Page 35 of A Whole New Play

It’s probably because you still have sex dreams about her most nights…

“I’m sure it is,” Valerie answers, unaware of the vulgar path my thoughts have taken. “But I have brunch plans downtown tomorrow. It’ll be easier to get there from my dad’s condo in the morning.”

“Brunch?” Jealousy jolts through me. “With who?”

“My mom.” I detect a note of disdain in her tone. She stands and folds the blanket before placing it over the back of the couch.

“Do you and your mother not get along?” The one time Valerie spoke about her mom was when she told me she didn’t have any siblings because her mom had declared one child was more than enough. Something tells me the mother-daughter pair might not have a good relationship.

Valerie confirms as much when she says, “We don’t always see eye to eye on things.”

“What kind of things?”

She huffs an unamused laugh. “Anything in my life, basically.”

I frown. “Not even being an accountant?” Didn’t she say she was only an accountant to please her mom?

She shakes her head. “Even when I do what my mom wants, she’s never satisfied. There’s always some way I can improve.”

I don’t know what that feels like.

My parents were nothing but supportive of whatever I wanted to do growing up. When I showed a preference for football over baseball, Dad didn’t hesitate to let me switch to the new sport even though he loved baseball. I know he’d dreamed of his son playing in the majors one day.

Good thing I befriended Corey as a kid. The star pitcher gave my dad a version of his dream when he made it to the pros. Though, something tells me my dad would’ve been just fine with a son playing in the NFL.

“That’s rough,” I reply gently, not knowing what else to say.

She shrugs, trying to look unaffected, but I see the twinge of pain in her gaze before she looks away. “It’s whatever. I recently decided I’m done doing what others want. I’m determined to focus on what I want instead.”

“Oh yeah?” I tilt my head to the side and smirk. “I wonder what motivated that decision? Or should I say who?”

Valerie’s lips twitch, failing to hide her answering grin. “Don’t flatter yourself, Jones. You barely influenced my decision.”

“Liar.”

She rolls her eyes and then chuckles. “Fine. Maybe you had a little bit of influence in my decision.” She holds up her thumb and pointer finger with less than a centimeter of space between them.

“Happy I could help.”

She laughs again.

I stare at her lips, mesmerized by the soft sound that’s played in the background music of my home these past few weeks.

Noticing my stare, her smile falters.

Valerie lowers her hand and clears her throat. “Anyway, thanks again for the offer, but my mom will never let me hear the end of it if I’m late tomorrow. So, yeah… I’m gonna head out.” She motions towards the entry hallway but doesn’t take a step in that direction.

And for a reason I don’t want to think too much about, I don’t want her to leave just yet. “You know… it’s brave what you’re doing.”

She blinks at me, confused. “Being a nanny?”

I crack a smile. “Being willing to start over. Not forcing yourself to follow through on past decisions out of fear of failure.”

“Oh… thanks.” She looks away, clearly uncomfortable with praise.

Or maybe it’s just my praise…

“Your dad is happy you’re here.” Coach Palmer’s always been a good-natured guy, tough when required but not needlessly an asshole, but in the weeks since Valerie has been in town, I’ve barely seen him without a smile on his face. Even after my piss-poor performance today, he was in a good mood when telling me we’d discuss things tomorrow.

---