Page 63 of Catch Me
“It’s three hundred thousand dollars! You can’t do that.”
“It’s a fraction of what I make in a year.”
“That doesn’t matter. I just . . . Travis.”
“That kiss earned me my freedom and it imprisoned you. We were opposite results of Camp Dumont, and I won’t apologize for giving you something that’ll help make the future easier after all the years you lost to your past.”
I heard a woman crying in the background, who I assumed was Kai’s mom. A man asked what was going on, and the way Kai responded to him was so full of warmth that it made me smile.
“Be happy, Sen. That was what I wanted for you from the moment I saw you on that dock. That’s not a goodbye, by the way. It kind of sounded like it.”
“Thank you. God, thank you, Travis.”
“Don’t thank me. You should visit soon. Both of you. I’d love to see you for more than a day or two.”
“Maybe spring break.”
“I’d love it. Hopefully, it’ll work with my schedule next season. We’ll figure it out.”
“Fuck, man. Is it weird if I say I love you?”
As I laughed, I stirred my ice cream. It was melty now, which in my opinion made it basically a milkshake.
“Love you too, Sen. You probably shouldn’t tell Kai this, but you were my first kiss, and it meant everything at the time. You’ll always have a piece of me, and I’m glad you found me again. You’d better stick around.”
“Can’t get rid of me. You’re gonna be the best man at my wedding, which means you’ll be walking with West, so I apologize in advance.”
“It’s cool. For the love of God, get yourself out of that apartment, then buy your boyfriend a really nice ring with some of that money.”
“Feels kind of early.”
“Does it?”
“No, actually. When we kissed the first time, I felt myself break open so that I could let him in. Somehow, we both knew from that moment—it was going to be me and him. I’ve spent my life confused and doubting things, but I’ve never once felt lost with him or doubted us. It’s kind of wild, and I just don’t care if I never really understand how we fit the way we do.”
“Shit, you make it sound like a dream come true.”
“Not a dream. It’s so fucking real. You’ll find it too. I have a feeling.”
I chuckled. “I’m happy with how things are. But if it does come around, hopefully that whole kiss magic happens because I’m sort of an idiot. I’ll probably let it pass right by me.”
“Sounds like you need someone relentless and clingy.”
“Well, I’m a dog person, so that makes a lot of sense.”
“I should get going. Kai is still a mess and we’re probably gonna be crying all night. Thank you, Travis. Seriously, I can’t say it enough.”
“Stop saying it at all. It makes it weird. There are gonna be a lot of donations coming in. Think of it all as a ‘fuck you’ to your dad. Send him a hundred-dollar bill in the mail along with a picture of you and Kai when you get engaged.”
“It’s tempting.”
“Go take care of your man. We’ll talk later.”
“Alright. Later.”
After the call ended, I clutched the phone to my chest. I didn’t know if I’d ever felt this good. Even when I made it into the major leagues, it hadn’t been like this.
I drank my ice cream, then laid back on the rock. It was in the perfect spot so that the sun shone down on it, providing some heat to dull the chill air.
