“I know,” I sighed. “Me too.”
He ran a hand over his face. “I keep thinking I’ll get used to it, but it hasn’t gotten any easier so far.”
I swallowed. “We have Vegas in a few weeks.”
It was my attempt to remain positive, but it still meant it would be a while before we were together again.
“I’ll be counting down the days.”
I stepped closer to him, not thinking twice, since no one else was nearby. My arms slid around him, and I pressed my head against his chest. He stiffened for a second, probably because we were always careful to avoid PDA, but I needed that hug. Especially if I couldn’t have anything else right now.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.” He hugged me back for a second, then pulled away. He lifted a hand and brushed a loose strand of hair back from my face, his thumb lingering at my temple as if he couldn’t bear to stop touching me. “I’ll miss you.”
I smiled, even though my throat felt tight. “Me too.”
Footsteps echoed from farther down the corridor, and we both turned just as Jase emerged.
“Hey,” he said, walking toward us, then leaning in to press a quick kiss to my temple before pulling Dylan into a hug.
“Text when you land,” Jase told him.
Dylan nodded. “Already planning on it.”
They pulled apart, and for a moment, the three of us stood together, trying to soak up every last second we had.
Someone opened the exit door. “Statler, let’s go before Skip kicks your ass.”
Dylan glanced over his shoulder, then back at us. “I’ll see you two soon.”
“Soon,” I echoed.
He took one last look at us before spinning on his heel and heading for the door from which his team had called him.
Jase slipped an arm around my waist. “You okay?”
I shook my head. “Not really.”
“Me neither, but that will just make the next time we’re all together even more special.”
I leaned into him as we headed toward where the Red Sox buses were parked. Loving two people made the goodbyes thatmuch harder, but maybe Jase was right. The hellos would be worth the wait.
A couple of days later,I was sprawled across my couch, half watching a reality show Morgan had put on and half staring at my phone, hoping for a text from Jase or Dylan.
“This is officially pathetic.” Morgan tossed a pillow at me. “You look like you’re in mourning.”
“Iamin mourning,” I whined. “I won’t see Jase for another three days, and it’ll be weeks before I can be with Dylan.”
She snorted. “You just spent four days with them.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Like you’d be willing to go weeks without seeing Donnie?”
Morgan had met a guy a couple of weeks earlier at a Surrender concert, and they’d barely spent any time apart since. She claimed it was love at first sight and that he was the one. I was a bit more skeptical, given my bestie’s track record with men.
“Well, that’s why I picked someone local,” she teased.
I snorted. “Yeah, because geography is the best predictor of a successful relationship.”
