"After what you were ready to give up for her, she did that?"
"I still love her, Don. I never stopped. I don't know where this came from, but it's not good. I never wanted this."
"You wouldn't have taken the offer from the team unless she did. Call that what you want, Rome, but I call that a blessing in disguise."
"You don't fucking get it."
"I get finally having the one thing you've wanted your whole life dropped in your lap and I get having to give it up," he said seriously. "What I won't get is you finding a way to say no to this again. She took herself out of the equation. Now you can go pro if she was the only thing holding you back."
"She wasn't holding me back. I wanted her." He sighed.
"If she didn't feel the same way, it's a good thing she let you know before it was too late." I leaned back in my seat, laying my head back on the couch, looking up at the ceiling.
"I can't believe I almost got it that wrong," I said.
"I can't believe it took you this long. You know what, we should go out," he said, standing.
"What?"
"Drinks, on me. We should celebrate."
"Celebrate what?"
"Your contract. And your..."
"My breakup?"
"I know you're upset about it, Rome, but the girl dumped you. You can't feel bad about that, especially with what you were about to give up for her. There are more girls where she came from. It sucks, but you did it. You're going pro."
"You're right," I sighed.
He told me to wait for him as he grabbed his stuff. We were going out. A drink sounded good and really, what did I have to lose? It wasn't like I had to meet Ron tonight – or any night for that matter. Women were replaceable for Don; he had never been in a position like this. I knew that he wouldn't help with that part, but he had a point.
This was good. I had wanted this. If I hadn't had to worry about Ron... I would have taken the deal in a heartbeat. Maybe we did have something to celebrate. In about ten minutes, we were out the door.
I'll regret this in the morning, I thought as we entered the bar. It was Saturday, so the place was pretty full. I could smell beer, wings, and perfume clashing into a thick cloud of sickly sweet stink.
I would definitely regret this in the morning...right now, though? I was dying to cut loose. We found a spot, and I went to grab the first round. Beer and some shots, we were supposed to be celebrating, right?
"To you," Don said, grandly, raising his shot glass. "At least one of us gets to go pro." I drank the shot. It burned all the way down. I frowned and took a swig of my beer.
"Thanks," I said.
"Make this count, man," he said.
"How do you mean?"
"I mean, when you get to Miami, leave no stone unturned." I grimaced as he laughed. He should have been the one getting this deal. He would have had a ball with a new pool of women to corrupt. With league money and all that free time? That was probably his idea of paradise.
"I'm going to play ball. Not all that shit."
"The two go together. I'm just saying. You're a free man now, so you can indulge if you want to."
"I don't want to."
"Just wait till you get there. You might meet someone who changes your mind," he said, leering at a girl who walked by our booth. It didn't matter that she was walking holding hands with a guy, most likely her boyfriend. It was like Don didn't even register anyone who wasn't a girl he would like to
fuck.