“Do you want some company?”
“What?” Elena shook herself and shrugged. “If you wish. But Fleur will be back soon.”
“I’m sure she will be.” Jason sat down where Fleur had been, gesturing off to his right. “Although she’s a little busy at the moment.”
Elena looked, and saw Fleur talking to Carl, who was somehow not giving the pep talk to the players. Her sister caught Elena’s look, and gave her a wink.
Did she know this was going to happen?
“Have I been set up or something?”
“Not exactly. I just didn’t know if we were ever going to get a moment to talk.”
“So you made sure I was sitting in the dugout.”
“Well, I can’t sit in the bleachers with you when we’ve got something important to talk about.” Jason paused. “I did contemplate going out onto the field and making a speech which included you, but Fleur said you might be running away from me instead of towards me.”
Elena couldn’t help but laugh. “She wouldn’t be wrong with that. I would rather not have any attention on me.”
“So this will have to do.”
Jason took a deep breath and turned to face her. He looked worn out, dark circles under his eyes, and he was looking thinner than Elena remembered. She wanted to reach out and touch him, but she kept her hands clasped around her cup, which was still warming her fingers.
“Elena…” Jason closed his eyes for a moment before opening them. “I’m so sorry. I went through all of this with a selfish frame of mind. I was only thinking of myself, and I didn’t stop to think about how you would feel. It was wrong of me.”
Elena blinked. “I…I didn’t see it like that.”
“Well, I did. When I found out you were pregnant, I just…I shut down. I went to what I could cope with, which ended up being the wrong thing.” He swallowed and rubbed a hand across his face. “Keeping away from you, doing as you wished…it just about killed me. I felt awful not being able to see you, to hear your voice. And I knew it was my fault. I caused all of this because I ran away. It took you leaving and time to myself to realize that I couldn’t live like that forever. It wasn’t fair on either of us, most of all on you.” He gestured at her belly. “You are carrying my kids, after all.”
Elena’s hand automatically went to her stomach. She seemed to do that every time someone spoke about her pregnancy. It was an immediate reaction, almost protective.
“I hear you’ve been thinking about names,” she said.
“I have. And I wanted to tell you about them so many times. But you said wait, so that’s what I did.”
“Then why are we talking now?”
Jason sighed. “It’s coming up to Christmas, and I wanted to do something for you. I wanted to brave your annoyance at ignoring your wishes and say that I was sorry. I was a stupid idiot about all of this, and that is going to change. I want us to be together, and not as a secret. I want a real relationship, one where I can show the world how proud and lucky I am to have you by my side.” He gave her a hopeful smile. “I love you, Elena. It took you leaving for me to discover that. And I don’t want you to leave me again. Do you think you can forgive me? Please, come home with me.”
Home. Elena hadn’t really thought about Wenstown as home before, but now it felt tempting. A good temptation that she wanted to take hold of.
She looked at Jason, seeing that he was watching her earnestly, waiting for her response. Then she realized that everyone else in the dugout was watching them. The players had turned away from their pep talk, and were openly staring. Everyone seemed to be waiting. Elena felt a little self-conscious.
“Why do I feel like I’m being backed into a corner?”
“That wasn’t my intention. I just wanted us on a level playing field, in a manner of speaking.” Jason touched her hand. “I love you. And I promise I’ll do whatever you want of me, if you’ll only forgive me.”
Elena couldn’t help but smile at that. He meant it, she could tell. And she planned on getting him to follow through.
She leaned in and kissed him, pulling away before Jason could reach for her.
“I forgive you,” she whispered, holding up a hand as Jason started to talk. “But this is your last chance. I won’t accept this behavior again.”
“Noted,” Jason chuckled. He cupped her head in his hands, his ungloved hands freezing against her skin. “As long as you love me, I will do whatever you want.”
Elena hoped that he would. She was aware of people cheering around them as he kissed her, but she was soon distracted by a shifting on her bladder. She managed to detach herself from the kiss.
“I need to go to the bathroom.” She stood up. “Then you and I need to talk. A lot.”