Page 123 of In The Game

“Okay, better keep digging!” Barrett hollers.

I shake my head. “He knows all that shit about koalas, but thinks pineapples grow underground.”

His arms engulf me, and I lean into his embrace, inhaling deep.

“Can it be like this all the time?” I ask, sighing.

“If this is what you want, I’ll give it to you, baby.”

I kiss him again with a smile. His tongue darts out and laps at my lower lip.

He retreats briefly and cups my face, gazing down at me through hooded lids. His thumb strokes my temple and I angle into his hand.

“I’m so in love with you, Ral.”

Any remaining walls around my heart collapse into a heap of old insecurity. My lips part, and I can’t breathe. I’m frozen. It’s the first time a man has ever said those words to me. The second they fell from his lips, my entire soul reciprocated.

He loves me.

His voice drops an octave. “Say it back.”

My mouth opens, but I’m unable to speak. I thought Arthur would be the only person to ever have my heart, but Barrett has made me capable of loving beyond what I thought possible.

“I know you feel it too.” His voice is calm. He’s so patient. “Say it back.”

His thumb swipes a stray tear from my cheek, and my world clicks into place.

“I love you,” I whisper.

As soon as the words are out, his mouth crashes to mine and he sinks his hands into my hair. I kiss him back with the same intensity and know right then that Barrett Conway is the man I want to spend my forever with. We’re getting our happily ever after.

FORTY-SEVEN

Iget in my six o’clock morning run, and after five miles, I’m ready to make the phone call. I know it’s the right decision, but it doesn’t make it any easier. I pace outside near the pool. Arthur and Raleigh aren’t awake yet, now’s as good a time as any. I dial my agent, Jeff Henderson.

“Barrett! How’s my favorite client?” He clicks the pen in his hand. He’s been my agent for over a decade.

“Yeah, yeah.” I chuckle. “I’m good. Say, I want to talk to you about something.”

“What a coincidence, I want to talk to you about something too. With the playoffs last year, we can negotiate a bigger bonus for this upcoming season.”

Well, this should be fun. I take a deep breath and stare out at the horizon stretched across the ocean. The sky is painted with pinks and oranges as the sun comes up. The bright colors and stunning beauty remind me of the woman in my bed. “Okay, I’m gonna stop you there. I want to retire.”

“What?!”

“After this season, I’m done.”

“How come you didn’t bring this up last year when I asked about retirement? I mean, this feels very outta left field? Can we talk this through? Is this about Sully?”

“This is confidential, got it?”

“Shit,” he exclaims. “Are you in trouble?”

“I found out I have a son. He’s five.”

Jeff coughs on the other end. “Jesus Christ… Have you told anybody?”

“Fuck no! Well, Sully. And my mom figured it out on her own, but she won’t say anything.”

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