Page 43 of Rain Delay

I don’t think I ever thought about a future where she wasn’t in it. Even if we ended up being across the country from one another, there was always going to be that part of my future strictly carved out for her.

There wasn’t any other idea in my brain of a next chapter where Eliana wasn’t in it.

“I don’t want you to build your life around me, though, El. You deserve to have your own. You deserve to live your best life too, and I’ll just be a piece of it.”

“See, that’s where you’re wrong,” Ellie sits up, letting go of my hand. “I don’t see a future without you in it. No matter where you end up going for school, I’m going to be your biggest fan. I can still build my sports media career if I’m going to school near you.”

I pull her close to me. “As long as I’m in your future, that’s all I care about. But I want you to be able to live your own life outside of supporting me.” I felt like I was rambling – I didn’t really know how to talk about the future with her.

All I saw in my future was Eliana and baseball. That is my idea of a perfect future.

Chapter 15

Eliana

ONE THING I HAD TO GET BETTER AT WAS TELLING WYATT NO. When he asked me to come to his hotel room after the game, I hesitated at first. Everything inside of me screamed that this was a bad idea.

Wrapping my knuckles on the door, I take a deep breath. I don’t know why I was so nervous. We were just going to talk. That was it. Nothing else behind it.

Wyatt opens the door, revealing his shirtless, toned body. His hair was still damp from his post-game shower, and his eyes immediately locked onto mine like he knew it was me before he even opened the door.

It should be a crime for how good he looked right now.

“Hey you,” he steps back, allowing me to step in. “Sorry about the mess, I couldn’t decide what to wear.”

I nod, walking inside of his hotel room before taking a seat on the couch that sat across from the bed.

“You did good today,” I say, breaking the awkward silence.

“Could’ve been better,” he says, sitting down on the bed, putting his arm behind his head.

“Can you be nice about yourself for once?” I cross my arms over my chest.

He huffs out a sigh. “Nothing is ever going to be perfect for me. There’s always something I could’ve done to be better.”

“I guess. The game is over, though. You shouldn’t dwell on it…” I look at him. “Anyways, why did you want me here?”

He runs a hand through his hair, quiet for a second as he tries to figure out how he wants to word his next sentence.

“I don’t know how to go about this,” he admits.

“Go about what?”

“This,” he says, gesturing between us. “This whole thing is strictly a business thing.”

My chest tightens. “We agreed to keep it mutual and professional.”

“I realize that, thank you.”

“So that’s what I’m doing.”

“And it’s driving me fucking insane.” He snaps.

I stare at him. “Sorry?”

He drags a hand through his hair. “El, I mean it,” he adds, more quiet this time. “This whole —” he moves his hand in a circle. “Pretending like I don’t feel anything is driving me absolutely insane.”

“We don’t feel anything.”