Page 75 of The Tip-Off
“I love you.” My voice is low, though it’s not because I don’t want anyone to know. I’m ready to scream it from the rooftops, but the shock of realizing it has stolen the oxygen from my lungs.
“What?” She turns her head as if she didn’t hear me, but her eyes are like saucers.
Sara clears her throat behind me, and Gabby pulls away. There are a few posed pictures of me holding up my new jersey and then Sara shoves her phone in my hand and tells me my new coach is waiting to talk to me.
“Congratulations, Zeke,” he says, his voice booming through the phone. “Looking forward to having you here in Phoenix with us.”
“Me too, sir.”
“We’ve got some temporary housing near the practice facilities until you get settled, but Sara can give you all that information when you get here tomorrow. Tonight, just enjoy.”
Tomorrow. It’s finally just one day away.
I hand the phone back to Sara and then am met with my friends and teammates, patting my back and congratulating me. Even Coach Daniels made it tonight and he pulls me into a big hug.
“Congratulations, son. It was a privilege to coach you. The Suns are lucky to have you.”
“Thanks, Coach.”
It feels like hours before I get done talking to everyone and can sneak away to find Gabby. Blair points me in the right direction with no words, just a knowing smile. Vanessa whispers, “She’s hiding in the powder room.”
There are like eight bathrooms in this mansion, but I start with the closest one. I knock twice. “Gabby?”
“Just a minute. I’m… powdering my nose.”
“Let me in, beautiful girl. You don’t need powder.”
A few seconds later, the bathroom door opens an inch. I push in and find Gabby red-nosed and tears streaming down her face. Alright, so powder wouldn’t be totally unreasonable.
“You’re crying. What’s wrong?”
“I’m just so happy for you.” Her cries turn to sobs.
“So these are happy tears then?” I smirk and wipe one away with the pad of my thumb.
She nods, pulling her lips into a tight line and her eyes welling with fresh tears waiting to spill over.
“Liar,” I tease and pull her tight against me. With her face buried in my chest, she lets go of the emotions she was holding back, wraps her arms around me, and cries until my shirt is soaked with evidence of her “happy tears.”
“Iamhappy for you,” she mumbles into me without moving away so the sound is muffled.
“I know you are.” I smooth her hair away from her face and tilt her head up. “Tell me why you’re crying?”
“Because I’m sad you’re leaving.” Her face contorts with her anguish. “Which makes me a horrible person. I’m so happy for you,” she repeats for the nine hundredth time. “It’s not the same without you here. I miss you so much every single day.” She swipes at tears. “God, I’m sorry. We can hang until you leave. Oooh, maybe it’ll even make it more exciting trying to cram in a month worth of sex in a few days.”
“I leave tonight.”
“Tonight? I thought you’d have the weekend at least.”
“They want me up there as soon as possible. I was gonna swing by and get my stuff and then head up there, but I could stay tonight, and we could celebrate, just the two of us.”
“No, don’t be ridiculous. Of course, you should go tonight. Plus, we’re sort of at your celebration. Speaking of, we need to get you back out there.”
“Gabby?” I reach for her hand to stop her from blowing by me. Once we get back out there in the crowd of our friends, I’m afraid I won’t get another chance to talk to her.
When she faces me, I see everything I ever wanted right in front of me. I made one dream come true and all I need for this day to be perfect is her by my side. “Come with me.”
“What?”
