Page 60 of Chasing The Goal
I blinked fast. “You guys are going to make me cry after I held it together all day.”
“We’re good at that,” Ava said with a smirk.
“We’re also good at hyping you up while eating snacks in bed,” Dakota said, holding up a fistful of cereal like a toast.
After we finally hung up, I let the silence settle.
Not empty. Just quiet.
Then, without overthinking it, I scrolled to Jaymie’s name and hit FaceTime.
He answered instantly. Still in that same hoodie. This time, barefoot, sitting on his couch with a bowl of cereal.
“Hey,” he said. “Long day?”
“You could say that.”
I adjusted the phone, curling into the couch. “I talked to Jackson this morning. It’s official ovvvver. He’s out. Said goodbye for good.” I was information dumping but I had to get it out and over with quickly before I chickened out.
Jaymie didn’t say anything right away. He just smiled. A real one this time. Like something deep inside him had exhaled.
“That’s… huge,” he said. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “More than I thought I’d be.”
He looked down, then back up at me. “I’m really happy for you, Mal. You’ve got a clean start now.”
My throat tightened, but not in a bad way.
“You’re not weirded out by any of it?”
He shook his head. “Not even close. I was never afraid of Jackson. Just wanted you to know you had a choice. That you weren’t stuck.”
I stared at him for a long moment, then laughed softly. “I just told Ava and Dakota everything over facetime as well, its like their weekly telanovella update. They brought snacks.”
He grinned. “I’ll have to step up my game.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Got any snacks?”
“Half a chocolate bar and a heated blanket with your name on it.”
I smiled. “I’ll be up in ten.”
He winked. “I’ll put the kettle on.”
And just like that, I was off the couch, pulling on my slippers and hoodie, walking not toward an ending—but something brand new, just waiting upstairs.
Jaymie
It was just lunch.That’s what I told myself when I texted her. That’s what I typed, too. But I knew this was the beginning of forever. My girl was right within my reach and all I had to do was lock her down.
Want to grab lunch? as friends. Don’t make it weird.
I made it weird by saying don't make it weird
Because if I left it open-ended, if I didn’t add that part, it would feel like something else.
And maybe I wasn’t ready to admit it was something else. Not yet, I wanted to show her.
