December 14th #3
“Yeah, she knew I wanted to have kids young. That I wanted a bunch of them. And the fact that she went through the pregnancy alone. That she carried that burden. For me. I don’t know what you think, and I don’t care, to be honest, but she loves me.
She understands my sacrifices for my career, and she is all in with me. ”
I turn to my sister. “I actually need to thank you for that. When she was here earlier this fall, you showed her the video of the facility and showed her what I do all day. It helped her fully understand my time and energy commitment to the team.”
I turn to Chase. “And if you don’t get it, Chase, that’s okay.
If you were faced with the same situation, obviously, you would react differently.
But I love Ainsley, and we’re committed to making it work.
You should also know that I asked her to marry me and told her I’d transfer to Kansas so we could be closer together. ”
“You what?! You can’t!” Chase gasps.
“I can actually,” I reply seriously.
“But …” Chase says.
“Does that mean you want to throw to me?” I ask him.
“I have been doing it all my life,” he says, rolling his eyes.
“Then get on board with this situation. Celebrate with me. Win some championships.”
Chase turns to Dani and says to her, “Would you do that for me?”
She shakes her head and laughs. “No way. You know how pathetic I am when I’m sick. I’ll probably be a mess when I’m pregnant. So, no, I couldn’t have done what she did. But the admiration is there because I understand what this season, what the next couple of years mean for both of your futures.”
Chase takes a deep breath, then blows it out. He’s speaking to Dani but looking at me. “My wife has always been smarter than me when it comes to love.”
“Really?” she says.
“Really.” He grabs a flute, pours himself a glass of champagne, then raises it toward me. “To winning—in life and love and football.”
“I’ll drink to that,” I say as Dani and I both clink his glass.
Dani smiles at us, and I know this makes her happy.
“Thank goodness. I thought I was gonna have to kick your ass about all this,” Dani says to Chase.
Which causes him to laugh.
“We okay, bro?” Chase asks me after we finish eating.
“Depends if you’re going to throw to me,” I tell him with a smirk.
Keep your focus.
Ainsley
I’m sitting on the couch, quizzing Sammy for his last final, when I get a phone call from Chase.
“Hey,” he says.
I instantly panic. He’s never called me before.
“Is everything okay? Is Damon okay?”
“Yeah. Look, I owe you an apology,” he says.
“For what?”
“Did Damon tell you about today?”
“Um …” I say, not sure what he’s referring to.
“He and I got in a fight, kinda. Ended up in the coach’s office.”
“Why?” I ask, shocked.
“Because of you. I was mad at him. Mad at you. I felt like you’d lied to him, and he just let you off the hook so easily.”
“I see,” I reply, not knowing what else to say.
It makes sense now why Damon was home for dinner instead of eating at the training table as usual.
“I didn’t throw to him at practice. And when I did, I purposely threw bad passes. Of course, the asshole managed to catch them anyway.”
To that, I let out a chuckle because, Go, Damon.
“I just called to tell you. To come clean. He’s my best friend and ...”
“It was a shock. I know. It’s okay, Chase, the way you reacted. You love him and want to protect him. But I’m on your side. I want him to be as successful as possible. I want him to live his dreams.”
“My wife said she couldn’t do what you did,” he tells me.
“It wasn’t easy,” I admit.
“And you’re going to live apart.”
“Sometimes, yes. And that’s not going to be easy either, but at the same time, he goes to the stadium early and gets home late.
I assume you want to keep winning, keep your focus and shock-and-awe them all on your way to a few national championships.
The baby will be born well after this season, and we can settle in between now and the next. ”
“I know. Anyway, I wanted you to hear it from me. I’m sorry about the way I reacted. I was just—”
“Being his best friend,” I say.
“Yeah. Thanks for understanding.”
“Chase, I appreciate the call. I really do. And I appreciate you and Damon’s friendship. And I’m glad I didn’t ruin it.”
“Yeah, me too.”
When I hang up, Sammy is looking at me, aghast. “What was that all about?”
I know it was tough for him to sit there and not interject his thoughts during the conversation.
“First off, thank you for not butting in.”
“It sounds like he reacted like I had when I learned,” Sammy says.
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“I get it,” Sammy says.
“I know,” I reply. “Now, back to getting you ready for your final.”
“Are you serious? Don’t you want to talk this through? Dissect everything he said? Are you upset? Nervous? Anything?”
“I’m just happy they had it out now and fixed it before their game. It would have really sucked to not have told Damon this whole time, only to have their fighting about it cause them to lose.”
“Oh, you’re right. That would have sucked.”
“Speaking of right, do you want to fly down to the bowl game with us? On my uncle’s private jet?”
“I thought you’d never ask,” Sammy says happily.