“Awesome. So how are you feeling?”
“Surprisingly good, honestly.”
“That’s what that it’s good for—it gives you this boost that makes you feel great for a few hours. But once it starts to wear off, you’ll need to re-up, or else you’ll feel like crap again.”
“I guess I’ll have to learn to make this stuff myself, huh?”
“I can text you the recipe. It’s easy.”
Dane slowed as the restaurant came into view.
“Okay, Austen Marlowe,” he said, as he parked alongside the curb.
“Okay, Dane DeHardt,” she said, mimicking him.
“I guess this is goodbye forever,” he said.
She frowned. “I don’t like it when you say it like that. It makes me sad.”
He laughed. “You liked it earlier.”
“I was joking.” She unbuckled her seat belt. “Mostly.”
“Ha.” The athlete unbuckled his seat belt, too. “Okay then. Give me a hug.”
They embraced each other over the center console. The athlete squeezed her tight in his arms, and his smell filled her senses one last time. She squeezed him back as tightly as she could, which wasn’t very tight at all, since he was as solid as a barrel.
“Sorry again,” she said quietly.
“For what?”
“Fucking your entire life up.”
“Oh, stop. It wasn’t your fault.”
Despite everything that had gone wrong between them, she felt safe and protected in his arms. She hated to let him go … but she knew she was only being sentimental. Goodbyes were never easy.
Slowly, they separated.
“Well.” She was surprised at how difficult she found it to speak or swallow, thanks to the dry lump that was lodged right in her throat. “I guess this is goodbye.”
“Bye, Austen. I’m glad I met you.”
“I’m glad I met you, too. Bye, Dane.”
She gave him one last smile. Then she cracked the car door open and set one foot outside when he stopped her.
“Wait! Austen.”
“Yeah?”
“When I get traded—” He stared deep into her eyes as he trailed off. His brows arched with a wild desperation. “—look, this is crazy. But when I get traded, why don’t you come with me?”
She was floored. “You’re joking, right? You don’t even know where you’re going yet.”
“Yeah,” he said, with a beaming smile. “I’m joking.” But then a vulnerability set in behind his eyes. “… Mostly.”
He wasn’t joking at all.
