Page 100 of The Love We Make

I squeezed Madison’s hand. “Nothing is changing.”

The air of excitement faded a bit as Madison nodded her agreement. “That’s right. Everything stays the same.”

“Oh. Well, that is good, guys. I am glad you two came to a conclusion. Hopefully, you two can remain friends and still look out for one another in that big ol’ city you live in.” Her mom sounded so damn depressed that I almost laughed. Her words didn’t match her tone.

“Mom, nothing is changing because there isn’t anything to change. We are still going to love one another, make each other happy, be there for one another, and be best friends. If there is any difference, it is that we will now be acknowledging how we feel and refusing to consider it wrong or inept. But no changingus.”

“Well, a few things are going to change.” I looked at my dad and eyed him. Something passed through us and he laughed. Some things would definitely be changing. Just not our dynamic and feelings. Those were staying the same.

As everyone chatted, we explained how we had to get back to Atlanta. I was supposed to make up my pitching day tomorrow and had to fly back in the morning to make that happen. Madison had decided she was done hiding in Oklahoma and wanted to go home with me—which is the only way I would have left.

I was done spending my days without Madison in them. A month—minus 678—was enough. And I think she knew I would risk suspension before I left without her.

What she didn’t know yet, was that I had zero intentions of not waking up in her bed for the foreseeable future. I just hoped instead of kicking me awake, she used more inventive and enjoyable methods. Something that involved her naked and lots of baseball.

Yeah, some things were definitely changing.

Chapter 35

Madison

“Breathe, Madison, breathe baby,” Ethan said as calmly as possible.

“I am breathing, you idiot,” I yelled. “But I am going to need you to get out of my face.”

“I’m not leaving you, just squeeze my hand.”

I knew he was trying to be gentle and calm. I knew he was worried. I knew he meant well.

But he was the one that did this to me. And I was just petty enough to hold it against him for a minute.

“I can handle this, Ethan. I don’t need you hovering.” I pushed at his shoulder, urging him back. I needed to be able to think and for some reason, I started getting dumb when he was too close.

He sighed and backed away, tossing up his hands in frustration. He paced the room with his hands on his hips and ran a hand through his hair every ten seconds.

He had just pitched a perfect game. No hits, no walks, no runs, no errors. He had ensured himself the Cy Young award with that performance, but he didn’t give the media any time or comment.

He ran from the locker room and straight to me—uniform and all. So I was especially enjoying his pace, seeing how his baseball pants hung and tugged just right.

It made me less petty and more salacious. I could watch him all dang day like that.

“Mr. Jones, stop pacing,” the nurse told him. “You’re tracking dirt all over the place from your cleats.”

Ethan just eyed her and kept intentionally walking, looking like a jerk.

I was in the training room at the stadium, where I had been taken after I passed out from heat exhaustion at the end of the game.

Ugh, I hated sweating and hot days.

Luckily, I was sitting with Chase and Becca and they immediately made sure I was taken to the training room instead of the medical tent at the stadium. That way, Ethan could come straight to me.

“You know, no one told you that you have to be still and not eat or drink anything. It is fucking hot out there, Maddy. Atlanta is literally nicknamed Hot-lanta for a reason.”

Ok, so he had a point. But when I realized he was pitching a perfect game, I wanted to play my part and not move. I had to be still. No talking about it. No mentioning it. No acknowledgment of what was going on.

The only way I knew to do that was to be as still as possible.

It wasn’t a new quirk of mine; it was me being me. He knew that. But when I had told him earlier that morning that it was too hot to go to his game and that I would gladly watch it on TV, he played dirty. He did that thing with his tongue that I liked so much and I caved.

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