Page 84 of Scoring with the Coach's Daughter

And I’m where I am supposed to be but I wish I could be in two different places at the same time.

But for now, I’m home and I need to get back into my life. The one that doesn’t include Sam and Ellie. So, I’m meeting up with Travis at Duffy’s, the bar we always hit up after practice. He’s already got a beer in front of him when I slide into the booth across from him, shrugging off my jacket.

“Welcome back to civilization,” he says, smirking. “Or is it exile? Hard to tell from thatface you’re making.”

I shake my head, signaling the waitress for a beer of my own. “It’s fine.”

Travis raises an eyebrow. “Fine? That’s all I get after two weeks off the grid?”

I exhale, rubbing a hand over my jaw. “It wasn’t off the grid.”

“Dude, you were in small-town South Carolina, cooking pancakes and playing house. That’s as off-the-grid as it gets.”

I huff a laugh despite myself, shaking my head. “Yeah, well… didn’t exactly go as planned.”

Travis leans forward, resting his forearms on the table. “Alright, spill. What happened?”

I glance out the window, watching a couple walk down the sidewalk, their hands clasped like they don’t have a care in the world. I let out a slow breath.

“I met someone.”

Travis doesn’t even try to look surprised. “Yeah, no shit. I figured as much when you didn’t answer my texts for a week.” He pauses, studying me. “So what went wrong?”

I roll the condensation on my beer bottle between my fingers. “She’s got a kid. A great one, actually. Ellie. Smart, funny, full of energy. I liked being around them—both of them.”

Travis lets out a low whistle. “That serious, huh?”

“Yeah,” I admit, my voice rougher than I expected. “But Sam… she’s got walls. Big ones. And she’s not wrong for having them. She’s been on her own for a long time. She’s protective of Ellie, and she doesn’t want to drag her into something that might not last.”

Travis nods slowly, taking a sip of his beer. “And you’re not sure if it’ll last?”

I shake my head. “No, I know what I want. I just don’t know if she believes it.”

Silence stretches between us for a beat before Travis leans back in his seat, grinning. “Well, I gotta say, I didn’t expect you to come back from vacation with a full-fledged Hallmark movie in your rearview mirror, but here we are.”

I roll my eyes. “Not helping, Trav.”

He chuckles. “Alright, alright. So she’s hesitant. But you left on good terms, right?”

“Yeah.” The word feels heavy in my mouth. “No big blowout, no ugly goodbye. Just… a quiet understanding that she’s staying in Cherry Point, and I’m back here.”

Travis considers that for a moment. “Then it’s not over.”

I give him a look. “Feels like it is.”

He shakes his head. “Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither are relationships.”

I let out a dry laugh. “That your attempt at wisdom?”

“Damn right it is,” he says, grinning. “Look, she didn’t slam the door in your face. You’re still in each other’s orbit. If she needs time, give her time. In the meantime, why don’t you invite them up for a pre-season game? Let Ellie see what you do, show Sam that you’re not just gonna disappear now that you’re back in your world.”

I hesitate, rolling the thought around in my head. “You really think she’d come?”

Travis shrugs. “You won’t know unless you ask.”

That night, I sit in front of my laptop, staring at a blank email draft for far longer than I should have, I tap my fingers against the keyboard, trying to figure out what the hell I even want to say.

Hey, Sam. Hope you and Ellie are doing well.

---