The Game Changer - ch. 15 (Patreon)

I won't keep you waiting - let's get into it!

--------The Game Changer--------

Chapter Fifteen

For the first time in days, Abbie felt like she could simply exhale and relax.

She was home from Florida.

She’d mastered the art of both packing and unpacking quickly and painlessly, after all of the traveling she’d done during her soccer career. So even though she’d arrived home only an hour ago, everything was unpacked and organized.

And now, she was laying back on the couch, her arm flung over her eyes, as she released a deep sigh.

Abbie hadn’t really known what to expect from her long weekend seeing her teammates.

… her old teammates. Because they were all still teammates, and she was the outlier.

She hadn’t known what to expect, what it would be like to be with her team when she wasn’t actually a part of the team. That was brand new territory for her. It was also the first time she was going to be seeing them since her unexpected departure.

But it had been good. Extremely busy; busier than Abbie had anticipated, actually. Between going to the games, catching up over dinners and brunches with various groups of friends, and then being unexpected tapped into a few interviews, and commentating on a game, she’d hardly had any downtime.

Which, actually, was great.

Because all she’d been able to think about – obsess about – was Rose.

She’d been looking forward to this trip throughout the last week because she’d thought that it would be a great distraction from these newly-discovered feelings.

However.

She’d had that belief before Saturday. Specifically, the conversation they’d had before she’d left, at Cassie’s birthday party.

The birthday party in which she’d made a total amateur mistake. She’d been baking since she’d been a literal child; she couldn’t remember the last time she’d burned herself.

It was absolutely mortifying every time she thought about it.

But she’d been taking the cupcakes out of the oven, and Rose had tried the frosting she’d made, and she’d let out this – this sound. It was fucking obscene.

… and Abbie hadn’t realized that she’d absolutely lost her grip on reality, until she’d seared her wrist.

So, it had been great to be busy enough to try to distract herself from that, as well.

It had also been fabulous to have been so busy, so it could distract her from the fact that Rose hadn’t contacted her at all over the weekend. The only conversation they’d had while she’d been away was when Abbie had texted to check in on the team, after practice on Monday.

Rose’s response had been very brief. Perfunctory.

And, fine, yes, that had led to Abbie drinking with her old teammates and talking about the whole Rose situation, to a mixed audience. Some of her former teammates were very by the book type people, and agreed that Abbie was right not to jump into anything.

Some were a little less cautious, and she’d known they would be.

But at the end of the day, it all came down to Abbie, and what she decided would be a good idea or not, and no one else’s input on it really mattered.  

“I’ve come to suck your blood,” Caroline drawled in a not-too-terrible accent, making Abbie lift her arm away from her face, snapping her eyes open in surprise.

“Oh my god,” she breathed out on a laugh, as she took Caroline in.

Given that Halloween was her stepmom’s favorite holiday – by a margin – it didn’t surprise Abbie that she’d gone all-out on her costume. Complete with a really dapper black suit that was, unsurprisingly, perfectly tailored to Caroline, her hair was slicked back slightly, and her makeup was impeccably done to increase her pallor, along with bloodred lipstick.

And, of course, the fake fangs she was wearing to complete the look.

Behind Caroline, her mom also emerged, stepping off the stairs after having gone to get ready for the Halloween party when they’d gotten home.

Her mom was wearing a period-appropriate dress, complete with an intricate design on the fabric and a tightly fitted bodice, with her hair curled and put up, looking gorgeous.

And, of course, some makeup on her neck to look like she’d been bitten by vampire Caroline.

“Brava.” She gave her parents a slow clap. “One of your best costumes.”

Caroline smiled at her, proudly. “Thank you. And I’ll let you off the hook of not being in costume tonight because you’ve been traveling and just got home.”

“Thank you; I’d hate to be grounded.”

“I like to think that you mom and I are very reasonable heads of the household.”

“And your reasonability humbles me.”

Caroline scoffed out a laugh. “All right, all right. Are you sure you’re feeling okay, kiddo?” Caroline’s eyebrows furrowed, the playful look she’d worn melting away as she studied Abbie. “You never miss Jared’s Halloween party when you’re home for it.”

