Page 31 of A Follow-Through in Faking
“Let’s give this a shot. We won’t tell anyone in our surroundings that we’re not faking anymore. We will let them think we’re pretending, but in private, we can try this out for real.”
My heart stops beating as soon as the words have left his mouth.
It’s terrifying to fall for someone who’s hurt you in the past, but I see now that Santi didn’t mean to hurt me.
I’m realizing he was a kid. Selfish, yes, but he was just a child .
He’s grown so much, and if I’m being honest, if I had been given the opportunity to qualify for the junior tournament, I’d have taken it too.
Granted, I would have spoken to him about it first, but it feels so ridiculous to continue to be upset about something that happened so long ago.
Especially when Santi dropped out of the next two singles tournaments to play doubles with me.
He prioritized me. He keeps putting me first, and I don’t want to be angry with him anymore.
“You don’t even know how to be in a relationship.” I don’t know why I’m still looking for an excuse, but I’m so scared.
Santi tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, not in the least bit annoyed with me for my response.
“You’re right. I have no idea how to be in a relationship, but I think I’ve been doing a pretty good job in our fake relationship.
Imagine how good I’d be in a real one with you,” he replies, and it’s that “with you” that has my stomach twisting in the best ways.
“One chance, Cata. It’s all I’m asking for. ”
“One chance,” I echo, tasting the words on my tongue. They’re as scared as I am. “But I swear to God, Santi, if you make me regret it, I’ll throw you in shark-infested waters with fish wrapped around you,” I warn, and he chuckles, pressing his forehead to mine.
“I think that’s fair,” he says, kissing my temple.
“I’ll take you on a proper date once this tournament is over.
” He goes on to kiss my cheek. “I’ll show you how good I can be for you, mariquita.
” He hovers his mouth over mine, but I’m the one who kisses him.
I’m the one who closes the distance and captures his lips with mine.
Santi melts against me, his hands lifting to my neck and his thumbs pressing against my jaw to tilt my head up more. It allows him to deepen the kiss, to make me forget about the rest of the world.
But it only lasts so long until reality comes crashing back in.
“Have you heard anything about Sage?” he asks after he pulls back and traces my lips as if to make sure I still feel him there, even with his mouth gone.
“Nothing yet,” I reply, panic seeping back into my body. “I’m really worried,” I admit. Santi’s amber eyes hold me in place as he speaks again.
“I know you are. I am too. But Sage will be fine. She’s too stubborn for anything worse to happen to her,” he teases, but it doesn’t make me smile. Not when I remember her being hurt all the time. She’s already had so many injuries, so many timeouts she had to take because of them.
Sage doesn’t deserve to be in that operating room right now. She deserved to win the Indian Wells Open , but that has been taken away from her.
Santiago and I move to sit down, but as soon as we reach the chairs, a doctor walks into the hall, looking for someone.
“Are there any family members for Sage Clark?” she asks, but the only people here are Santi and me, so all of her attention is on us.
“We are.” Even if we’re not related by blood, we’re the only family Sage has. Well, us and her friend Tatum, who lives at Silver Creek Ranch, but Sage made us promise to never call her unless it was something life-threatening.
“And me,” I hear someone say before Vanessa steps toward us in a pantsuit that looks perfectly put together.
“What are you doing here?” I ask, stepping into her arms when she opens them for me in invitation.
“I took my private jet and flew here as soon as I heard. Luckily, I was in Toronto to visit a friend, so I wasn’t too far away,” she says, kissing my cheek before greeting Santi with a nod before approaching the doctor. “I want to know everything in detail.”
I don't often get to see this side of Ness. She's usually so comfortable letting go that the businesswoman in her doesn't come out unless she has to. Right now, she is in businesswoman mode, probably to swallow down the panic and concern in her chest.
“Because of her disc herniation and the fact that it has not gotten better but worse, we have had to do something called a microdiscectomy to remove the herniated part. It went successfully, and after her recovery, she should feel much better.”
A sigh of relief whooshes out of me, and Santi takes my hand clearly feeling the same. His shoulders drop as the worry leaves him, and I squeeze his fingers as if to acknowledge that everything will be fine now.
“She’s still sleeping, but you can see her soon,” the doctor says before leaving to get back to her other tasks.
Ness pulls me into another hug, and I fling my arms around her, holding on tight.
“Yeah, you, too. Come here,” I hear my friend say, and a second later, Santiago's arms wrap around both of us.