May 22nd #6
“That you can’t join the draft until you’ve been in college for three years. After your junior season. Other professional sports don’t make you wait. In fact, for most, you can declare straight from high school.”
“Would you have done that—like, if you could have?” I ask him.
“I do want the college-team experience. Go to a bowl game. Win a national championship. But I’ll be ready to go pro quickly. Honestly, I could go now. I’m big enough. Fast enough. But, fine, if they want me to prove it, I will.”
“You’re very confident.”
“Mental toughness is a large part of the game. And speaking of games,” he says, reaching up and tucking a piece of hair behind my ear, “what about the one you’re playing?”
“What do you mean?” I ask, trying to keep my voice from sounding breathless over the way his gentle touch made me feel.
He’s too young for me. He’s too young for me.
“You’re trying very hard to act like you’re not interested, but I know you are. Admit it—we have a connection.”
“And let me guess. You’d like to explore that further?”
“Actually, yes. I’m excited to spend some time getting to know you better,” he says sincerely, but all I hear are innuendos. A connection. Getting to know you.
I’ve dealt with a guy his age before, and it didn’t end well .
It’s then that I notice my mom sitting alone at a table.
“Hey, it’s been fun hanging out but I haven’t seen my mom in a few weeks, and I need to go spend some time with her.”
“All right,” he says, pulling my hand up to his mouth and kissing the back of it. “Until tomorrow then.”
Leaving me feeling like I am walking away from freaking Prince Charming.
My Roman Empire.
Ainsley
“Hey, Mom,” I say, taking a seat next to her. “Do you want to do some line dancing with me, or would you like to go back to the house and relax?”
“It’s been a long week. Relaxing sounds nice.”
I give her a smile as I pull her up. “Perfect, because I love getting into our jammies and catching you up on all things Sammy. Actually, if you’re not too tired, we should video chat with him. Right before I left, he had some juicy gossip, but I had to hit the road.”
“I love Sammy,” my mom says. “You really lucked out, meeting him on your first day of classes.”
“I sure did. And now we’re besties. Plus, he’s so easy to live with. We just have a ball together. ”
“That’s because you’re both meticulous about organization and cleanliness,” Mom teases.
“True. I couldn’t live with a messy roommate.”
Which causes her face to fall a little, and I know she’s thinking about my dad. She always describes them as being polar opposites. She’s orderly. He likes a little chaos in life to keep things interesting. She’s all about concrete thoughts. He’s a dreamer.
I toss Mom the keys to the golf cart. “Why don’t you drive us home?”
She smiles. “I would love to.”
I get in, pull out my phone, and call Sammy. Our hair is flying back as Mom zooms down the pathway.
“What in the Sam Hill blazes are you two doing?” is the first thing he says.
“We’re in a golf cart!”
“At night? In the middle of the woods?”
“Yes, we’re going back to our little campsite,” I tease. “To sleep on the ground.”
“What, wait?” he says, making a funny face.
But I flip the phone around and watch his expression change as my mom pulls into the driveway of the grand lake home we’re staying in.
The exterior lighting was expertly placed to highlight the beautiful landscaping and architectural details of the home, as well as provide clear paths to the entrance points.
“Why was I not invited?” Sammy cries out. “It’s utterly breathtaking. I’m so jelly. ”
“As long as you have some peanut butter to go with it, you’ll be fine,” I fire back.
But Mom looks confused. “Does that mean he’s jealous?”
I nod while Sammy continues, “You’ll never believe who called me. Ever. Roman.”
“ The Roman?” I exclaim.
“Who is Roman?” Mom asks as we go inside.
But the second we sit down in the living room, Sammy starts fake crying. “And now I’m just depressed.”
“About Roman?” Mom asks, trying to follow along.
And I will admit, it is hard. Sammy jumps from topic to topic before circling back again to make some kind of relevant point.
“The house. The interior is to die for. Give me a three-sixty spin, please.”
“It is really pretty. Grand but comfortable. And the space is perfectly suited, whether it’s the whole family together or like now, when it’s just the two of us.” I stop to flick on the electric fireplace just to take the chill out of the air.
“And now I suppose you’re going to put on your robes, make tea, sit by the fire, and spill all the good kinds of tea.”
Mom looks confused again.
“Spill the tea equals tell all the gossip,” I translate.
“Oh, I knew that,” she says, shaking her head. “I just—”
“It’s okay,” I whisper. “He’s hard to keep up with.”
“I heard that,” Sammy says, “but regardless, I do need to discuss Roman. So, get comfy, ladies. It’s going to be a long conversation. ”
I let out a laugh. “Mom, we’re going to be talking about a guy named Roman, who, funnily enough, is Sammy’s Roman Empire.”
