Page 91 of The Men of Summer Collection

Grant

My five-year plan didn’t just happen. It holy fuck happened.

When I was twenty-two, I had big dreams and nothing but hope to back them up.

Now, at twenty-seven, I’ve won a World Series, started in three All-Star games, and enjoyed my pick when it comes to endorsement deals.

My career hasn’t left the upswing.

I’m still playing the game I love for a living, so it’s hard to want for anything else. I know far too well what it’s like when life isn’t good, and I appreciate the hell out of every moment on and off the field.

Since my last five-year plan worked better than expected, maybe it’s time I laid down a new set of goals. After all, my world has changed so damn much since I made the first one.

Changed for the better.

The next plan will include these existing ground rules—live well and play hard. But I’m adding a third.

Love big.

I’m determined to let those principles guide me through the next phase of my life. I intend to savor each day, leave it all on the field, and give my everything to the man I love madly.

That’s what I didn’t include in my original plan—finding the big love of my life.

I have him now, and that means I have more than I ever dreamed of when I was growing up, when elusive things like happiness, safety, and comfort felt far out of reach.

They’re here now, big time.

But then, that old enemy, doubt, swings by.

Pokes me on the shoulder.

Whispers darkly in my ear.

Asks me if my life is too good to be true. If it’s going too well.

Maybe doubt knows something I don’t. Since one fine evening, when I’m out with my man at a club, I learn that finding love isn’t necessarily the hardest part.

Keeping it is.