Page 105 of Stepping Up to the Plate

As we sit around the living room in our pajamas, Tiffany, Carina, and Raven all congratulate me on the talk show segment. They are as over the moon as I am. We spent the last forty-five minutes brainstorming ideas. We only stopped when our Thai food arrived.

“Why is Asian food the best?” Raven moans over her stir fry.

“If you think this is good, you need to have Kent’s silog. It is hands down the best breakfast I have ever had,” Tiffany mouths over her Pad Thai.

“Kent’s been making you breakfast?” I ask, eyebrows shooting up to my hairline.

“Not like that,” she snorts. “We occasionally stumble back to the building at the same time and when we do, he plies me with food so he doesn’t have to eat alone. He is surprisingly needy for female attention of the non-sexual variety.”

“He gets plenty of the sexual variety,” Carina mutters under her breath. “Sorry,” she apologizes sheepishly when she notices we’re all holding back laughter at her outburst.

“Don’t mind her. She’s just bitter,” Tiffany laughs. “Robby was about to make breakfast out of her earlier this week when Kent called him for a ride.”

“He’s on my list,” my cousin grouses. The laugh I was holding back finally escapes. I have no doubt Robby made up for the interruption tenfold.

“One of these days, you ladies are going to have to introduce me to these baseball boys. I hear all about them, but the only time I see them is on TV and social media. And neither of those places give the impression Kent Dela Cruz is a man who cooks a woman breakfast platonically. Or at all.”

“He’s a smooth-talking playboy, alright. I think of him as a slightly less dumb Joey Tribiani. Out in the world he’s sowing his wild oats, but with us he is a stand-up guy,” Tiffany states.

“‘Slightlyless dumb’ being the operative phrase,” Carina jokes. “But he is loyal and there when you need him, even if he requires a bit of handholding.”

As they converse, I get lost in my thoughts. I still haven’t told Brady about the Cami Graham news and I don’t know why. I am desperate to, but it is an in-person conversation. I want to see his face light up when I tell him. A small – okay, large – part of me also wants tohearhim say he’s proud of me and not read it over text. I’ve missed his praise.

Aside from when he kisses me goodbye at our coffee dates, he hasn’t been flirty or affectionate at all. I know it’s because he is respecting my boundaries, but I can’t help but wonder if he is losing interest. Or if this break showed him we were both dickmitized – or whatever the male equivalent is – and his life is better without me.

“Earth to Lola,” I hear as a pillow hits me in the head.

“Hey!” I yell.

“Sorry, babe. But we said your name three times already. What are you over there thinking about so hard? If it’s the show, you don’t have to submit your first segments until December. You have plenty of time.”

“It’s not that,” I sigh. “I miss Brady.” All three women offer me sympathetic smiles.

“How many weeks has it been?” asks Raven.

“A little over four,” I answer. Four weeks and two days to be exact, but who’s counting?

“Why don’t you just go to him?” Carina suggests.

“I don’t want to distract him during the series.”

“If they lose tomorrow in LA, they’re out of the series, anyway. Based on what I’ve heard from Robby, it isn’t looking too good,” she states.

Being a distraction is only part of the reason I haven’t seen him outside of our agreement. I realized a week ago that I was ready to dive back in with him. Even Lynn agreed that she thought I was in a place to trust both him and myself.

“He still wants you,” Tiffany declares.

“I didn’t—” I start to argue before she waves me off.

“You didn’t have to. I’ve known you for years and I can see it in your eyes. You think that he’s lost interest but I guarantee he hasn’t.”

“How do you know?” I ask.

She searches my face for a moment while warring with herself on how to respond. With the roll of her lip, she explains. “You know how Brady texts you every day?”

“Yes.”

“He texts me, too.” When I tilt my head in confusion, she continues. “He texts me toreallycheck on you. To get my assessment on how you are doing and if you need anything you’re too stubborn to ask for.”

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