“I know. Believe me, I’ve already heard it from Norah.”

Her text messages would prove it.

And they weren’t wrong; ever since her mom and Caroline had gotten together, she’d been ingratiated into the Parker family, and she’d loved it. Coming from a family in which she was an only child with no cousins, and being brought into the Parker family… it felt like color had been splashed into her life.

Suddenly, she had a big, boisterous family to spend time with, especially on holidays.

Since she’d been ten years old, she’d started trick or treating with Norah, and then she – and her moms – would go to Norah’s dad’s Halloween party.

Over the last decade, she’d missed several of those parties given that she didn’t live here. But when she could squeeze it into her schedule, she’d fly back for Halloween.

Tonight, though… she shook her head.

“I’m just tired; the last few days have been insane.”

Not an exaggeration in the least. Even though she hadn’t been “working” she certainly hadn’t been on Florida for any rest and relaxation, averaging barely five hours of sleep a night.

Plus, there had been the Rose-thoughts plaguing her constantly.

It was very clear that Caroline didn’t believe that she was merely tired, with nothing else going on.

Annoyingly astute.

“Besides, someone has to stay back and to give out candy.”

Even though they didn’t get a ton of trick or treaters, they always got enough to run out of their bowl of full-sized candy bars.

Speaking of…

“Shouldn’t you two be hitting the road?” She asked, glancing down at her watch.

Her moms liked to arrive at the party early enough to beat trick-or-treat foot traffic.

Her mom approached, adjusting the neck of Caroline’s cloak. “Ready?”

“You two look incredible, by the way. The couples costume prize is yours,” she effused, meaning every word.

“Mhmm,” Caroline hummed, giving Abbie one more look, before she turned to look at Hannah.

A smile slid over her face, though, and it was like Abbie could see Caroline getting distracted in real time. The simp.

It was easy to usher them out of the house, then, and once she did, she let out a relieved sigh, tingling with anticipation. She almost felt like she was a teenager again, about to get away with something now that she’d gotten her moms out of the house.

Not that she’d ever done something like that when she’d been a teenager, but still.

She was exhausted, that was the truth. And the idea of lounging around and having a relaxing night before diving back into life tomorrow was appealing.

However, that wasn’t her only plan tonight.

She reached into her back pocket to fish out her phone, her stomach clenching already, in ways she hadn’t experienced in… a long time.

There was something about the Rose of it all that made her feel far less in-control – far less smooth, less accomplished – than she’d felt around women she’d had feelings for through most of her adult life.

And even though she didn’t have a clue what was going to come of this, she was positive that she didn’t want to discuss it at school. She definitely didn’t want the first time she and Rose spent time together after that moment on Saturday to be at practice, in front of their group of nosy teenage girls.

Yeah, not happening.

Especially because one of the things that had occurred to Abbie this weekend was… she’d never had to manage any possible fall-out with Rose.

More aptly, Rose – as the pursuer in their past together – hadn’t ever had to deal with any fall-out.

Rose kissed her at prom… and then they’d gone their separate ways for four years.

They’d had sex in college… and then Rose had gotten engaged, and they’d had no contact.

This was the first time they’d have to be in the same space while navigating through something potentially – altering.

And it was the first time in Abbie’s life that a romantic pursuit wasn’t black-and-white.

In the past, if she was interested in someone – and the woman returned those feelings – then it was simple and straightforward.

With Rose, nothing was ever that simple.

And, alarmingly, apparently Abbie liked it that way.

She pulled up Rose’s contact, pausing briefly when she looked down at their lack of exchanges over the last few days. Rose had seemed like she’d wanted – begged, almost, and Abbie was sure Rose would hate that she viewed it that way – for Abbie to confess her feelings.

For someone that had seemed to desperately want to hear Abbie confess, she sure had very little to say to her this weekend.

Before she could text Rose, though, the doorbell rang. Apparently, her first trick or treaters were here a little early.

She fixed a small smile on, grabbing the candy bowl as she went to open the door.

Only to find that it wasn’t trick or treaters.

“How dare you tell me that you have feelings for me, and then expect me to not say or do anything about it,” were the first words out of Rose’s mouth.

