Trent (Season Two: The Ninth Inning #4) (24 page)

“This was going so well. I
guess it was worth it to let you win, seeing how you can’t stop
grinning.”

“
Let
? You let me win?
Trent,” I shake my head in disbelief and humor. “I won fair and
square and beat the pants off of you.”

“Maybe you did, or maybe I
let you win. We’ll never know the truth.” He shrugs off his joke
with a grin. “So, I guess you’re taking me to a knitting class
then?”

“Oh my God, no.” I hold my
side at the deep laughter hurting my ribs. He thought I’d been
serious. “I don’t know how to knit, and I can’t imagine you doing
it either.”

“Good, because I lied; I’ve
never knitted in my life.” He helps me pick up all the cards, and I
know it’s getting late.

“I had a great night, Trent.
Thank you.”

“Me too. It’s been good to
get out, even if we just stayed in.”

“I thought so too. I’m sure
you need to get home and see Kaelyn.” The butterflies return as we
walk to the door together. “Let me know your schedule and we can do
this again, okay?”

His lips are on mine before I
realize it. The softness of his lips turn me on even more than I
remember from the first kiss. Thoughts of this being a bad idea
fade away as I wrap my arms around his neck. His tongue slips into
my mouth, and I moan. I’m not sure who is the first to pull away,
but I miss him the instant his lips leave mine.

This is going somewhere.

***

WE’RE ALL IN the weight
room, lifting weights. There’s a constant chatter between players
and trainers as well as the rock music blaring from a stereo.
Jordan, Colby, Spencer, and I are in one area working out together.
So far, I’ve learned that Colby isn’t having any luck with his
online dating, and the dates Jordan and Spencer have set him up on
have been duds. When Jordan makes an offhanded comment about how
women aren’t worth the trouble anyway, Spencer silences us with his
question.

“Okay, what happened between
you and your wife to leave you so bitter?”

Jordan stops his lift midway
and stares at him. To me, his comments aren’t bitter. They lack the
necessary grit and conviction. He’s saying what he wants to
believe. However, none of us have ever asked why he and his wife
separated, and he’s never said more than the fact that they
were.

“Come on,” Spencer continues.
“You go on and on, but never explain why. You can’t blame me for
being curious.”

Jordan finishes his lift and
places the weights on the floor, propping his hands on his hips. He
masks his pain well. “No marriage is perfect. She needed perfect.”
He picks up the dumbbells again.

“That’s it? That doesn’t tell
me anything.”

Jordan sighs. “Tells you
plenty. Tells you that when we had,” he struggles to find the right
word. “When we had problems, she ran instead of staying to fix
them. Hope that satisfied your curiosity, Spence, because you’re
not going to bring up my wife again.” To ensure the end of the
conversation, he changes the subject. “Trent, what the hell is
going on with you and that girl?”

Their eyes turn to me. I
clear my throat. “We had a date.”

“Seriously?” Spencer asks
bewilderedly.

“Good for you,” Colby quickly
says.

Jordan stays silent, once
again not wanting anything to do with more conversation.

“With all the media attention
you’re getting, you decide it’s a perfectly good idea to go on a
date with her?” Spencer shakes his head. “Her brother—”

“Yeah, I know. But what has
she
done? Nothing. She’s been affected by what happened as
much as I have. She played a role as much as I did. If he had a
kid, would you shame them for what
he
did like you’re doing
to her? No, you wouldn’t. She’s a good person,” I’m adamant.

He holds his hands up. “Damn,
am I pissing everyone off today?”

“Yes,” Jordan answers. He
chuckles, causing us to laugh.

Colby speaks to get the
conversation back on track. “It’s your life, Trent. Do what you
want and what you think is best for you and your daughter, and
proceed with caution.”

I nod. That’s my plan.

“Hey, Trent!” I turn at the
sound of Blake’s voice. He’s on the other side of the room with
Felix and Hector on the treadmills. “Come here.”

I walk over, figuring now is
a good time to switch up, and I step onto the treadmill. “What’s
up?”

“Abigail, Sofia, and Zoey are
having a girls’ day Wednesday, and if it’s okay with you, they
wanted to take Kaelyn with them.”

“Really?” My surprise is hard
to contain. I guess I never expected one of them to ask.

“Yeah. Sofia is bummed that
Kaelyn stayed with me last time.” He grins, and I shake my head at
him, a smile playing on my lips. “So, what do you say? You gotta
say yes, or else you can be the one to tell Sofia.”

I laugh. “Sure. She can pick
her up from the house or the nanny can drop her off. Just let me
know.”

I run for a bit, but it’s
hard when Hector and Tanner ‘race’ on the treadmills to see how
fast they can run on them. It’s hilarious to watch because it looks
as if they are running for their lives, trying to keep up with the
pace of the moving belt. Tanner is on the verge of winning when
Sofia quickly ends it.

“What are y’all doing? Turn
them off! Are y’all trying to injure yourselves?” They turn off the
machines and open their mouths, but she continues, “And don’t think
I’m about to massage those legs either. The hands of a God don’t
work well with stupidity.”

We’re all trying not to laugh
at her with the angry look on her face, her hands propped on her
hips, and the authority in her tone. Blake has to cover his mouth
with his hand, but we can’t help our laughter when Hector and
Tanner mumble, “Sorry.”

“Grown men acting like kids.”
She shakes her head. “And being a bad influence on young Tanner.”
She holds back her smile when he scoffs.

