Page 54 of Challenge Me

“This is incredible.”

I studied the logo he’d created around my name. It was intricate, but at the same time, it was incredibly simple. It definitely beat the sign I had hanging in the bar.

“I’ll pay you for this.”

He laughed lightly. “No.”

“Seriously, I love it.”

“I’m glad, but I’m not selling it to you. It’s yours if you want it.”

I looked at him with wide eyes. “What? Why?”

“Because you look happy. Seriously, I was only doing it because I saw the sign in that picture of you guys and I was bored.”

“If this is what boredom is supposed to produce, I’m gonna have to toss my Xbox in the dumpster. Not the PC, though. It was too expensive and I’m in the middle of a really good game.”

“If I’ve learned anything throughout my journey, it’s to never compare yourself to others. It’s a recipe for disaster.”

“Sounds like something someone with an assload of talent would say.”

“You run a successful business, which is something I would never be able to do,” he said. “Amir couldn’t pitch like Travis in a million years, and Travis doesn’t hit a ball the way Amir does. Although, he’d say it’s only because they don’t let him bat.”

“Could he guard a base as well as Amir?”

“Oh, hell no. He’d be so distracted, they’d run right past him every time. The man’s got the attention span of an untrained puppy. On that mound, though—that’s where the whole world stops for him.”

“I’m excited to see it in real time,” I replied. “Regretfully, I’ll have to bet against him on this game. For appearances and all.”

“Of course. I remember saying the same to Amir at one point.”

“Did you guys . . .”

“He tried to shoot his shot, but not really in a serious way. As soon as he saw me around Travis, he knew that I was pining.”

“Looks like you got what you wanted.”

He stared fondly down at the field where the teams were taking their places. “Yeah, I really did.”

“Science needs to get its shit in order because if you two could create offspring together—” I blew out a raspberry while I shook my head. “You’d make little godlings.”

“Speaking of offspring . . .” He stared past me. “I didn’t know they were coming.”

I turned and saw two people I didn’t recognize—one big and one small. The woman had blonde hair that fell just past her shoulders. It bounced as she walked down the steps. Dark sunglasses covered her eyes and brought attention to her sharp cheekbones.

The girl beside her held a notebook to her chest and kept her eyes lowered. I was never around kids, so it was hard for me to guess her age. Given her wavy chocolate-brown hair, golden skin, and her bone structure, my logical guess would be nine. And seven months. Couldn’t forget that. The Red Sox jersey with the number sixteen on it was another giveaway. When someone sneezed, she turned around, and I saw that the back said DARYA.

This was bound to be awkward.

As they came down the row, I fought through my chaotic thoughts. I had no idea if Avery knew about our situation. Did she think this was real, or was she in on it like Trav and Roman? I’d have to play around with my words to figure it out. I wanted to believe he’d tell her the truth, but we’d never talked about his wife or daughter. There wasn’t much information about them online, so all I really had were their names.

There were few things that could really make me nervous, and I hadn’t expected this to be one of them. Maybe it’d be best if I just dipped, feigning nausea or something.

“Hey, Avery.” Roman leaned past me to give her a quick hug.

“We saw you from up there,” she said. “Do you mind?”

“Of course not.” With a smile, he looked down at Mal. “You drawing anything cool lately?”