Abbie blinked at her for a few seconds, utterly surprised. She hadn’t texted Rose and blacked it out, right? That hadn’t happened. Right?

The reality of Rose being here, on her doorstep, unannounced caught up with her in a matter of seconds. And so did her comments, which had Abbie reeling back, defensively.

“First of all, hi? Nice to see you, happy Halloween. Secondly, how have you been? You know, since it’s been days since we’ve seen one another, and you didn’t initiate a conversation with me while I was gone. Third, what are you doing here?”

“Hi. I’ve been elated and frustrated in equal measure. I’m here because I knew you were flying back this afternoon,” Rose ticked off her replies, holding up a finger for each one. “And you didn’t initiate a conversation with me, either.”

“I tried! I texted on Monday, after I hadn’t heard from you for forty-eight hours,” she defended herself. “I initiated contact, unlike you. And you barely responded!”

Before Rose could say anything, the other thing she’d said smacked Abbie right in the face.

“I’m sorry; did you just say you’ve been frustrated? With me?” She lifted her hand up and pointed at her own chest, because what the hell had she done to deserve frustration?!

“Obviously, Lemon,” Rose responded, curtly, before she tilted her head. “Are you going to invite me in?”

“Um… I don’t know? Are you going to berate me?” She half-joked.

“I don’t know,” Rose echoed back to her, folding her arms over her chest, as she jutted her chin out at Abbie. “That depends on how our conversation goes.”

There really had to be something wrong with her, because even as she rolled her eyes, Rose’s response made a piece of her, deep inside, trill with excitement. Now that they weren’t adversarial, there was something so… fun wasn’t quite the right word. Maybe thrilling? Abbie didn’t know exactly how to describe it, but she liked Rose’s acerbic personality, now that they were on good terms.

Now that she understood her. Now that she understood that there was no actual negativity behind it.

She stepped back to allow Rose to walk inside.

Rose opened her mouth as if ready to start in on her, before she paused and glanced around. “Where are your moms?”

“At a Halloween party.”

“And you’re home.”

“Very astute observational skills, as always,” she teased.

Those dark eyes narrowed at her. “I was being kind and holding back a comment about how your parents are twenty-plus years older than you are and are at a party, while you’re… not.”

Abbie’s mouth fell open, even as she breathed out a laugh. “Well, excuse you. First of all, it’s a family party; I was also invited. Second of all, I chose not to go, because if you recall, I was in Florida all weekend.”

It was like she’d said the magic words to snap Rose right back into the reason she was here; Abbie could literally see the way the gleam returned to her eyes.

Yes. Thrilling was the right word.

“That’s right. You were in Florida all weekend, after you dropped a bomb on me.”

Abbie could still hear the echoes of their conversation – that had taken place in Nathan’s home, the one that he and Rose had lived in, as a married couple. So fucking strange, of all the places for them to have had that moment – in her mind, very clearly.

Which prompted her to say, “In all fairness to me, you kind of dropped a bomb on yourself.”

Because it sounds like you’re telling me that you’re interested in me. Romantically. As in, more than friendship. More than attraction.

God, the way Rose’s voice had sounded when she’d spoken those words… Abbie wasn’t sure she’d be able to forget it. Low and breathy and sexy, but also cautious? Hopeful?

It was a really, really seductive combination.

Rose’s eyes narrowed. “You told me that you have feelings for me.”

“Because you pried it out of me! You literally were the one that said it,” she defended herself. “I didn’t march into your office and declare my feelings for you out of the blue.”

“Why not?” Rose asked, arching one of those perfectly shaped eyebrows up at her.

And that comment took the wind right out of her sails, leaving Abbie blinking at her. “Huh?”

That was the thing about Rose, wasn’t it? Abbie really never knew what she was going to say next.

“Why wouldn’t you come into my office and tell me? You come to my office to talk about everything else these days.”

“I thought you liked my coming by your office,” she said, quietly, only now starting to feel some doubt creeping in.

Rose’s breath caught in her throat, before that look in her eyes softened minutely. “I do. I really do.”

