Page 142 of The Replay

We hold each other in bed. She rests her head on my shoulder and I keep her close. Pushing the minutes until we're ready to sleep. Darkness envelops us and, though she must be tired, we remain awake. I'm too wired to close my eyes yet.

"Tomorrow morning, stay in bed." I keep my voice as slow as I can make it. "I'll bring us breakfast so we can have a proper talk."

"I'll tell you about my trip and the lovely conversation I had with my sisters."

"We'll make plans for the next few months."

"We need to talk to HR, and I need to talk to Selena."

"Yeah?"

"I'd rather go right ahead and ask if she'd let me stay and work for the Strike permanently."

"And your parents?"

She sighs. "If they don't call me first, maybe we can invite them over? Your place or mine, or go out somewhere. Chat a bit more. I think… I think I believe them. They want our happiness. They've just been very confused about what that means. What it looks like. So I was confused about what they wanted from me, too."

"Of course. We'll invite them over." I smile, even if she can't see it.

The warmth spreading through me will finally lull me to sleep, I know, but first I want to capture this feeling. It has the power to carry me onwards, no matter what comes next.

"We're two college kids who fell in love," I say. "Who needed to go on adventures to grow up and find each other again. And we did. Now a new path opens for us. We'll walk it together, okay?"

She sighs and adjusts herself around me. Still not letting go.

"Deal." She kisses my chest. "Carmen and Luis from colonial Guanajuato would be proud."

I chuckle. "Maybe because of it, he'll bless us with an eternity of happiness, rather than the measly seven years others get."

"Oh, I like that. Maybe your mom will like me better this time around too? Especially if we go to her hometown and you and I kiss on that magical step between the balconies."

"She'll love you as much as I do regardless. You'll see."

"Counting on it, mi rey."

"Okay, no," I laugh. "It doesn't work that way."

"Maybe it'll teach you a lesson…" She yawns.

"We'll see about that." I caress the patches of skin I can reach. "Now go to sleep, honeybee. I'll take care of your dreams."

"They all involve you anyway," she adds, and it's the last thing either of us say.

I stay awake as her breathing slows down and she melts against me. My eyes close after a while, but only after every mistaken belief I ever held has gone away, do I let myself sleep.

New Year's Eve. Training and recovery. Another championship ring, if we can manage. And a lifetime with Mariana.

That's where I put all my hopes. It's all I'll fight for. And more than the kid in me ever dreamed of.

Chapter 45

Mariana

It's been years since I've been this busy during a holiday season… or this happy.

The morning after the gala, I woke up to a text from my mom. She asked to have breakfast with Dom and me and, in a flurry of last minute prep, we invited them to Dom's place. We put a few servings of gorditas in the oven, from the permanent stash Dom's mom and grandmother keep in his freezer. We cut up all the fruit Dom had in the house and, alongside fried eggs and lots of coffee, we had brunch together.

What began as a stilted, careful conversation, ended in heartfelt reassurances from my parents that they want my happiness, like they want my siblings', too. And that they see Dom and I are happy and it's why we want a life together. That they're willing to shift their expectations and let us find our way. They even promised to help us in any way, if we need it.