“For what?” she sets her fork down and takes a sip of her water.
“For bringing you into this life. You asked me at the game to keep your identity on the down low, and then those damn pictures show up on the front page of a shitty magazine. And now,” I wave a hand behind me toward the window. “We have people trying to encroach on our dinner plans. You didn’t ask for any of this.”
She takes a deep breath and reaches across the table, placing her hand on mine. “It’s not ideal, but it’s not all that bad either. I realized early on what dating you would mean. I just wish it wasn’t at the expense of our privacy.”
“It’s par for the course. I’ll have to ask Ross how he gets around without the media catching on. I might be able to learn a thing or two from him.”
Her head bobbles up and down in agreement. “Let’s get out of here. I’m ready to go to the room.” Her mouth is tight even though she’s smiling. This is not how I expected our weekend to go.
“That’s a good idea,” I agree. “What time is your flight tomorrow?”
“Early,” she shrugs. “I’ll probably have to head out when you wake up, maybe even before.”
“Okay.” I don't know what else I’m supposed to say. But everything with us felt forced tonight. Like we’re going through the motions, but there’s no feeling or passion behind it. Nothing like we’ve had before. “We’ll go get some rest. If I had known, I would have ordered in.”
She doesn’t say anything, and we head back to the hotel. I don’t see anyone with cameras as we depart the restaurant, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything. It’s going to be a long night of worrying for me.
Twenty-Six
Jolene
“Dude,”Lana scolds me as I place things into my suitcase and then take them back out. “Stop it. If you keep changing your mind, you're going to end up going naked.”
“That’s not even funny.” What does one wear to meet parents? A dress? Dress pants? I’m completely out of my element here and worry one tiny mistake will derail everything. Sure, I acted unaffected when we were at dinner the other night, but that was me lying to myself thinking I could do this. “I have no idea what to wear or do.”
Lana shakes her head at me and forces me to sit on the bed. “I’ll pack for you. You have an entire weekend to yourself with your man. Meeting his family is going to be easy, I promise.”
She can’t promise that, though. She adapts to every situation so easily. Me? I’m awkward and abrasive. I say and do the wrong things. “That’s not the only thing I’m worried about.”
“If you say you’re concerned about the media, I’ll pommel you. You knew what this would be like after you started researching him. You can’t believe everything a gossip magazine publishes. Nine times out of ten it’s complete bullshit.”
“Yeah, but what about that one time?” I mumble under my breath.
“You’re focusing on the wrong thing.” She goes to my underwear drawer and shuffles through it until she finds something sexy and throws it in the suitcase. “I know relationships are scary. It’s part of life. But he loves you.” I start to interrupt, but she glares at me. “He may not have said the words yet, but I know he does. You can tell by the way he looks at you, and how protective he is. If you have any doubts, then maybe you should question why you’re going to Austin in the first place.”
That’s the thing. I don’t have any doubts when it comes to him. It’s all the women that feel the need to throw themselves at him I’m not a fan of. How desperate do they have to be to do things like that? I don’t get it, and I probably never will. “Because despite the distance and all the crap I’ve found online, I’m right on the verge of loving him.”
“There’s your answer,” she sits next to me on the bed, packing my suitcase is abandoned for the time being. “Stop sweating the small stuff. And that’s all the other crap is. Small. Stuff. Focus on you and him. Everything else will work itself out.”
“I guess you’re right.” I know she is, but she’ll get big-headed about it if I tell her she absolutely is.
“I’m always right.” She squeezes me into a hug before jumping off the bed and raiding my closet. “It would probably be a lot easier on both of you if you let him mention you. Then all the other ball chasers will realize that he’s off the market.”
As much as I value my privacy, she might be right about that, too. I’ll have to talk to him about that when I see him. It’s something I’ve thought about but I didn’t want to jump the gun in case he’s not as serious about me as I am him. I don’t think I have anything to worry about, though. If he wasn’t serious, he wouldn’t have asked me to meet his mom. Right?
“I think that might be doable.” I peer into the suitcase to see what all she’s thrown in there. “You know I can’t wear half of that to meet his family.”
“Girl, you can wear a T-shirt and jeans to meet them. I’m packing your bag for all the sexy times you’re going to have in his gigantic house.”
“Why do I put up with you again?” This woman has completely lost her mind.
“Because you love me, and I’m family. You have to love family.”
She’s not wrong. She’s the only family I have since my blood relatives are assholes. “At least you know I love you.”
“I’m not sure how I’m going to feel about that once you start saying it to Bentley.” She puts one more item in my bag and closes the top. “Don’t be surprised if I get a little jealous. I’ve had you to myself for so long.”
“I’m more concerned with what you’re going to do when I’m no longer flying.”