A New Hope (The Second Chance Series Book 2) (29 page)

Karla didn’t leave her room until it was time for practice the next day. She thought about everything that had happened and she knew what she had to do. She looked at the ring on her finger and recalled what Conner told her the night he gave it to her. When she reached up and grasped onto the necklace she never took off she felt Conner’s love surround her and it gave her the strength to do what she knew she had to.

Karla, Callie and Rylee walked to the conference room they were using for practice together, but Karla stopped at the door and took a deep breath before she entered. When they walked in everyone looked up from what they were doing. Rylee and Callie went to their groups, but Karla stopped in the front of the room.

“Before we start do you mind if I say something?” She asked Jake.

He smiled a little and stepped aside. “The floor’s all yours.”

“Thank you.” She muttered as he sat down. She took a deep breath, looked up to face the room and spoke in a strong, clear voice. “First, I want to apologize to everyone. We are not just a team, we are a family and I should have told you all at least a little about my past. I didn’t because I have been fighting to keep my past exactly that, the past.”

“Karla, you have nothing to apologize for.” Jake said when she paused. “You have a right to your privacy and we should have all respected that.” Everyone in the room murmured their agreement and Karla smiled a little.

“Next I want to tell you all that I seriously considered leaving the team.”

When the room erupted in pleas for her to stay Conner stood up. “Guys, please let her talk.”

“Thank you, Conner.” She said without meeting his eyes. She could hear the sadness in his voice, but she needed to focus on what she was doing at the moment and not on him. “I decided not to leave because I love being a part of this team. That being said, I hope we can continue working together as a team. I’m the same person I was day before yesterday and I want to be treated as such. Jake, Daniel, I have thought a lot about want you both said yesterday and I want you both to know that I forgive you. Neither of you knew about my past and I’m sure if you had you would have never pushed Conner the way you did. Now, we have a championship to win and it’s going to take all of us to do it. I want to put this entire thing behind us and move forward.”

When she took her seat with her group Conner looked back at her with tears in his eyes. She pulled out her cell phone and sent him a text because what she needed to say to him needed to be said in private.
We’ll talk after practice. Alone.

He pulled out his phone, looked at the text and immediately sent a reply.
Okay. I love you. Never forget that.

I love you, too.
Karla replied and slipped her phone back into her pocket.

Three hours later Jake stood up and said, “We’re as ready as we’ll ever be. I think it’s time to get some dinner and some rest. We’ll meet back here in the morning at nine and do a time check to make sure everyone can answer within thirty seconds, but other than that we’re done until Saturday afternoon. Have a good evening everyone. Karla, can I talk to you a minute please?” He added when she stood to leave.

“Sure.” She responded and turned to Callie and Rylee. “I’ll be out in just a minute.” She told them and walked to the front of the room to where Jake waited.

Once everyone was gone Jake sat back down and motioned for Karla to do the same. “Are you alright?”

“I’m not alright, but I’m getting there.”

“I’m sorry things have gotten this far. Honestly, we never meant any harm. We were talking to Conner one day last week and the subject came up. Conner told us he was ready, but you weren’t so we thought we were helping him. What we were really doing was pushing him until he exploded and someone who had nothing to do with it got hurt. I want you to remember something though. Remember that he tried to walk away. He tried to get us to back off and we didn’t. You’ve forgiven Daniel and I, but the one who needs it the most is Conner. Other than when he stood up for you and when he’s been answering questions here he hasn’t talked since we met with Mr. Johnson yesterday.”

“He sat outside my room door until midnight.” Karla told Jake.

“I know. Are you planning on talking to him?”

“Yeah. I’m going to do that now. I just don’t really know what to say. What he did violated a trust and it’s really going to take a while to rebuild that trust.”

“When you’re talking to him just remember that he loves you and was trying to protect you when he inadvertently hurt you.”

“I’ll remember. Thank you Jake.” She gave him a small smile and walked out the door to join Callie and Rylee. When she looked up she saw Conner standing at the end of the hall. He looked lost and lonely and it broke her heart. “I’ll be up later. I need to talk to Conner.” She told them.

