He tipped his hat up like he was trying to get a better look at me. “Are you serious?”
“I’m so serious! I live in Richland.”
“I’m right outside of Baltimore.” His eyebrows shot up. “We’re about an hour away from each other. That’s wild.”
“This is why we get along so well!”
He bobbed his head knowingly. “I knew I fucked with you.”
I giggled. “So, what do you do right outside of Baltimore?”
Shifting his eyes back to the TV, he picked up his glass with melted ice and the remaining rum and tossed it back. “I work with professional football players, helping them with their game.”
“I can totally see you doing that. It fits you.”
“I get to do what I love.”
“I love that for you. That’s how it should be. I mean, I love being a teacher. I do. But sometimes…” I made a face. “It’s a lot.”
He nodded in agreement. “I get it. Kids are a lot.”
“Are you a parent?”
“No. Hell no. I’m trying to wait until I’m married before I get into all that. I have a niece and nephew though. What about you? You got kids? A boyfriend? Husband?”
“No kids. And I’m… single.”
He narrowed his eyes and looked at me suspiciously. “You hesitated a little bit before you said single.”
I grinned. “No, I’m single for real.” Because of his expression, I laughed out loud. “I’m serious! After what I’ve been through, I’ve been good off relationships and marriage. I’ve been single for more than two years now.”
A slow smile spread across his lips. “Good to know.”
“Why?” I murmured cautiously.
“Because I like you, and while we’re in the same place, I’d like to see you again.” He gave me a look. “It makes it a lot less complicated if you’re single.”
Nerves and anxiety twisted my gut at his words. “Valid. Are you single?”
“Yes.” He pointed at me. “You see how I didn’t hesitate?”
I laughed.
He opened his mouth to say something, and then he stopped abruptly and pointed at the TV. “Watch this.”
I turned my head just in time to see the Wasps squander an eighty-one-yard drive, taking eight minutes off the clock.
“Woooooooow.” My mouth was agape.
“Yeah.” He shook his head. “Tipped into an interception.”
“All they had to do was keep running. The run game was working. Wow.”
“That’s what happens when you try to do too much.”
Watching the aftermath of the play, I was in disbelief. “Time is so valuable,” I commented.
“You mean in the game?” he guessed.
