Page 149 of Stolen Bases

She wraps a towel around my waist as I wrap one around her shoulders. Like a well-oiled machine, we dry each other off. I pick her up and carry her over to the bed, where I place her on the edge.

I grab a pair of boxers from my drawer and put them on before grabbing a clean t-shirt for Talia. I slide it over her head, pulling her long, wet hair free from the collar. We climb under the covers, facing each other.

“Talia…”

“Not yet. Please?” she whispers. Like me, she’s delaying the inevitable for one more night of just us.

“Okay,” I agree. If this is what she wants, then I will happily give it to her.

“Will you hold me?”

“With pleasure.” I pull her little body to my side, getting her as close to me as I can. I grab the back of her knee and lift her leg over my thighs the way she likes.

She buries her head in the crook of my neck and shoulder—the spot made just for her.

“Promise not to let go?” Talia asks as she lays her head on my chest, burrowing in.

The last thing I want to do is make a promise I can’t keep. “I’ll do my best, baby.”

It doesn’t take long for Talia to fall asleep. I lie with her in my arms for as long as I can, listening to her breathe, until sleep finds me and pulls me under.

thirty-six

Cameron

When I wake, thesun is cracking through the curtains. Our bodies are still twined together like when we fell asleep. Talia’s breathing changes, letting me know she’s awake. True to my word, I hold her and wait. She’ll tell me when she’s ready.

It doesn’t take long for her to speak. “I’m ready now.”

“I need to get something before we talk. I need you to see something.”

“Okay.”

I climb out of bed and head for the bathroom. When I return, Talia is sitting with her knees up and her back against the headboard.

I crawl onto the bed and hold my hat out to her. “Look inside.”

She takes my cap and looks inside. At first glance, she doesn’t see what I want her to, but after a minute, she finds the mini polaroid of us in the seam. Her eyes are cloudy with tears as she looks up at me.

“It’s us. Why do you have this in your hat?”

My palms sweat, and my heart races with nervous energy. Honesty is one thing, but exposing yourself to someone with the possibility of being hurt is scary as fuck. If I don’t want her to give up on me—us—then this is what I have to do.

“Because I need a piece of you with me at all times, itty bitty. I hate being away from you. When I look at that picture, I get to seeyour beautiful smiling face. It reminds me of how fucking lucky I am to have you in my life.”

“Wow, who knew you were such a romantic.”

“Only for you. No one has ever made me feel this way before.”

“Just so you know, I hate being away from you too.”

My heart wants to burst out of my chest as she stares down at the picture and rubs her thumb over the still-frame of us like I do before each game.

“Why are you showing me this?”

“Because Nico found this picture in my hat during the game, and that’s why he got angry.”

“How?”

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