Page 119 of Foul Territory

He shakes his head. “Nah. I’m going where I’m supposed to be.” He gave up a career in the majors to go back home and help his family rebuild their farm. He’ll be leaving for Rivers Bend right after graduation.

“Let’s go get our girls.” I tap his leg and we leave the dugout.

Walking out to the parking lot, there is only one person I’m looking for. As soon as she sees me, she’s running. Fuck, if that isn’t a good feeling.

“Hey, trouble,” I say, when I catch her in my arms.

“I’m sorry. You played well.” She gives me a quick kiss.

“It was a good game. It just didn’t go the way we wanted.” I put her back on the ground. Then take her hand in mine.

“What’s everyone going to do now?” I ask once we reach the small gathering of our friends. “Anyone want to get something to eat?” I ask, looking directly at Sydney.

She glances over at her friends with a big smile on her face. She asked the group the same thing at the beginning of the season. I don’t know if her invitation was meant for me, but Iwanted it to be.

Instead of telling her that, I got after her about her job again for no reason. It’s what I did to keep myself from showing all my cards.

“Get out of here you two. We’ll catch up with you later back at the house,” Lauren says.

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” I say, tugging Sydney toward my car. “Where do you want to eat?”

She drops her head against my shoulder as we walk. “How does Chinese takeout sound and we eat at home?”

“As you wish,” I say, opening the car door and letting her climb inside.

“How many more times do you think he’s going to text? It’s been two days.” Sydney asks. Enzo’s been texting nonstop since they won the game against us and made it to the playoffs.

“Low ball number? A hundred.” I shrug. He gets off on rubbing the win in our faces. I don’t blame him. We did the same to him last year. “It’s payback.” I continue massaging her calves as we watch our movie. I like her sitting on the couch with her legs draped over my lap much better than curled up in the corner by herself.

Correction, I’m watching a movie. She has a book open on her lap. I’m not sure if she’s really reading it though.

“Can you turn your phone off?”

I wince. “I could but I’m expecting a call.” My agent is supposed to call me today to let me know if he was able to work out a deal with the Carolina Cardinals organization. I didn’t want to mention it until I knew for sure if it was happening.

I think Sydney has accepted the fact that we'll be doing this thing long distance for the first few years while she works with the women at Blooming Beauty and starts her business on the side.

“Have you heard anything new?” she asks, then nibbles on her lip while she flips a page in her book. Pretty sure she didn’t read a word of it.

“Not yet. That’s what I’m waiting on. I have options.” The only benefit of sacrificing your life to the sport you love is being good enough to have multiple teams interested in you.

“I can visit you on the weekends,” she says. “We’ll make it work.”

“Baby, there will be no weekend visits because I am going to be living with you.” I made my decision the minute she decided where she was going to be.

“You don’t know that. And how do you know I even have room for you? I don’t know if you’ve realized this but you have a lot of books. I saw all the stacks under your bed. They're not all going to fit in my new apartment.”

I love her like this. Smiling, open, teasing me. This is the Sydney I met ten years ago. This is the girl who capturedmy heart.

“My books? I remember hauling box after box up to your dorm last year. I’m pretty sure you have more than me. But you know what?” I tickle her foot, making her giggle.

“What?”

“Since I’ll be moving in you won’t need a roommate. We can turn that second bedroom into a library. Wall to wall bookshelves and a big comfy chair. Would you like that?”

“You know I would. I like the idea of living with you more. I’m trying really hard not to get my hopes up about it. As much as I’m willing to travel and do video chats, I would much rather have you with me every day.”

“What kind of video chats?” I ask, ignoring everything else she said. My brain short circuited at the thought of watching Syd coming undone on video. That would be the only perk of being away from her. She rolls her lips tight and pretends to go back to reading her book. “Oh come on, trouble. Don’t leave me on the hook like that.”