Page 91 of Verdict

"What's up? You sounded… stressed." He cocked a brow at me.

I glanced down at the glass between my hands, nodding. "Yeah. You could say I'm a bit stressed."

Drake took a pull of the amber liquid from his glass. "Okay. Spill it."

I blew out a breath. "Scott called this morning. Boston offered five years, one hundred and thirty-five million."

Drake whistled low. "Shit. That's a hell of a contract. I assume no trade clause?"

I nodded.

"What are you going to do? Have the Aviators countered yet?"

I shook my head. "Not yet. Scott is talking with them today." I ran a hand through my hair. "I don't know what I'm going to do. Ellie and Ava are here. But this would be my last major contract of my career, this would set her up for life."

Drake was quiet for a moment. "Ellie and Ava?"

I hadn't realized I said Ava out loud.

"Are you factoring Ava into this decision?" Drake pressed.

I looked away. "Yes? No? I don't know?" I laid my forehead against the wooden table in defeat. "I think I have real feelings for her. I care about her a lot and I can't get her out of my goddamn head. I don't want to just be friends with her, man."

"What does she want?"

"She made it clear at Christmas she values our friendship too much to ruin it. How we already almost ruined it a few times this year. That we need to protect it for Ellie. But I think over time she will see we could work. I just need more time to prove it to her…" I trailed off.

Drake sighed, spinning his glass between his hands.

"What?" I asked.

"Last year when I was a free agent, New York offered me six years, one hundred and thirty-two million. Full no-trade clause. The whole package."

My eyes widened in surprise. "Damn, I didn't realize that. So did the Aviators counter with more?"

He shook his head. "No. They came to the table with a good deal for sure, but still a little less than New York. But that wasn't surprising; just like Boston, New York has a larger salary cap and more flexibility. Plus, we still had Walker on the roster at the time and with his retirement announcement they needed some space to trade for pitchers. New York would have put me closer to my family in Connecticut. It was the ideal next move for me. "

"So why did you stay?"

"Because of Elle. She promised that if we stayed in Austin, she would adjust her work schedule and travel less. She would prioritize our relationship. We would get back to how we used to be." He forced out a humorless laugh. "But as you are well aware… nothing has changed."

"I'm sorry, man. That's tough."

He nodded, lifting his eyes to mine. “Just make sure you’re staying for something real. Not for what you hope it could be.” He paused. “I don’t regret staying in Austin. I love this city, and I love our team… but I regret staying for a promise.”

I let his words sit between us as I processed his warning.

Was that what I was doing? Staying for what I hoped Ava and I could be? Because to Drake's point, there was a very real possibility nothing would ever evolve between us. That Ava could decide to never cross that line, let her walls down permanently and let me in.

Drake's eyes scanned the brewery lawn like he was replaying the season in his head. “You know what nobody talks about when they throw numbers like that around?” he said finally.

“What?”

“The quiet.”

I frowned. “The quiet?”

“Yeah.” He gestured vaguely. “The hotel rooms. The nights after a loss. Hell, the nights after a win. The off days in a city that isn’t home. When you’re thirty and your body hurts and you start wondering if you picked the right place to finish this thing.”