Page 100 of Yours, For Now

She waved a hand in front of my chest in a circle. "This. Splash water all over, so casual."

I smiled. "Oh. You like it, huh?"

"Why would I be here, otherwise?"

I stepped closer to her. "For my sparkling personality?"

She laughed, went up on the balls of her feet, and kissed me. "Put on your fresh shirt and let's go. I'm going to cook for you tonight. I took the liberty of getting groceries delivered to your building."

I put my fresh shirt on and, in the same movement, put my arms around her soft body.

I squeezed her to me and smiled. "What are you making?"

"It's a surprise." She put her hands on my shoulders.

Again, we were the only ones left in the field.

"Fine, I won't insist." I gazed around the space. Even if I gave up playing in the league, I'd continue to pay for it, so the league could continue to thrive.

"Why do you suddenly look sad?" Lina lifted a hand to my face.

I leaned into her palm. "I'm thinking of taking a break from soccer."

"Why?!" She frowned.

"I don't have enough time for it, I think."

I hadn't realized my face had shown my melancholic thoughts, and I wondered if she knew her face now showed me hers.

Her brow relaxed, and she looked at me with doleful eyes. "You love soccer so much, though, and it's good for you. It's the one thing balancing you out."

"You're good for me, too. You've given me some of it, when I manage to move meetings around."

"Yeah, but I'm not going to be around the same way after Sunday. After we break up, soccer can still be there for you."

"Right. Sunday."

She nodded. "I just need to stop thinking of Essie's smirk when she realizes I stopped coming and assumes we broke up."

"Stop thinking about that. I'm not thinking about Essie."

Though it was an interesting contrast, to think about what I was willing to do for Lina that I never considered for my ex.

"Okay. I'll stop. Eventually. But let's not talk about that yet. Not until the weekend, okay? We're supposed to be enjoying tonight."

Though I nodded and let her guide me to the parking lot, I couldn't say I agreed with her. As we walked out of the field, letting go of soccer was still an option. I had to talk to Jake and my parents, and make a few hard choices.

Chapter 28

"How'sthestadium'sfinalproposal coming along?" Tío Miguel asked me.

On Friday night, him, my dad, and I were in the small boardroom, finalizing a quarterly plan. I hadn't been sure how long it would take, so I'd told Gabe I'd text him after and see if we still had time to get together. The night before, we'd cooked, chatted, and had more incredible sex; it had been such a lovely evening that I couldn't wait to do it all over again.

I hoped we would, but I still likely had a couple of hours left in the office.

I took a sip from my coffee. "I sent you an email earlier. Gabe and I began a comparative analysis, and I started a draft earlier this week."

Tío nodded and appeared to scroll through his phone's screen. "Good. I'll find the email and send it to Enrique. I want him to take over part of it."