Page 55 of The Future Play

“Okay…?”

She laughs a little. “I forgive you. And I’d like to rebuild that trust between us, then see what happens.”

“Does that mean you’re saying yes to a date?”

She grabs another spoonful of ice cream, swirling her tongue along the edge of it.

“I’m saying you have to keep showing. You said all the pretty words. Now it’s time to prove you mean them, baseball boy.”

Then she does the last thing I’m expecting and presses a kiss to my cheek.

I reach over and rest my hand on her thigh, and we continue eating in a comfortable silence.

I have every intention of proving how true my words are. No. Intention is the wrong word. This isn’t about intention. It’s about action. I know what the stakes are here. It’s the championship game. Every single action makes a difference. Which means doing it all right because every move I make is a play for the future I want us to have.

9

SOMEONE’S DREAM

Amanda

Jamie has continuedto do what I asked. Only he’s not just showing me how he feels, he’s showing up.

In the two weeks since our ice cream reconciliation, he’s come to both of my Wednesday volleyball rec games. We hung out at a bonfire at Joel’s. We’ve also texted every day. Half the time they’re not about anything at all, but he texts me when he thinks of me, and I’ve started doing the same when I think of him. It’s sweet. It’s just freaking sweet. And I’ve never had that before. Not someone trying to hook up or get in my pants. Not someone who wants me only when it’s convenient for them. Someone who cares, who wants to know me, who wants to build something.

Every time I start to internally question things, he keeps showing me that. He met me at Bewitched for coffee and let me talk his ear off about books. But I also learned that he likes sci-fi books, and I’m on a mission to find a good one that blends sci-fi and romance, so maybe we could read it together.

Because as much as I need him to prove he’s serious and rebuild some of the trust between us, I don’t want that to be one-sided. Putting even a little bit of my heart out there is still hard forme, but I have feelings for him, and if he feels the same way for me, I owe it to myself not to say no just because I’m afraid of getting hurt again. As much as some part of me wants to stay angry, I believe Jamie didn’t intend to hurt me, and while intentions only mean so much, they do mean something. So I’m giving him this chance—and giving myself a chance too.

Which is why I’m sitting here now, embracing one of the biggest pieces of him. Not only have I gone to see a few of his baseball camp scrimmages, here I am at the Binghamton Knights’ stadium watching a game with him.

When he texted me earlier today and asked if I wanted to come with him, I was hesitant for a second, but I want to get to know him better, and seeing him play and watching him watch a game are two different vibes.

“Want anything to eat?” he asks.

“A hot dog?”

“Coming up.”

He signals to one of the people walking around selling food and orders a hot dog for me and nachos for him.

He groans happily as he takes a bite of his nachos, and I can’t stop my laugh.

“Good?”

“Mhm. You know how you said you…lovespicy crab sushi? That’s how I feel about nachos.”

“You’d do dirty things for them?”

“One hundred percent. Of course, it’s better if they’re loaded nachos. Like melted cheese, taco meat or maybe some chicken, guac, salsa, or maybe some pico de gallo, sour cream, and then top it all off with cheese sauce.”

“Sounds deadly.”

“Oh, no doubt. But they’re my favorite food.”

“Good to know.”

He takes another bite and makes a throaty noise that doesn’t at all make my body flush.

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