“I’m not that young!”

Yes, he is.

“Did you need me, Sofia?”
Blake asks before Tanner can go on his rant about how mature and
adult-like he is.

“No, I came for Roman.” She
turns until she finds him. “You were supposed to be in my office
ten minutes ago.”

“Sorry, I got distracted.”
That was right around the time they started their race.

She mumbles under her breath
before they leave. I glance at the clock and figure I’ve been here
long enough. I head for the showers. I’m excited to get home and
hear about Kaelyn’s day. Angie has been amazing with keeping her
busy and getting her out of the house. She found some activities
and programs and asked if Kaelyn could do them.

So, my kid is almost as busy
as I am now. She has swimming lessons, she goes to the library
twice a week, they go to the park, and Kaelyn has started dance
classes. Apparently, that’s what Angie is going to school for,
which is how Kaelyn became interested in it. I’m sure Angie will be
happy to hear she will have a day off this week.

When I walk in the door, both
of them are lying on the couch asleep. Must have been an exhausting
day. Even though I try to be quiet when I shut the door, it wakes
Angie up. It’s oddly comforting to know she’s a light sleeper.

“Hey,” I whisper.

Her cheeks redden with
embarrassment. “Sorry, I—”

I wave off her apology. “How
did her swimming lessons go?”

“Good. She’s doing really
well.”

“Great. You’re free for the
rest of the evening if you wanted to go out or whatever. And aside
from being with her in the morning until she’s with Sofia, you’ll
have Wednesday free as well.”

“Okay, thanks.” She glances
down at Kaelyn and then back at me. “I don’t know how to get up
without waking her.”

I laugh softly and come over
to carefully pick Kaelyn up.

“Thanks. Um, do I have a
curfew? I mean, is there a certain time tonight you would like for
me to be back or…”

“Stay out as late as you
want. All I ask is that you’re quiet and that you reset the
alarm.”

She nods, smiles, and walks
off to her room. I lay Kaelyn down on the couch once more and go to
my room to change my clothes. My phone beeps with a text.

Scarlett: How was your
day?

Me: Pretty great. Yours?

I go to the kitchen and begin
gathering ingredients for dinner.

Scarlett: Good. I’ve been
thinking about ideas for our next date.

Me: Oh yeah? Any good
ones?

I’ve been craving squash and
zucchini lately, so I’m fixing that to go along with some meatloaf.
Luckily, Kaelyn loves squash and the “green squash,” as she calls
it. My phone beeps, but my hands are in the bowl of hamburger. Once
I mix it well, place it in the loaf pan, and wash my hands, I check
my messages.

Scarlett: Of course! I
always have good ideas, but I’m not saying until I’m sure which one
is the best.

Me: Understandable.

“I’m heading out,” Angie
says, dragging my attention away from my phone.

“Okay, have fun.”

I start slicing the veggies
until my phone beeps with another text.

Scarlett: So, when’s your
birthday?

Me: Jan 1st. You?

“Daddy! When did you get
here? Where’s Angie?”

I turn around to see Kaelyn
standing by the fridge. “Angie is out with her friends, and I got
here when you were sleeping like Jasmine,” I intentionally mess it
up.

She giggles. “Daddy, it’s
Sleeping Beauty!”

“Oops.” I pick her up and set
her on the counter, so I can continue slicing. “How was my girl’s
day?”

“Can I have one?”

I pick up a few yellow and a
few green ones and hand them to her. She munches on one and I have
to repeat my question. She tells me in great detail about her day
from breakfast to lunch to her swimming lessons to coloring and
then how they were so exhausted they took a nap. By the time she’s
done talking, dinner's almost ready. After fixing our plates, we
take a seat at the table.

“How does a girls’ day with
Sofia, Zoey, and Abigail sound?” I ask.

“YES! I wanna do that! Is my
Happy coming, too?”

“No.” Kaelyn frowns. “It’s a
girls
’ day, so Blake isn’t allowed to come.”

“That’s not nice.”

“Maybe next time Blake can
go, but not this time, okay?” Blake has ruined my kid. Who knew
getting her to do things with women would be so hard? All she wants
to do is hang out with Happy!

“Okay.”

We finish dinner and she runs
off to watch TV while I clean up. I remember my texting, so I grab
my phone to see Scarlett’s latest message.

Scarlett: New Year’s Day,
really? That’s kind of cool. Mine is August 4th. When is
Kaelyn’s?

Me: Sorry, got distracted by
dinner and Kaelyn. Hers is coming up soon, actually. I’m sensing a
princess party in my future.

Scarlett: Haha, you love it.
Did you have themed parties growing up?

Me: Not really. Maybe when I
was really young. I always wanted a birthday when it was warm, so I
could have a pool party. Never happened. :(

“Come play with me!” Kaelyn
shouts from the other room. As if an afterthought, she adds,
“Please!”

“I’m coming.”

Things have been good lately,
overall. Days like today seem to reiterate that. It was awesome at
work, fantastic evening with my daughter, and even simple texts
with Scarlett. Hopefully, my life can continue on the good
track.

***

I LOOK AS if I’m going
to a funeral. In some ways, I am. I wasn't going to go, but at the
last moment, I changed my mind. I texted Trent last night, letting
him know I was going to be at the sentencing. His reply back was
okay
. He said nothing more. I understood why he remained
quiet. Today is going to be a hard day for him.