She let out a relieved breath. “Okay, good. So… why would I just walk in and confess that I have feelings for you?” Before the conversation went any further, she held up her hand to pause. “I already said the other most important thing. Which is that you’re not divorced yet.”

“So?” The word fell from Rose’s lips immediately, without a second thought.

“So?!” She stared at her, incredulously. “Being with anyone that is still legally married would be a boundary for me.” Probably? Abbie hadn’t actually ever been in this position before. Regardless, “But even if that wasn’t the case, you aren’t just anyone. You – we have a past that was really muddled and messy.”

“Is it… some sort of trust thing?” Rose asked, a hint of vulnerability dipping into her tone, her gaze searching Abbie’s. “I understand that we have a past. But I’d assumed, given how close we’ve become that we would be beyond that.”

“It’s not about trust. Not… per-se.” She tried to sift through the right way to explain her hesitation. Her concerns.

“I do – at a high level – understand,” Rose asserted, rolling her shoulders back. “I understand that when we had sex in college, how it looked from your perspective, it was screwed up. But… I really, really hope that after the last few months, you can see that everything is different, now. That I’m so different now.”

“I do,” she promised, without hesitation. Because she really did; she wouldn’t be in this position if she didn’t know that.

The stare Rose gave her was so serious, bordering on desperate, as she beseeched, “Because there’s nothing else I can really do, more than I’ve done. I’m – I’m out. Nathan knows, we’re getting our divorce and upending Cassie’s life in the process, I bought a new house. I’m on queer dating apps. If there is something else you need to see from me to feel more secure in that, then tell me. Really, tell me.”

Abbie was already shaking her head. “No, there isn’t. It’s not about that. I… I’ve never been in any sort of relationship where the lines were blurry in any way. And I would really rather not end up in a complicated situation right now. Especially with you.”

“Well, there’s nothing I can do to make the divorce move any faster, unfortunately.” Rose reached up, sifting her hand through her hair, the movement a little jerky. Stressed. “At this point, all I can do is wait for it to be approved. Trust me, I had a conversation with my lawyer already.”

That gave Abbie a moment of pause. “You did?”

“Yes. Monday morning.”

Jesus. “Rose…”

“How could you possibly think we could continue on like we have been, now?” Rose challenged, returning back to the point she’d been making when Abbie had first opened the door, albeit a little softer. Still that near-desperate tone, though, the one that pinged somewhere deep inside of her. “Things are already different, and that was before you told me.”

“I don’t know; I don’t have a blueprint for this.” She bit at her cheek, shooting Rose an intense stare right back. “And, you know, it’s not like you confessed any feelings for me.”

She had to point it out. Had to. Because yes, Rose had pushed and pushed until Abbie had confirmed having romantic feelings for her.

But Rose was the one going on dates with other people. Rose, who clearly didn’t have an issue showing up on Abbie’s doorstep to have this conversation without so much as a text to warn her she was coming over.

“You called me out for having feelings for you, and you nailed it. Because yeah, I’ve been acting weird. Yes, I’ve been stumbling over myself because I have feelings for you. But you haven’t changed the way you act around me at all.”

Which was the whole other crux, wasn’t it.

“Are you kidding me, Lemon?” Rose asked, quietly.

“… no?”

For several heart-pounding moments, Rose merely stared up at her, the look in her eyes so intense it was hard for Abbie to catch her breath.

“Do you recall everything I’ve shared with you in the last month? About what I thought when I first saw you? Have you forgotten about these hugely pivotal moments in my life that all center around you?”

“Of course not.” Not a single word. “But none of that is in the present.” Abbie certainly didn’t think the same way about life now, as an adult, the way she had when she’d been a teenager. And she didn’t assume anyone else – especially Rose – did, either.

“Abbie, you are still the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in my life,” Rose confessed, her voice hoarse. “These feelings I have for you – they never go away. Not completely. Don’t you see that? No, I haven’t been pining over you for years, and yes, if I can’t have you in this way, I’m going to try to date other people. But… it’s like these feelings have been dormant. Laying in wait until the day you walked into my life again. Do you really not understand that?”

Abbie felt like everything in the world came to a grinding halt, and all she was aware of was how hard her heart started beating.

No one in her life had ever said something like that to her.

