CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Michael
It’s my last day at the preschool today, and I’m sitting in Kate’s classroom, waiting for her to give me my assessment.
I don’t really need this assessment. Heather’s gonna release a PR statement saying this is where I’ve been in the past months and post some lowkey photos.
Also, to be honest, the past three months didn’t feel like a chore to me.
It was easy and enjoyable, to say the least.
What’s not enjoyable, though, is watching Kate agree to a date in front of my very eyes.
Sure, I don’t have any right to feel anything about that.
I was the one who agreed to help her up her game, though I didn’t even do anything except praise her outfit choices.
I hate to admit it, but it’s less about my coaching and more about the confidence she’s gained.
And that means guys get to notice her. And I should be happy for her.
“Here ya go!” Kate appears in the classroom. She’s wearing one of those floral dresses again. She rarely wears them these days, and I’m glad to see it. Apparently too glad.
“Why are you smiling?” she asks as she takes a seat beside me.
“Missed your dresses,” I admit.
She rolls her eyes and ignores me, and hands me an envelope. “Here. I gave you a glowing recommendation. You’re welcome. You’re ready to go back to the big leagues, captain!”
I smile. “Not yet, I still have two weeks.” I ignore the pit in my stomach when I realize I only have two weeks left in this small town before I have to return to my life in the city. “We still have that prom.”
She smiles back.
We head to her car like always, and I get into the passenger seat I’ve claimed more times than I can count. It’s absurd how right it feels, like a routine I never meant to build but now don’t want to break.
“So…” I ask as we get in her car to drive back home.
She glances at me. “So?”
“He texted you yet?”
“Huh?” Kate asks, and for some reason, her confusion makes me happy. It means she’s not looking forward to Dan’s message.
“Dan,” I say. “Bea’s father.”
“Ah,” she replies. “Nope. Didn’t really notice, to be honest.” She shrugs. And I smile.
Maybe it’s selfish, but I like how she didn’t notice. How it meant she didn’t care. I glance sideways at her as she hums to old love songs.
I tell myself again—like a chant—that I can’t be the guy for her. Even if I want to. Even when I’m starting to realize that I really do want to.
I lean my head against the window, watching houses blur past. She deserves someone stable. Someone emotionally available. She deserves someone who can actually say what he feels. Not someone who can barely admit to himself that maybe he loves her.
I sigh as my phone vibrates with a text from Heather, following up on my decision about the press interview. I stare at the message for too long.
“Everything okay?” Kate asks as we slowly pull over to our houses.
I hesitate. “Yeah. Just…” I let out a slow breath. “Heather’s been asking me to do a press interview. A tell-all, to explain my side of the whole… thing. Clear my name.”
Kate unbuckles her seatbelt, then absently reaches up to tie her hair into a half ponytail, pushing the curly strands from her face. “Isn’t that a good thing?” she says, not unkindly.
“Well, yes. And no.” I tap the phone against my thigh.
“You know what happened. The way it looked. Everyone thinks I just snapped and shoved a referee for no reason.” I pause.
“And yeah, the guy said something awful, something that hit a nerve. But if I go on record and say the truth, people will just think I’m being overly sensitive.
If I brush it off and just apologize, then I’d be lying. ”
Kate turns toward me fully now, knees tucked up on the seat. “So don’t lie,” she says simply.
“It’s not that easy,” I say. “People want soundbites. They want to feel like you’re either completely sorry or completely justified. People don’t care about why. They just care about what.”
Kate frowns. “But it does matter why.”
“I don’t know if it does. I mean, what am I supposed to say? That he told me one mistake would end my career, and it messed with my head? That he said I’d be no one without basketball and I—” My voice catches. “And I believed him?”
I clear my throat and continue, “Basketball is the only thing I’ve ever been good at. It’s the only thing people see when they look at me.”
Kate doesn’t say anything at first, but she shifts closer in her seat.
I can feel her looking at me. She reaches out for my hoodie.
Just tugs it absentmindedly. And instinctively, I put my hand on her thigh.
She flinches, and I instantly regret it.
Like that time she kissed me and pulled away.
So I immediately take my hand back. But she keeps hers on my arm.
Her hands are small, but the warmth they radiate seeps its way into me.
“You’re more than that,” she says suddenly. “You’re kind. You work hard, even when it sucks. You remember people’s names. You’re always the first to help carry equipment, even when your knee’s killing you. Everything I said in that amusement park is true, Michael.”
She looks at me, her chocolate brown eyes warmer because of the sunlight. “If you’re gonna tell the truth, then tell the whole truth. Not just the part that broke you. The part that makes you worth rooting for, too.”
I look at her like I’m seeing her for the first time. Or maybe like I’ve been seeing her this whole time, but only now understand what it means.
She starts to pull her hand away, like the moment’s over. But I reach for it. And now I’m holding her hand.
This is okay, I think.
Just a little bit longer.
“Come with me,” I say suddenly, the words tumbling out before I can think twice.
Kate blinks. “What?”
“To the interview. Or after. I don’t know.” I exhale, flustered. “I just… I feel like I can do this if you’re there.”
She stares at me for a long time, probably letting thoughts circle her mind the same way they do mine. “Okay,” she whispers.
I smile. “Thank you,” I say. “I’ll text Heather to schedule it after prom night.”
“Oh my gosh!” Kate suddenly clasps her hands together.
“I almost forgot, we need to get everyone’s RSVP.
We still have a few left who didn’t submit.
I need to know if they’re inviting outsiders or if they’re out of town or what.
” She’s already about to open her door when I grab her hand again, my fingers closing in on her wrist as her eyes widen and she sits back down.
Just a little bit longer.
“Wait,” I say. “I have one here.” I pull an RSVP card out of my backpack.
“Who’s this from? Is it Emily? We all know she’s going with Josh—” Then she stops short when she sees her name on the card.
She blinks, trying to register what’s written there.
I got one of these cards yesterday and decided to be witty and write Kate’s name on the invitation list. On the “Attending with” section, I wrote “Hopefully her handsome neighbor Michael Lee.” I was about to drop these off later, but the moment called for it, so here I am.
Kate is speechless. “Are you… asking me to prom? We’re the committee,” she says, trying to hide her smile.
“Yes, I know, but will you actually go with me? I’ll get you a corsage and everything. We both had shitty proms, the least we can do is spend this one properly.”
Her eyes hover on the RSVP note, reading it one more time. “Sounds good,” she says as she smiles at me. “I’ll save you a dance,” she says with a chuckle.
“Just one?” I fake a pout. She laughs as she shakes her head and gets out of the car.
As I get out and walk to my house, I can’t help but think about how Kate is slowly shifting from someone I enjoy being around to someone I want to keep in my life.
I’ve never had that before. There was my grandma, once.
But she’s gone now. After that, it’s just been Trish and Polly.
And they’re family, yeah, but they’re not… this.
I like my teammates. I like the guys I train with, the people I text when something funny happens on the court. But I’ve never had the urge to tether myself to someone. To stay.
Sucks for me that all I have is two more weeks. I better make the most of it.