53. Eden
EDEN
He gets us on the road shortly thereafter.
“For the actual countdown, we’ll be back at your apartment?”
“Yup, and since I’m not traveling to the game, we can stay up.”
“Awesome.”
He puts the radio on, and we both listen to the music in comfortable silence for a few minutes, until a commercial comes on. He turns down the volume.
“I forgot to tell you this. I put together my resume before practice today.” He has to start thinking about what’s next, if he doesn’t get an offer from a team after the season’s over.
“Oh, nice.”
“I’ll start applying to jobs soon, since it takes so long to get through the hiring process.”
The end of his football season will be mid-February, at the latest, so that makes sense.
“How do you feel about it?” He seems unemotional about the subject, and I would’ve expected him to be anxious.
He glances in my direction, a small smile appearing. “If the last few months have taught me anything, it’s that the best things come when I’m patient.”
He’s so sweet. “Whatever could you mean?” I tease softly.
“Our one hundred chances…” he jokes back.
Happiness sweeps over me. Underneath his words, he’s projecting so much affection. So much commitment to me, to us.
After a few seconds of soaking that in, I try to be encouraging. “You might get an offer from an NFL team for next season. You never know.”
“Maybe. It’ll be hard as a rookie backup with no pro game experience. Either way I’m covering my bases.”
“The right opportunity will come. I know it.”
“Thanks for your faith in me, Rosy.” My heart clenches at how sincere he sounds. How open he seems to everything we’re becoming to each other.
“We’ll walk through it together.”
He swallows. “How…how do you feel about me waiting to see where you’re playing, and applying for positions there?”
The question validates my thought of a moment ago. Before today, I hadn’t dared to think he’d want that. It’s more permanent than I’d been able to dream about with all the chaos and secrecy. “I mean, you’d do that? Leave Orlando?”
“For you, yes. A job is a job.” He glances at me, smiling. “You’re irreplaceable, Rosy. We’ve been pulled apart so many times, and I’d follow you across the country to make sure it doesn’t happen again. If you want me to.”
My answer comes easily. “I do. I want that so much.”
His smile grows bigger. “So I’ll wait until you know. Still no news from Aiden?”
I sigh. “No, but he says maybe next week when the holidays are over.”
“It’s gonna happen.”
He brings his right hand to rest on my knee. We spend the remainder of the drive sharing stories of our last few days that we skipped over on our FaceTimes. The trip passes in a blip before we’re suddenly pulling into the high-end development where Landon lives.
“This is really nice.” The houses are larger than Dad’s and look more pristinely maintained. Then again, Landon’s endorsement money alone dwarfs what Dad made total in his career.
“Yeah, Landon didn’t go quite as big as Johnson, but their places are both mammoth.”
I check my nerves as he turns into the driveway of a house that must be his brother’s. Despite the significance of tonight, I’m more excited than anxious.
He grabs my hand and gives it a squeeze as we walk to the door.
After he punches in a code to unlock Landon’s door, we step into the front entryway, my sandals clicking on the tile. “Should I take off my sho—”
Exuberant barks interrupt my question, and Landon’s beagle comes racing to greet us. He jumps on my legs, tail wagging, and I lean down to pet him. “Hi, there.”
“Grover, down,” Connor orders. The pup immediately obeys and earns a pet. “Good boy. Sit.” Grover also complies with his second, softer command.
“Man, the way you can get him to listen to you, I need lessons,” Landon says as he comes into the entryway.
He spots me and a wide grin erupts on his face. “Eden, so good to have you here. The gang is all hanging in the living room.”
“Thanks for having me.”
Landon gives a pointed look at Connor. “Sounds like it was overdue.”
Connor throws me a wink as Landon turns to lead us into the living room. It’s packed full with Grace, Rori, Avery, Johnson, and Rawley. A chorus of “hi” and “hello” breaks out when they see us.
“Ahem,” Connor says, clearing his throat. “May I present my girlfriend, Eden Larsson.”
That evokes cheers and whoops even louder than the initial greetings. “Secret no more,” yelps Rawley.
“Hi, everyone,” I say. I’m certain I’m blushing, but they’re all beaming at me, so I try to soak in the happy energy.
“Let’s leave the poor woman alone,” Rori pipes up. “She’s gonna run out of here if we keep this up.”
“Yes, sheesh,” Avery responds. “Come sit by me, Eden. I promise family gatherings are a delight.”
I laugh and come into the open spot next to her. And it is a delight. Within a minute, we’re all joking and chatting like I’m a regular part of the group. Connor glances at me from his spot next to Rawley, and I smile at him, conveying I’m good.
After about an hour, though, Rori brings up a touchy subject I was hoping we’d skip.
