Page 174 of Rewind It Back

“How the hell is he going to be five already?” Kennedy asks rhetorically.

Kai shakes his head. “I can’t talk about it.”

“The baseball theme is so cute,” Stevie says with a sweet smile.

Ryan chuckles. “Was that his idea?”

“Oh yeah. He’s obsessed with baseball right now.” Miller pulls out her phone and holds up a picture for all of us to see. “He’s starting T-ball, and we just picked up his very first uniform.”

Right there on her phone screen is little Max, a big smile on his face, wearing his brand-new uniform with number twenty-one on it.

“He’s wearing his dad’s number.” Zee grins. “Did he choose that himself?”

“I seriously cannot talk about this.” Kai takes off his glasses, pressing his thumb and forefinger against his closed eyes.

Miller laughs but runs her hand over her husband’s back.

Isaiah smiles. “We asked him what number he wanted to wear, and he said he wanted his dad’s number. It was fucking adorable.”

“I fucking love that kid.” Kai sighs. “But I have no idea how he’s old enough to play already. Where did the time go? It feels like yesterday Miller was bringing him to the field to take his very first steps.”

Miller smiles softly at him, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

“How’d you pick your jersey number in the first place?” Indy asks. “Does twenty-one mean something?”

“Oh,fuck me,” Rio mutters under his breath for only me to hear.

“Great question, Indy!” I drape my arm over Rio’s shoulder, excited for this conversation.

“Not exactly,” Kai says. “I was twelve years old and didn’t know what number to pick, so I flipped the numbers of my age because that’s how my twelve-year-old brain worked.”

Isaiah chuckles. “And I’m two years younger, so I picked the number that was two less than his. Nineteen.”

Rio is completely silent next to me, and I know he’s hoping for this conversation to die, but I refuse to let it. “Ryan, how about you?”

“I don’t have a good reason. I was, what? Five or six years old when I first joined a team.” He looks to his sister for confirmation. “And I was sick the day they picked numbers, so they handed me a jersey with number five on it when I came back. I haven’t changed it since.”

“How consistent of you, baby.” Indy laughs, dropping her head to his shoulder. “Zee?”

“Mine is simple. Number one was taken at the time and I figured that number eleven was even better because it’s number one twice.”

There’s a small laugh among the group because from what I’ve gotten to know of Zanders, that thought process tracks.

Everyone turns their attention to Rio, but he doesn’t answer.

“Rio?” Stevie pushes. “What about you?”

He hesitates for a long moment, not looking in my direction. I’m just sitting here with a smug smile on my face and my arm draped over his shoulder, ecstatic that I’m finally going to get the answer to the question I’ve been curious about for months.

“Well,” he begins slowly. “I was always number eighty-three growing up.”

“So, you flipped the numbers?” Miller guesses.

“Not exactly. I didn’t know what number to choose when I was a kid, so I picked the number of my favorite day, which was, of course, my birthday. August third. Eighty-three.”

Realization finally dawns on me. I forgot that his old number was his birthdate. Which means his new number is...

“When I got to training camp in Chicago, they asked me if I wanted to keep eighty-three, but I decided it was time to change it to myactualfavorite day.”

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