Page 114 of The Catch

Chapter 34

Saint

I thank my friends and promise I'll ask for help if I need it. My chest feels raw after the recent revelations, but I tell myself it's good. It's progress. It's life-changing. All I need to figure out next is what to tell Ames when our loose deadline comes.

I take the glass to the bar and ask for a water bottle. More than a drink, I need breathing room. No wonder that my steps take me to the terrace.

The night is dry and cold. No one is out here but me. I sit on one of the terrace couches and gaze at the twinkling lights of the city. I sigh. The next two weeks are going to be extremely busy with training and media. I don't know how the hell I'm supposed to find the time to fling myself into the abyss, and tell Ames how I feel.

As long as Ames doesn't push me off the cliff herself somehow, chances are I'll have to wait until after the game to tell her everything. See where that leads. If it means finding a way to go back to the friendship we used to have before she moved in, then coming to terms with that. If it doesn't, happiness will shield me when convincing Pablo that dating Ames won't follow my tired old scripts.

It's ok. I can still be with her without revealing my whole heart just yet. Seeds can be planted. Dreams entangled. I don't have to wait to chat with her the way I want to for the rest of my life.

Saint: Are you still at Evie's?

I leave my water bottle next to me on the cushion and hold my phone in both hands. Three dots have appeared on my screen, and they put a smile on my face.

Ames: No, I'm at home now. How's the party?

Saint: It's okay. Smaller than it could have been

Ames: I bet. I wish I had been there to celebrate with you. I complained about it profusely to my friends.

Saint: Yeah?

Ames: Every time you showed up on TV. This was the game I could go to, and I didn't get to?

I still grin when I call her. She answers right away.

"Even though you get too nervous watching games?" I ask.

"Yeah. Seemed… important."

"Aw. You care about me, at least a little."

"Of course I do. Don't tell me it surprises you?"

"Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. The important part is I got to hear you saying you care about me."

I want her to care. Everything could change if she cares. Even if all she wanted me for was a fun hookup. Caring means she might consider more with me.

"You're important to me, Saint," she repeats. "Everyone was upset we couldn't be there to celebrate with you all. I was upset the most, because I won't be there for the next one."

A cool breeze moves through the terrace and I shiver. I keep my voice quiet, letting this conversation be only for us.

"I wish you could come."

"Now, with everything…" She gives me a long sigh. "Me, too."

Her voice, with softly spoken words and a lingering warmth… They blanket me.

"The fact you want to go means a lot," I say.

"I'll be thinking of you while I'm in LA. Maybe I can watch the game on TV that Sunday. I don't have any meetings that day. I'll get a chance to send you a hundred messages again."

"I would welcome a thousand. I love getting to read your reactions after the game."

"I will. A thousand and ten texts at the very least."