“So, Eden—during that fundraising dinner, you and Connor were already serious? That must have been intense.” She looks amused, not annoyed at my deception. Grace and Avery peer at me, waiting for my answer.
“I…felt a little awkward, yes. I’m not the best at hiding things, and you kept mentioning Connor.”
The corners of her mouth tip up. “I said we’d bring him to a match, didn’t I? Well, hello, you didn’t break. I…we were clueless.”
“Don’t feel bad, Eden,” Grace interjects. “Plenty of secrets have floated around all eight of us. We blame Connor, anyway.” Connor shrugs from across the room, and she giggles.
Avery joins her, chuckling too. “He’s a sneaky little bugger. Anyway, I can speak for Rawley—he’s so happy Connor’s found you.”
I grin, my cheeks flushed again. “Thank you.”
“Whatever you’re talking about is making my girlfriend blush,” Connor says from across the room. “Do I want to know?”
Rori examines me before pivoting to Connor. “I hadn’t noticed, but we’re being good.”
Rawley bumps Connor’s arm and says in a loud whisper, “You just wanted to say ‘my girlfriend’ again, didn’t you?”
Now it’s Connor that’s blushing.
Landon clears his throat. “Alright gang, how about we eat some of this food?” Landon and Rori have set up heavy apps on a tall side table.
“Good idea,” Johnson says. We all grab small plates and load them up in turns.
“Did you slave in the kitchen all day, big bro?” Rawley says with a chuckle. I don’t get the joke until…
“Nah, I wouldn’t risk three players getting food poisoning before a game.” Everyone laughs. “Rori ordered it from somewhere.”
Soon our bellies are full, but the chattering doesn’t stop. In the middle of the cross-sibling banter and jokes, I answer questions about my plans for the spring semester and explain where things stand with my prospects to play pro. Then, during a lull in the conversation, Grace taps my knee.
“You excited for the U23 training camp in February?”
“Definitely. A week in Brazil. No complaints.”
Avery speaks next. “How does that work with school?”
“The Tolliver admin’s used to my requests by now, and my professors are always cool. I’ll take work with me, and make it up as needed.”
“Basically how I finished at UConn after the draft,” Avery replies. “The WNBA preseason cut into my last few weeks.”
“Oh, that’s different from how it works for us. I’ll graduate normally, but then I’ll jump right into the NWSL mid-season. Assuming I get signed.”
“You will,” Grace reassures me.
Something about her response frustrates me, though. I’m getting tired of reassurances, and I need an actual answer. Maybe because I’m back in Orlando, maybe because Connor’s now planning to job search where I’ll be–impatience floods me.
C’mon Aiden, work your magic.
Landon interrupts my thoughts a beat later.
He stands up, and addresses the full group.
“I want to say a few words since it’s my favorite day of the year, New Year’s Eve.
” He looks lovingly at Rori. “I’m glad we have tonight together.
It’s something special to have all of us gathered like this, even at the expense of Johnson’s annual party. ”
Johnson raises his cup. “Here, here.”
Landon dips his head at him, and then continues. “May we all have an incredible new year, even better than the last.” He lifts his cup, and we all follow.
“I’ll toast to that,” Connor adds.
“And may the Waves win the Super Bowl,” Rawley calls out.
Everyone repeats, “Here, here.”
“Speaking of that,” Johnson says. “We should probably get going soon.”
“It’s fine,” Rori replies. “I know you guys need your nine hours of sleep to be at your peak.”
“Yeah, I’m going to follow QB1’s lead and miss the ball drop tonight myself,” Rawley says. “So I don’t drop any balls on Sunday, haha.” Avery bats his arm at his joke, rolling her eyes.
“Winning is the most important thing,” Landon agrees. “Being able to skip the first round game.”
“What time is the Waves flight tomorrow?” I ask him.
“Eleven in the morning.” Okay, yes, it makes sense they want to shut down the party early. That means they probably need to get to the Waves facility by nine thirty for the team bus to the airport.
Connor comes over to me. “We’ll go too. Let you crash, Landon.”
“Cool.”
The group exchanges hugs as we make our way to the door. Grace is one of the last to pull me into an embrace.
“We’re so happy for you and Connor. I’m glad you don’t have to keep it a secret anymore.”
“Thanks, Grace. Thanks for...being so understanding, considering everything.”
She steps back, smiling. “Trust me, we’ve each had our speed bumps the last couple of years.”
We start to part, but then she brushes my arm. “I almost forgot, I’m having Connor, Avery, and Rori over for the game. Do you want to come?”
“Yes, join us,” Avery adds.
I look at Connor, and he nods eagerly. Done.
“I’m in. Thank you.”
After our final goodbyes, Connor’s hand slips onto my back, and we head to the car.
‘That went well, I think?” I whisper to him.
He leans over and kisses my temple.
“Like you were always meant to be there.”