Rylee hugged her close. “You can do this.” She whispered before she let her go.

“You and Conner can work this out.” Callie said as she hugged her. “I have faith in you both.”

When Callie released her Karla took a deep breath and turned to face Conner again. She walked toward him, but stopped just beyond his reach. “Can we talk?” She asked quietly.

He simply nodded and followed her down the hall to the now empty conference room.

Karla sat down and Conner sat across from her and waited for her to talk. “Conner, before we talk about what happened I need you to be honest with me about something.”

“I will always be honest with you.”

“Are you ready to take our relationship to the next level?” She asked bluntly.

Conner dropped his head in his hands. He knew this was going to be the question, but he really didn’t have a straight forward answer for it. “Yes and no.” He answered honestly.

“Can you explain that, please?”

“I can try.” He said and took a deep breath. “I think about us together like that sometimes, I dream about it, and I’m ready for it. I know it’s a big step and I know you aren’t ready, but when we’re alone together I wonder what it would feel like to touch you. On the other hand, I have no idea what I’m doing and I’m afraid I would hurt you. I’ve talked to my dad and he told me that when I’m truly ready I’ll know what to do because it’ll come naturally. He also told me that my being afraid of hurting you is a sign that I care more about you than I do myself. Believe me when I tell you that I would never do anything to hurt you.”

Karla stood up, walked around the table and sat in the chair beside him. “I believe you.” She said softly and he looked up to meet her eyes. “I called mom last night and told her what happened. She told me something that made me stop and think. She told me that I needed to stop and think about you. About what all of this is doing to you. When I did I remembered something you told me the night you gave me this.” She held up her hand and let him see the ring he gave her. “You told me that our love was endless. I know you didn’t mean to tell everyone about my past and I know that you would never intentionally hurt me like that.”

“Karla, you have to believe me when I tell you that I never meant to tell anyone, ever, about your past. It’s your decision to tell the people you feel you need to tell. I am so sorry my stupidity hurt you.” Conner said and dropped his head in his hands. “It’ll rip me apart, but I’ll understand if you want to break up with me.”

Karla sat there for a second in stunned silence before she reached out a hand and ran it through his thick, almost black hair. “Can you look at me, please?”

When he raised his head and locked eyes with her he saw something in her eyes that he never thought he’d see again. “I forgive you, Conner.” She whispered and a soft smile crossed her face.

“You do?” He asked, not sure he’d heard her correctly.

“I do.” She said with a small chuckle. When his face lit up in a smile she ran her hands through his hair and he groaned.

“I love you.” He said as he framed her face with his hands.

“I love you, too.” She responded and pulled his head down until her lips brushed his.

When he tried to pull away after a brief kiss she held him close and hesitantly touched his lips with her tongue. He instantly parted his lips for her and she deepened the kiss. He groaned again and slid his hands into her hair. They kissed for what felt like ages before she pulled back and looked into his eyes. “I’m not ready to take that final step, but I think I’m ready to take a small step in that direction.”

Conner grinned and kissed her again before he said anything. “I promise that we won’t do anything you aren’t comfortable with. I am perfectly happy just holding you in my arms.”  When he stood from his chair and pulled her to her feet he wrapped his arms around her and she laid her head on his chest. “I love you more than I can ever express.” He said as he softly stroked her hair.

“I love you too, Conner.” She said and they just stood there for a few minutes. The spell was broken when her stomach growled loudly and Conner chuckled.

“I guess that’s a sign we need to eat.” He said and released her. When she went to step away he grabbed her hand and pulled her to him again. “I promise you that I will work on keeping my temper in check.” He whispered into her hair before he placed a soft kiss on her neck and stepped away.

They walked out of the room holding hands and saw Callie and Rylee sitting in the lobby waiting for them. “Are you two hungry?” Karla asked them.

“Starving.” Callie said with a grin. She was thrilled that Karla and Conner seemed to have worked things out.

“Let’s go get some dinner.” Conner said and they walked out of the hotel together.

