Page 71 of The Perfect Love

“I want him to know he can talk to me about it.”

“Then you can bring it up and let him decide what he’s comfortable with.”

“And if he pours his heart out and asks me to do the same?”

She purses her lips, holding back a smile. “Then you’re still in control of your own journey. You can decide in the moment what, if anything, you want to share.”

I lean back against the couch and let out a breath. “Thank you.”

“All I did was help you clear your mind and recenter yourself. You did the rest. Show yourself some gratitude too.”

I scrunch up my nose. “But I’m not good at that.”

“And this is why you’re in therapy.”

We both laugh at that.

“Was there anything else you wanted to talk about today?”

I shake my head. “No. I’m feeling a lot better now.”

“Good. Feel free to send me a text if anything else pops up. Have a good rest of your day.”

“Thanks. You too.”

I close my laptop and sink into the couch. I’m soaked through with stress sweat and feel gross. Talking to Trevor about what I’ve been through isn’t something I’m ready for yet. Once I do, there will be aseriouscloud in our sunshiney sky. I want to enjoy the cozy warmth for a bit longer first. That said, if he wants or needs to talk to me, I want him to know I’m here.

After a shower.

A long, hot shower to wash off the sweat and emotion of the day.

Trevor

“All right. Cooper, you’ll be working with the pitchers as usual. With the newbies, technique is going to be important.”

We’re in Coach M’s office in the midst of a coaching planning meeting ahead of our first practice and team building day next Sunday.

“Matteny, what’s your strong suit?”

“Third base?”

Coach rolls his eyes becauseobviously. I played third base.

“Infield,” Aaron says. “You know how infield dynamics work and how important good teamwork is.”

Coach glances at me like he’s asking if that’s true.

“Yeah. Sorry. Still transitioning out of thinking like a player. But if you want someone working on how the infield is gelling together, which players need more work on building trust—or skill—I’ve got that. We had a seamless infield in high school, and I carried what I learned from that with me.”

“Good,” Coach M says. “Now, we still need a good option for team building. We’ve done ropes courses and escape rooms. They encourage team building but remove the baseball aspect. I want to tie it all together.”

“What if we put a twist on baseball? Make it fun, but not as practice-y. But we can still get a read on what’s working and what’s not?”

“You have a suggestion on how to do that?” Coach asks.

Aaron lets out a silent laugh, knowing where I’m going with this. God knows we played it enough in Joel’s backyard.

“Wiffle ball. Divide the roster—and maybe the coaching staff too—into two teams and make a five-inning game out of it. It takes the pressure off and lets everyone have fun, but they’re still in the baseball spirit.”

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