“Yeah, both of you did amazing,” Fallon said and hugged Dylan.
“I got some awesome shots of each of you. I’ll send them to you after I edit them.” Hayden hugged Dylan too.
Faye stayed close, not touching either of us because of the security cameras in the room. “I’m proud of you two too.”
Cammie pointed at Dylan. “He should’ve been in the headline too.”
“I know,” I said. “But that would be more of a shitshow than it already is, given the media.”
Faye’s expression remained hard. “I’m not letting them write our story.”
Dylan held her gaze. “Good.”
“When the time’s right, I’m sure PR will handle it. On both sides,” Dad stated.
We nodded in agreement, and Dylan exhaled and looked at me. “I’ve gotta go soon.”
“Before you do,” I began, then held his gaze. “The guys are going out tonight to celebrate.”
Dylan arched a brow. “Okay?”
“They’re making me go because I guess rookies have to buy the first round.”
“Child’s play.” Dad chuckled. “When I was a rookie, they had me pick up the tab for the whole infield at a place that didn’t list prices on the menu, then made me show up the next morning with breakfast orders for everyone. If you got one thing wrong, you went back out and did it again. Buying the first round is easy.”
“How much did that cost you?” Gage asked.
“Almost my entire signing bonus.”
“Ouch.” Gage laughed.
My phone buzzed in my pocket again, and when I pulled it out, a message from Cruz appeared.
Flanagan’s in an hour. Don’t be late, rookie
I stared at it for a second, then looked across the room at Faye, my family, and the security by the door.
“Speaking of, they’re meeting at the bar in an hour,” I announced.
“I need to get to the bus,” Dylan said, heading for the door.
“You two go.” Mom motioned for us to leave. “We’ll see you both in the morning.”
I looked at Faye. “I’ll call you when I get home.”
She gave me a small smile. “Okay.”
“Me too,” Dylan added. “I’ll call from the hotel.”
We stepped out into the hall after saying goodbyes. Dylan went one way while I went the other, and it hit me that in a few days we’d be on different planes to different cities for the first time in our entire lives.
27
Dylan
The three-game seriesagainst the Red Sox ended too quickly.
As planned, Faye left after the home opener. Then, with our families in Boston and the demands of our teams, Jase and I barely managed a moment alone before I had to get on a plane and fly back to Raleigh.
