His eyes light up, lost in a trance as he feels our baby moving inside me.
“That…that was incredible,” he rasps, his voice thick with emotion. “I love her already.”
“Me too,” I say past the ball of emotion lodged in my throat.
We spend the rest of the evening like that, cuddled up on the couch with Quentin’s hands all over my belly, trying to feel her again and losing our minds every time she kicks.
I must’ve fallen asleep at some point, because I feel my body being lifted, causing my eyelids to flutter.
“What—”
“Shh,” Quentin says quietly. “Go back to sleep. I’ve got you.”
I snuggle against his chest, my eyelids closing as I enjoy the feeling of being in his arms. And when he sets me down in my bed, it takes everything in me not to ask him to stay. Because then I might never want him to leave.
Chapter 40
Quentin
Ilook around The O,the same bar that Teagan and I met in. It brings a smile to my face, especially seeing how much things have changed since then.
I’m waiting at a high-top table for Ortiz, as I texted him about meeting up once we got back from our road trip. Since I’m considering retirement more and more, I wanted to talk to him since he’s gone through it and really make sure this is what I want to do.
“Laurent,” Ortiz says in greeting as he takes a seat across from me.
“Hey, man, it’s good to see you. Thanks for coming.” I smile as we slap our hands together over the table.
“No problem, it’s good to see you too,” he says, resting his forearms on the table. “Not to jump straight into it, but I gotta ask. What made you want to meet up?”
“Our conversation from last time has stuck with me, and since I’m going to be a father soon, I wanted to talk.”
“That’s amazing. Congrats, Quentin.” He smiles, his eyes crinkling with joy.
“Thanks, man. I’m excited, but I…” I trail off, unsure of where to even begin.
“Am scared about fucking everything up and being the worst parent?”
I let out a huff of a laugh. “I wasn’t until now.”
Ortiz laughs at that, and I join him. Once we settle, he jumps back into the conversation.
“You’ll be great. What’s going on, though?”
“My agent’s pushing for me to sign a new contract at the end of this season, but I don’t think I want to play anymore. I can’t even believe I just said that because I don’t know what to do without baseball. On top of it, my shoulder’s not one hundred percent anymore, and I want to go out on a high note.”
Ortiz goes to reply when the waitress returns with our drinks. We thank her and then he says, “It sounds like you’re ready for what comes next, but you’re also worried about the unknown.”
“Yeah.” I nod as I take a sip of my beer. “It feels like this chapter of my life is coming to an end, but I feel like I should have a plan before I retire.”
“Should is an obligation. It’s not something youhaveto do. If you retire, Q, you can do whatever the hell you want to do. If you want to be a full-time dad, be a full-time dad. If you want to start a lemonade stand, do it. There’s no straight path after retirement. It’s different for everyone.”
I soak his words in, letting them settle into my mind. While I’m still slightly nervous to retire and call it quits, there’s a sense of comfort that wasn’t there before.
Ortiz’s reassurance that I can just be and figure it out as I go is something I needed to hear. As someone who always had a plan and was constantly working for it, I needed to be told that it’s okay to not know anything.
Along with knowing that he felt the same way I do, wanting to leave our careers on high notes rather than low. Add in my injury that I don’t want to get worse, and the fact that I want to be able to pick up my daughter without my shoulder aching, it seemed more clear to me than ever before.
I’m going to retire.