The next few weeks passed in a blur. The team came in second in Nationals and they were thrilled with the progress. As the end of the school year approached Karla and Callie were named the junior captains and they helped Daniel, Jake and Gretchen find replacements from the freshman and sophomore classes to replace the five graduating seniors.

While Karla was dealing with studying for finals, finding replacements for her team and trying to figure out the next steps in her relationship with Conner, Elliot was preparing for his eighth grade graduation. Since Mrs. Pence left, things at school had been quiet for him. He was excelling in math and was making decent grades in reading now too. As the end of the school year approached he was getting nervous. He and Karla had sat down when she got back from her trip and filled out all of his high school paperwork and she had promised to go with him to freshman orientation over the summer, but he was still nervous. He’d been to her school and it was huge.

“Hey, Elliot.” Mallie called out to him. They were decorating the gym for their eighth grade dance. “Can you help me for a minute please?”

Elliot grinned and walked over to her. She had been asking for his help with things all day, things she could have easily handled herself. “What do you need?” He asked as he stopped behind her.

“Can you hold the ladder so I can hang this please?” She asked with a smile.

“I can hang it.” He offered and she shook her head.

“No, that’s okay. If you’ll just make sure the ladder doesn’t move I can get it.” She assured him with a smile.

“Okay. If you’re sure.” Elliot said as he grabbed the ladder. She was up to something, but he wasn’t sure what. Before he could think about it too much she was starting back down the ladder. When she was four steps from the bottom she slipped and fell back into Elliot. He wrapped his arms around her and gently turned her around.

“Are you alright?” He asked in concern.

“Thanks to you I am. You’re my hero.” She said and kissed him on the cheek. When she grinned and walked off he realized she’d fallen intentionally and that both irritated and intrigued him.

“Mallie.” He called out and she turned around to look at him. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.” She answered with a smile.

“Would you..umm… want to go to the dance with me?” He asked and blushed deeply.

A smile lit up her face and she nodded vigorously. “I would love to.” She answered and kissed his cheek again before she dashed off to the storage room to get more balloons.

****

Later that night Elliot rang the doorbell of The Carpenter’s house and waited. When Travis answered the door he grinned. “Mal. You’re date’s here.” He yelled into the house then looked back at Elliot. “She’ll be down in a minute. Want to come in and wait?”

“Sure.” Elliot answered and walked into the house behind Travis. He was only inside for a minute before Mallie came down the stairs wearing a knee length black dress. She had her shoulder-length blonde hair curled and was wearing just a touch of make-up.

“Hey, Elliot.” She said with a smile. “How do I look?”

Elliot swallowed visibly before he answered. “Beautiful,” was all he was able to get past the lump in his throat.

“Thank you.” She said with a smile. “You look very nice too.”

“Thank you.” He responded. “Are you ready? Leslie’s waiting in the car.”

“I’m ready.” She smiled again. “Trav, tell mom and dad that I’ll be home about ten, okay?”

“Alright Mallie. You two have fun.” Travis said with a wink at Elliot. Then he opened the door and waved at Leslie.

When they made it to the school Leslie looked in the rearview mirror and smiled. “I’ll be back at 9:30. You two have fun.”

“We’ll see you then.” Mallie said and she got out of the car.

“Thanks for bringing us, Leslie.” Elliot said and got out before she could respond.

Elliot and Mallie walked into the dance together and Mallie immediately pulled him on the dance floor. “I love this song.” She said and started moving to the beat.

Elliot had no clue how to dance, but he wasn’t about to tell her that. “I’m more of a country boy myself, but this song isn’t bad.” He said and sighed in relief when the music changed to a slow song.

For the next two hours they danced and had fun together. At 9:30 Elliot escorted her to the car and they left. When they got to her house he walked her to the door and kissed her on the cheek. “I had a great time tonight.” He told her.

“Me too. Elliot, can I ask you something?” Mallie said and blushed a little.

“Sure.”

“Do you like me?”

Elliot stood there for a second before he leaned over, kissed her cheek again and answered. “Yes.” He said and she smiled.

“I like you too.” She said as she opened the door. “See you on Monday.” She added and disappeared into the house.