Page 107 of A Million Times, Yes

Chapter Thirty

Maya

I handed Emily a glass of wine and gripped my Sam Adams, taking a seat next to her on our couch. “Cheers to girls’ night.”

“Cheers, babe.”

Once we’d clinked, I took a long sip of the cold beer. “I feel like this is so overdue.” I rested my head on her shoulder. “I know I see you every day, but I still miss you. And I feel like I’ve said that to you more than once since I started dating Jordan—but each time, I mean it more and more.”

“Life is getting busy. But you know what? I’m so down for everything that’s happening for you.” She rubbed the top of my head right before I lifted it to look at her. “Besides, I can always hang with Bettie when you’re not around.” She winked.

I laughed. “She’s more fun than me.”

“She isn’t. But she’s just as fabulous.” She tucked a pillow against her chest. “I want to ask you something. A serious something.”

“Okay.”

“Being the observant bee that I am and picking up on some of the things you’ve said, I take it that Jordan’s job requires a decent amount of traveling.”

I couldn’t imagine where this conversation was headed and how that question could lead to something serious, but I nodded and said, “It does. I don’t know how much, exactly. I do know he often goes to the Bears’ away games and meets with sponsors. Now that they bought the Clovers, I’m sure he’ll be traveling with them as well.”

She folded her legs beneath her. “Hypothetically speaking, of course, what happens if he wants you to start traveling with him?”

“It’s not hypothetical. He’s asked me to travel.”

“I love that man.” She held her wine not far from her mouth. “Okay, let’s break this down for a second. You get two weeks of vacay. You’re taking one of those weeks in just a couple of days when Jordan whisks you away, which leaves you only one more week and another week of combined personal and sick time.”

“It’s not a lot of time off, I know, Em.”

“Do you know how many away games the Bears have? And the Clovers?”

I shook my head.

“A ton,” she said. “I looked up the remainder of both schedules.”

I rubbed the mouth of the bottle around my lips. “I guess I’ll just have to ... Shit, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

“Have you thought about it?”

“Since the Clover buyout, he’s been working a lot more, which has given me extra time to think. But honestly, what can I do? It’s not like I can do my job remotely.”

“Would you ever consider giving it up to be more flexible? That way you can go on the road with him and you guys won’t have to be apart.”

A rush of anxiety raced through me, and as I tried to breathe past it, the tightness settled in my chest.

And depend solely on Jordan? And not contribute at all? Something my mother had dreamed of and could never make happen. But I wasn’t her. I didn’t have those dreams. Money was such a hot button for me,and I’d worked my ass off for what I had. How could I just ... walk away from it all?

Which was why I replied, “No.”

“Not even if you were pregnant?”

My hand flew to my chest. “Which I’m not and I’m not ready to be. Let’s not let the universe hear that word and somehow use its power to pop out my IUD. I’d like a few things to happen before a baby comes into our lives.”

“But Maya, you want to be a mother. And Jordan wants to be a father. The two of you are going to make babies.” She smiled. “So at some point, it’s going to happen.”

I sipped my beer. “At some point, yes.”

“And even then, you’re not going to give up nursing?”