AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I just wanted you back,” he whispers, lifting his eyes to meet mine.
The pain and sorrow etched across his features would bring me to my knees if I were standing. It’s hard to suck in a full breath when I see how much misery I caused him.
I open my mouth to respond, but I can't find the words. I'm completely speechless. How did I do this to him?
“I went into Dad’s office, planning to spill the news to him. He took one look at me and told me to take a seat. He somehow knew exactly where my head was. He talked me off the ledge and told me it was stupid for me to walk away from a career that was just taking off. When I got home that night, Mom was waiting for me. She sat with me for hours and talked through everything with me. She told me I couldn’t change your mind if this wasn’t the life you wanted. I couldn’t force you into doing anything. She helped me see I couldn’t give up on my future when there was no guarantee you’d get back with me. She said I’d end up regretting it if I threw away everything.” He shakes his head, still lost in his memory. “I'm not sure I would’ve. Don’t get me wrong, I love playing ball. Every time I step on the field, I feel like I can breathe a little easier and everything just feels right, but without you, I felt like a weight was crushing my chest. I felt lost and didn’t know how to change that. Baseball was all I had left and I realized I couldn’t walk away from that.”
Before I can respond, Tim places our plates in front of us. As soon as he’s gone, a few players stop by the table to ask Cord something. He quickly answers them and when they try to keep talking, he puts a stop to it.
“Hey, man, I don’t mean to be rude, but I'm trying to enjoy lunch with my girl. Could we talk during practice? I can even stay late today if you need me to, but I need to focus on my girl right now.”
“Oh, yeah! No problem. We totally get it.” One of the younger players nods his head, giving us a bright smile.
“It’s nice to meet you, Macy. I’m sure I’ll see you around the clubhouse.” Another smiles before he turns and leaves, making the rest follow him.
“Sorry about that. The younger guys are getting a little anxious as we get closer and closer to the season beginning.” Cord shrugs.
“You didn’t need to do that. You could’ve talked to them. I wouldn’t mind.”
“Nah, I'm setting boundaries now. When I'm eating lunch with you, they should respect that and let us have some time together. It’s like training a puppy. If they think it’s ok in the beginning, it’s harder to break later on. I know where I screwed up last time, I'm not going to do it again.”
“But this isn't real. It’s all fake,” I whisper, shaking my head.
“I know, but maybe if I can prove I’ve changed, you’ll give me another shot. And if not, I got to spend uninterrupted time with the most amazing woman in the world.” He squeezes my hand one last time before releasing it and digging into his food.
I instantly miss his warmth and stare at my hand resting on the table. I forgot how much I love holding his hand. How much I love the undivided attention he gives me. More than anything, I forgot what it felt like to be loved by Cord Powell.
Chapter 16
Cord
“What’s going on with Macy?” Smithy asks as we head out to the field.
“Nothing that I know of, why?” I furrow my brows and glance around. Does he know something I don’t? Did something happen I should be worried about?
“Stop looking for her, man.” He chuckles. “She’s fine, I was just wondering how you went from being enemies to dating again in the span of just a few days.”
“Charlie and Wyatt did it, so why are you questioning me?” I keep my gaze focused ahead of me. I'm not sure how good Smithy is at reading people. I’ve never tried to hide anything from him before.
“Charlie and Wyatt never really wanted to be apart from each other, and there was a lot more tension between Macy and you. The two of you had a lot more to work through than they did.”
“Ain’t that the fucking truth,” I sigh as we step onto the field.
I suck in a deep breath and try to find the peace that always engulfs me when I'm standing on the turf. It’s slow to come, but it does.
When I'm on this field, I forget about everything I’m struggling with in life. I leave all of my baggage in the locker room. I'm free when I have a mitt, ball, or bat in my hands.
“So, what’s going on between you and Macy? I heard you’re dating now?” Smithy follows me, not giving up.
“Do you see where I'm standing?” I motion to my feet.
“What the hell does that have to do with anything?” Smithy frowns at me.
“I leave all emotion and my life in the locker room. When I'm standing here, all that exists is baseball.”
“Man, that’s dumb.” Smithy rolls his eyes.
“Nah, it helps me focus. So, if you want to continue discussing Macy, you have to wait until I'm not on the field. We can discuss Lilliana if you’d prefer.” I grin, knowing that’s going to piss him off.
