucking hated every goddamn second of it. It was pure agony.
The fact that it wasmyfault this was happening to her.
Because they weren’t just focused on the fact that our relationship fell into some forbidden student/coach cliché, but they were also fixated on the more salacious parts of my past. My reckless, volatile nature. The fighting, being kicked out of the league. The women I’d hooked up with in the past.
National media painted a picture of shit that wasn’t remotely true, like she was naïve, and I manipulated her into falling into a secret hookup because I’m nothing but a playboy, and I know that it was hard for Maisie to see and hear.
It was hard for her to walk through campus with her chin held high, defending our relationship.
But she did.
She never let them get through her skin. She continued on like nothing was even happening, like she was unbothered, until the stories eventually died down some and we weren’t the center of attention any longer.
I was in constant awe of her strength and resilience, her maturity in the face of it all.
Thirteen years between us, and I’m fairly sure she’sstillthe more mature one of the two of us.
I wanted to beat the shit out of every person who dared open their mouth about her, but she was there playing devil’s advocate despite the hurtful shit that was being said.Giving people grace they didn’t deserve, as always.
Yeah, I’m not there yet, but maybe one day.
I hated that all the headlines and stupid gossip overshadowed the good she continued to do with the literacy program. And it also overshadowed the team’s great season. I might not have wanted to become a coach at OU, nor ever had any intention of staying outside of that season, but I didn’t want to see it negatively impact them.
They didn’t deserve to have any fallout from it.
And neither did Maisie.
But somehow, she took it in stride. She ended up stepping back from being LLI’s liaison to the team so that all press didn’t hinder the partnership, but she has started working on another project with LLI in its place. I hated that she had to make a sacrifice too, especially given how hard she worked on the LLI-Hellcats partnership, but she’s as stubborn as she is strong, and ultimately, it was her decision. And she’s loving the new project they have her working on since it involves sustaining local libraries.
Maisie finally looks up as I approach the table, those bright blue eyes locking with mine, and a wide, happy smile spreads on her glossy lips before she catches the bottom one between her teeth.
“This seat taken?”
Her giggle seeps into my skin, through my rib cage, and wraps around my heart. Her rightful place.She’s woven into the muscle like she’s always been a part of it.
“That… depends.”
“Yeah?” When she nods, I add, “On what?”
Maisie shrugs again, a cute-as-fuck little grin pulling at her lips as she reaches up and twirls a piece of hair around her finger. “Mmmm, I guess if you’re going to buy me a milkshake?”
“Don’t I always?”
Her eyes glint playfully.
