Page 72 of A Whole New Trick

I cherish having two close girlfriends. As an athlete throughout my childhood, I was used to being surrounded by friends. We formed strong bonds during hours of practice, traveling for games, and competing together. My relationship with those girls was only ever bested by the one I shared with Carlee.

But in the years since graduating college, those friendships naturally stretched and morphed until ultimately fading into the past.

It was hard to accept that people who once meant so much to me could no longer be in my life. I’m thankful I have Carlee, but I couldn’t expect her to meet all my friendship needs alone. She has a life of her own. The same goes for Lacy and her demanding career.

It isn’t until this moment that I realize how much my relationship with Dane has started to fill in pieces of my life I hadn’t realized I’d been missing.

His humor, his kindness, his blatant attraction to me… all of it makes Dane such a vibrant, exciting part of my world that not experiencing it for even one day has sucked. Dane’s been gone for less than twenty-four hours, and I miss him like crazy.

“Morgan?” Valerie snaps her fingers in front of my face. “You listening?”

I jolt in my chair. “I’m sorry. What?”

Carlee and Valerie share a knowing look.

“Care to tell us what you were just thinking about?” Valerie prompts.

“No.”

Valerie is undeterred. “You were thinking about Dane, weren’t you?”

“No,” I mumble

“Oh man, you’ve got it bad,” Carlee comments with a laugh. “Don’t you?”

I bite the inside of my cheek.

My gut reaction is to deny it. Since Aaron, I’ve never wanted to let another man have such a hold on me or my happiness. But these women are my friends. And while I didn’t realize it before now, I want to share the excitement my new relationship brings to my life.

“Yeah,” I confess quietly. “I think I do.”

“Aw,” they say in unison.

“I’m happy for you, Morgan.” My best friend’s eyes glisten. “You deserve to be happy.”

I swallow down the emotion threatening to clog my throat. “Thanks, Carlee.”

She knows, all too well, how rough my love life has been since Aaron. And while the instinct to keep Dane at arm’s length is strong, I override the limiting emotion.

I’ve known for a while, but I officially acknowledge that I’m invested in this relationship—one hundred percent.

Carlee’s phone buzzes. “Sorry.” She picks it up from the tabletop. “It’s a sports news alert.”

“No problem,” I say.

Valerie murmurs the same sentiment.

Carlee is the social media coordinator for the Texas Lonestars baseball team. Her job demands she keep her thumb on the pulse of social media posts, news, and more at all hours of the day.

I ask Valerie about California while Carlee reads the alert.

The intelligent young woman tells me about her friend’s company and its rapid growth. She says she’s learning so much but is ready to take a less demanding job to find a better work-life balance.

I nod, understanding the motivation, when I feel someone staring at me.

Carlee’s wide eyes catch my attention. She chews on her bottom lip as her gaze darts from me back to her phone.

“Everything okay?”

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