Page 61 of Trip Through Your Wires

“Oh yeah?” I tilt my head, curiosity getting the better of me. “Could that special project be a meeting with the Yankees by any chance?”

“No.” He shakes his head. “A ring.”

“As in engagement?” I ask, brows shooting up.

“Hey,” he laughs, “that day I said happy wife, happy life, I meant it.”

“Shit man. Are you going to propose this weekend?”

“No,” he laughs. “I need to know where I’m going to land first, then Ellery needs to get settled at whatever school she transfers to before that can happen. I don’t want to add planning a wedding on top of everything. I just want to make sure the ring is perfect for when we are ready because she deserves that.”

“You’re right,” I agree. “She does.”

We finish gathering our stuff and I can’t help but think about how crazy life is going to get for us soon. Playing pro ball…it’s what we have both dreamed about. The next few months are going to be crucial, and yet, I can’t help but admire how chill Cruz is. Must have something to do with the fact he’s getting what he’s always wanted, in love and life.

“Can I ask you something?” I run a hand through my hair and turns from the mirror in my own cabinet.

“Shoot.”

“How did you know Ellery was the one?”

He tilts his head and gives me a curious smile. “Why do you ask?”

I straddle the bench that runs along the length of the locker cabinets and lower myself down onto it. “Call me curious.”

He sets his bag down and takes a seat opposite me. “Well…” He pauses, considering the question. “The moment we met there was this pull. Like gravity, only stronger.” He shakes his head and smiles. “Man, I was a goner from the moment I first laid eyes on her.”

“So then how did you do it?” How did one let go of someone they knew was right for them, but timing said otherwise? “How did you let her go, and never say a word?”

“I didn’t.” He grips the bench in front of him and looks down. “She was with me the entire time. I just did a good job of hiding it. Buried those feelings deep, man.”

“You did a good job.” I never knew something was missing from his life until I saw them together. Then it was clear.

“Why do you ask?” He looks back up. “Did you meet someone?”

“No,” I shake my head. “Just curious.”

Honestly, I was more than curious. In fact, I was beginning to wonder if I’d found the one and didn’t know it. Or, if perhaps she was out there, and I was missing my chance at meeting her because I wasn’t opening myself up to the possibility because the first girl I felt a connection with had fucked me over.

Cruz looks at me as if he knows I’m lying but surprisingly, doesn’t say anything. Instead, he reaches for his bag and gets up. “Alright, ready to go?”

“Yup, right behind you.”

I push up from the bench and grab my bag and he grips my shoulder as the two of us head out of the clubhouse. As we pass Coach’s office he calls out. “Cruz, Chambers, got a minute?”

We both stop and turn to look at one another. “What do you think he wants?” I ask.

“Not sure,” Cruz shrugs. “Scouts coming to our next series, probably.”

“Maybe,” I nod. “Let’s go see.”

We backtrack and head into Coach’s office, finding him sitting behind his wood desk. “Take a seat,” he says in his trademark gruff voice.

I pull one chair out and sit, dropping my bag down next to me, and Cruz does the same. Looking at us for a moment, the skin on the back of my neck pricks. I don’t know if we’re about to get our asses handed to us, or what.

After a beat of silence, he places his elbows on the desk and clasps his hands together. “There’s no way to tell you this,” he starts, looking from me to Cruz, “so I will just come out and say it. There’s an offer on the table.”

Cruz and I look over at one another, then back at Coach. “Offer? I ask tightly. “As in singular?”

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