Page 77 of Fumbling Forward
Afterward, we lie tangled in my sheets, her head on my chest, my fingers tracing lazy patterns on her bare shoulder.
“I love you,” she whispers.
“I love you too.” I press a kiss to the top of her head. “And tomorrow, we tell Mark. Make this official.”
“He’s going to have opinions.”
“Let him. We’ve done nothing wrong. We’re two adults in a relationship. He’ll have to deal with it.”
She’s quiet for a moment. “What about your career? Once this season ends, what happens?”
“I don’t know yet.” I tighten my arm around her. “I’ve been thinking about coaching. Maybe staying with the team insome capacity. Or I could do something completely different. Broadcasting. Charity work. The options are pretty open.”
“You’d be a great coach.”
“You think so?”
“I know so. You’re patient with the younger players. You understand the game better than anyone. And you actually care about developing people, not just winning games.” She shifts, propping herself up to look at me. “Whatever you decide, I’ll support you. Whether it’s staying in football or doing something completely different.”
“Same goes for you. If you want to stay with the Dragons, great. If you want to start your own PR firm, even better. Whatever makes you happy.”
“Right now? You make me happy.” She kisses me softly. “Everything else we’ll figure out as we go.”
“Together.”
“Together,” she agrees.
We drift off like that, wrapped around each other, the future uncertain but somehow less scary because we’re facing it as a team.
The next morning, I wake up to find Olivia already showered and dressed, pacing my bedroom with her phone pressed to her ear.
“Yes, Maya, I’m fine. Better than fine, actually.” She catches my eye and smiles. “I’ll call you later with details. I promise. Love you too.”
She hangs up and crosses to the bed, leaning down to kiss me. “Good morning.”
“Morning.” I pull her down beside me. “You’re up early.”
“Couldn’t sleep. Too much adrenaline still.” She curls into my side. “I’ve been checking the news. The retraction is everywhere. Sports Insider issued a formal apology. And Jake Martinez was arrested this morning for fraud and defamation.”
“Good. He deserves it.”
“Carol called me. She wanted to apologize again for her nephew. I told her she didn’t need to. She did the right thing by coming forward.”
“She did.” I kiss her temple. “What time is it?”
“Seven-thirty. We should probably head to the stadium soon if we’re going to talk to Mark.”
“You nervous?”
“A little. But mostly I’m just ready to stop hiding.” She sits up, smoothing her hair. “Ready to be us. Publicly. Without apology.”
“That’s my girl.” I climb out of bed, grabbing clothes. “Give me ten minutes to shower, then we’ll go face the music.”
“There’s fresh coffee downstairs.”
“You made coffee?”
“Of course. It’s going to be my house too now. I need to know where everything is.”
