Page 62 of Love in Pieces

When I look out, I notice how close to home plate we are. And when I realize, after wandering down the steps, that we are directly next to the Twins dugout, I almost shriek with joy. “You did not.” It seems I am a woman of few words today.

“I did,” he says taking his seat one away from the end. Our seats are situated to the left of the dugout. I take my seat next to him, looking out at the field as the crew and teams work to prepare for the evening game.

When the music starts, signaling the beginning of the game, my heart feels like it might fly away, take flight right here, leaving me a puddle of happiness. I quickly forget everything other than the game in front of me, allowing myself to cheer and boo as much as I want. I force any pessimistic thoughts to the back of my mind so I can focus on the man beside me and embrace this glorious birthday gift. Dallas seems just as engrossed in the game as I am, and I almost don’t notice the peck of his lips on my temple during a pitcher change, or when his hand rests lightly on my thigh, or how he lays an arm around the back of my seat. My head drops, a smile forming from ear to ear. When I look at him, his smile remains but his eyes are glued to the field. I watch him for a moment longer, taking in the man who sits next to me. The man who has gone so far out of his way for me in just a few weeks. I cannot believe I’ve fallen for him so quickly.

The crowd erupts, pulling me from my thoughts and Dallas jumps up, pumping a fist in the air. I cheer with the crowd as the Twins hit a home run. When the game comes to an end, the Twins win by one. I almost don’t want to pull myself out of my seat, not wanting to leave the pure bliss I’ve felt for the last few hours. But alas, I move my feet, forcing them up the steps, back toward Dallas’s bike. We walk hand in hand, with no words exchanged, the moon now high overhead. I’m almost too scared to say anything in case it ruins the gratifying mood. He doesn’t seem to have anything to say either, but I don’t mind. I like the quiet, the peace. It’s nice to have when nothing’s wrong.

He pulls out of the city, taking a different way home. He finds the twists and turns, the scenic roads. And when he finds a straightaway, he taps my leg, my signal to hold on. He hits the throttle, the engine revs loudly with each gear shift until we hit a hundred on the speedometer. The wind rips past us and I can't hold in my giggles. The slightly cool air seeps in through my jeans. He slows as we approach a stop sign, and he takes a sharp left heading back toward Oxly. The road is smooth as we wind through the forest encasing the pavement. I tuck an arm around his body, hugging lightly. He covers my gloved hand in his, interlacing our fingers.

I almost don’t recognize where we are when he pulls into a small empty parking lot. But the sign for the familiar park is dimly lit in front of a few bushes. Only silence and the cracking of leaves and sticks under our feet follow us through that unmarked path. I trail along without hesitation but can’t help the joke already forming on my lips. “Sonowyou’re going to kill me.”

He laughs, still facing forward, but I can practically hear the smirk on his face when he says, “You ruined the surprise. Now what’ll I do?”

He pulls me the rest of the way in silence until the clearing opens up and that familiar sense of peace wafts over me, over Dallas, too, judging by the huge deep breath he takes once he sees the pond. We both sit on the cool metal bench, taking in the night air. Crickets chirp in the bushes. Frogs splash in the pond. Owls echo in the trees. Calm. Utter bliss. It’s an effort not to comment on it.

As the wind picks up, whistling through the trees, I shiver slightly. Dallas slides his jacket over my shoulders, giving me a small smile. I lean my head on his shoulder. He wraps his arm around mine. “Thank you,” I finally say, cutting into the beautiful moment. “For all of this.”

“You deserve it.” His gaze remains on the pond, watching a fish jump, the ripples slowly approaching us.

What I deserve is not him. I deserve to live life without dragging other people into my drama. He doesn’t deserve to have to deal with this chaos. It’s not right. “How did you get those tickets?” I ask, pushing the thoughts from my head. Now’s not the time to ruminate on how poorly my life is going. I want to revel in what’s happening. This man beside me.

He shifts slightly. “My father holds season tickets for those two spots. Has for years.”

Right. His father. Another elephant in the room. But this time, I’m the only one who knows about the elephant. And now is certainly not the time to bring it up. The weight of it would crush him. Crush us. I can’t do that to him in his favorite spot. One that’s supposed to be a coping mechanism for him to deal with everything he’s got going on, let alone everything I’ve now brought into his life. I shake my head, pulling the front of the jacket further over my chest. “He gave them to you? Even with ... everything going on?” I’m not sure bringing that up is a good idea, but I find myself interested to know if they made up. He hasn’t been very forthcoming about his family situation for a while.

He lets out a breathy laugh. “I promised him I’d pay him back. But I don’t think he really cares about the money. I think giving me these tickets was supposed to be a sort of peace offering. He didn’t say that outright, but I could tell.”

I look over at him as he stares out over the water. He bites his cheek, then hangs his head. “I’m not really sure how to have a relationship with him anymore.”

“How so?” I ask abruptly.

He shrugs. “With everything that happened with Cole, he shut down. I mean, we all did. But it made it really hard to do anything with him anymore. He threw himself into his work. And I mean threw himself into it. He was on campus almost twelve hours a day. He’d sleep in his office overnight at least once a week. And he’d pick up random extracurriculars on the weekends. I never expected his extracurriculars to be another professor.” He pauses, looking at me finally. His eyes are sweet, but I can sense the slight pain that flashes through them. “Sorry. Enough about my life. Today is supposed to be fun. And all about you.”

I smile, resting my head on his shoulder again. I wrap my arm around him to pull myself closer, savoring the body heat radiating from him.

“Can I address the elephant in the room?” Dallas asks, making my heart sink. Damn it. How did he find out?

I nod a little hesitantly, my brows knitting tightly together.

“We haven’t really talked about what happened. The night of your birthday, I mean. You seemed a little put off by the whole thing the day after and I didn’t want to pry. And I feel like there hasn’t been a good time to bring it up since. Not that there’s ever really a good time, but I don’t know. I just want to know where your head is at. Because I’m still—”

“Dallas,” I say, cutting off his rambling. He gives a soft smile. “I don’t regret anything. If I’m being honest, I’m a little scared.”

“Of what?”

I take a long deep breath, standing from the bench. I wander back toward the trees, into the dark, hoping it’ll conceal whatever facial expressions coat my exterior while I pour myself out for this man. A man who’s done nothing but care for me when I needed someone the most. A man who’s taken me in when I should have been homeless. A man who, through all of his own drama, has put me first.

Dallas remains on the bench, but he turns his body, watching me wander through the darkness. The moonlight illuminates the blonder pieces infused in his hair. I can’t see his face at this angle. The light doesn’t quite reach around his temples, or his strong jawline. Good. It’ll make it easier to say this out loud if I can’t see his reaction.

“Falling in love again.”

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