“I’m not following.”
“That’s slang for something or someone you obsess over. He thinks and talks about Roman even though they have been over for—how many years?”
“Almost three,” Sammy says. “He was my penguin. My once-in-a-lifetime love. And … he wants to get together. He’s going to be in town.”
“Why?” I ask.
“To see me, one would assume,” Sammy gasps.
“No, I mean, you said he’s going to be in town. That’s different from he’s coming to town to see you.”
Sammy fans his face. “Oh my stars, if I have my way, he’ll be coming in my town, if you catch my drift.”
“We got the whole wave on that one,” Mom teases. “So, this Roman—why did you break up?”
“It’s funny you should bring that up, Mama,” Sammy says. “Because Roman is one of the main reasons why Ainsley and I bonded so quickly.”
“I thought it was because you had a class together and you love design.”
“It’s not the main reason,” Sammy says. “We were both heartbroken. I mean, look at us. We’re both lovely people. Total catches. And these two assholes cheated on us. Us!”
Shit. I might have failed to mention that was the reason why Brad and I aren’t still together .
Mom looks at me with wide eyes, then puts her hand on top of mine. “It makes so much more sense now,” she says. “I know you had been together for a long time, but your reason for breaking up didn’t seem nearly as traumatic as you were acting.”
“We were betrayed!” Sammy adds.
“So, why do you want to see him again?” Mom asks.
“Because I still love him!” Sammy clutches his chest dramatically. “I still want him. Yes, I’m angry with him, but I want to believe that he grew up. That it was a mistake. That he’ll never do it again.”
Mom was smiling, but now she sobers. “He will,” she says simply.
“He will what?” Sammy asks.
“Do it again. Cheat, probably. Or at the very least lie to you. And you’ll find out when you least expect it. When you think everything is okay. And it will destroy you. Again.” Mom stands up and says, “On that note, I think I will leave you two to the tea and head to bed.”
“Nice talking to you!” Sammy calls out, blowing her a kiss.
I rotate the camera so that Sammy can see her going down the hall and then through the door of one of the suites.
When I flip the phone back to my face, Sammy goes, “What just happened?”
“I don’t know. Do you think my dad cheated on my mom?”
“It did sound like she was speaking from experience. But she could have a friend that happened to or something. But she did sound bitter. Like it was personal. Is your dad there with you? How have they been?”
“Only Mom came. And she has been off. Told me that some issues have come up and they aren’t agreeing. And she did mention the D-word.”
“The D-word? Are we talking dick? Is he being a dick , been sharing his dick , or does she need more dick ? I know I do. Would it be bad of me to sleep with Roman? I mean, turnabout is fair play. And I hope he turns me about.”
“That’s a lot of questions,” I say, taking a deep breath. “D, in this instance, stands for divorce.”
“Oh, what? I thought your parents were, like, the perfect couple.”
“Yeah, so did I.”
“It’s probably just an argument. I’m sure it will blow over,” he says, then proceeds to ramble on for another thirty minutes about all the amazing time he spent with Roman. The romantic gestures. The meals. Their favorite couple things …
“Ainsley!”
I pop my eyes open.
“You just fell asleep on me!” Sammy chastises.
“Sorry. Long day. And I’m shocked you haven’t asked me about the party here. Too bad I’m now too tired to tell you.”
“Oh, no, you don’t, missy. Spill.”
“How do you feel about younger men?” I wonder .
“How young?”
“Ten days away from his eighteenth birthday.”
“Like, some kid?”
“This isn’t some kid. He’s six-six. Muscled. Hot. Like, you wouldn’t ever guess him to be only—”
“Seventeen?”
“Yeah.”
“Okay, so wait. You were at a party with a bunch of famous people. Who is this person?”
“Damon Diamond.”
Sammy gasps. “If you can’t get the dad, go for his son, huh?”
“That’s not it at all. Look, I have to get some sleep. Just answer my question.”
“I think the universe listened.”
I grimace at Sammy, then hang up.
Then I text him.
Me: Also, they announced that Danny’s daughter, Devaney, got engaged to Chase Mackenzie (Jadyn’s son) last night, AND they are getting MARRIED this weekend.
Sammy: WHAT THE EVER-LOVING F*CK???!!! Why didn’t you start with that? That’s it. I’m crying now. SOBBING, I tell you. Devastated that I’m not with you. Actually, screw Roman. I’m driving there first thing in the morning.
Me: But I thought you actually did want to screw Roman.
Sammy: Smart ass.