Had anyone in anyone else’s life ever said something like that to them?

Rose took a step closer to her, her own breaths falling faster. “I might wish that whatever it is inside of me that is chemically bonded to you could fucking stop, except for the fact that – for the first time in my life – there is a chance to be with you.”

Rose took one more step closer, and Abbie was rooted to the spot.

Even though she’d talked herself through all of the reasons this could be a bad idea, how it could get messy, she couldn’t for the life of her pull away.

“And I don’t care if it’s messy. I don’t care that the lines aren’t neatly drawn. I don’t care that we work together. I don’t care that there is no guarantee about how our relationship might go, if we enter into one,” Rose listed, a heat in her voice as she dismissed all of the very reasonable things to consider. “All I care about is that there is the possibility. All I can think about is that there’s the possibility. And the last thing I can do is tell you that I’m not going to pursue you. I–”

Abbie couldn’t stop herself. She stepped forward and kissed Rose, pushing her against the front door with the force of the kiss.

She swallowed Rose’s gasp, which melted into a long, low moan, mixing with Abbie’s own.

Rose seemed to go lax under her, in a way that surprised Abbie. But it was exactly what happened, what it felt like. Like Rose melted against her.

And all it did was turn up the dial on the simmer inside of Abbie, as she ran her hands down Rose’s sides so slowly. Wanting to feel the tantalizing curve of her.

That was something else that had been on Abbie’s mind nonstop since she’d realized these feelings. The fact that she’d had sex with Rose in the past, she’d seen her body in all of the breathtaking glory.

Back then, Rose had the most incredible breasts Abbie had seen. And since then, despite not having been naked with Rose, it was very clear that her curves were even fuller, now.

Her thoughts had taken every opportunity in the last week and a half to remind her that she’d seen Rose completely bare. Her own mind had taken to taunting her with the fact that she hadn’t forgotten the image of Rose from their night together, eight years ago.

She settled her hands on the curve of Rose’s hips, her nerve-endings buzzing. Wanting, so badly, to feel even more.

She gentled their kiss, wanting to be able to savor this.

Even if she didn’t know what it meant. Even if they worked together. Even if it had the possibility of getting messy in a way Abbie had never experienced.

Maybe that was what made this even more… meaningful.

She’d spent so much of her adult life avoiding complicated, messy entanglements because she’d seen what that could lead to. The heartache and the struggle.

But she couldn’t avoid this.

She couldn’t avoid whatever was happening with her and Rose.

She brushed her lips against Rose’s, the contact soft enough to leave her lips tingling. In a way that she couldn’t ever remember feeling with someone in her entire life.

God, Rose’s lips were so full, so pliant against hers. And Rose’s hands had come up to slid into Abbie’s hair carding through it, making her shiver, the touch reverent.

It all felt so fucking good. Too good, really, and she knew they still should – should talk. Should try to figure things out, before this went any farther.

She hummed, the sound breaking from the back of her throat, as she brushed her nose against Rose’s, pulling back from their kiss.  

Before she could attempt to apologize for being the one to initiate this even though they didn’t have anything figured out, before she could even really disentangle herself from Rose –

She found herself being spun, her own back slammed against the door.

Rose’s hands had disappeared from her hair to her waist in milliseconds, and she’d used the hold to reverse their positions. Her shoulder blades ached from the force, even as she felt herself clench as the desire sparked inside of her, burning even brighter.  

“No,” Rose growled out, surging up onto her tiptoes as she wrapped her hand around the back of Abbie’s neck and used it for leverage.

Keeping Abbie right where she was.

Not that she really had the wherewithal to fight it. She’d used all of her self-control a few seconds ago; she couldn’t do it again.

She barely had the mental resilience to try to hold back from Rose, let alone attempt the physical fortitude.

Not when Rose felt so fucking good, pressing herself against Abbie fully. Her thigh slid between Abbie’s, pressing up until Abbie felt her against the seam of her jeans, tearing a rough groan from the back of her throat.

Rose’s answering moan was dark and greedy and she felt Rose’s teeth nip sharply at her bottom lip.

And this was much more like what she’d expected from Rose when they were kissing, now.

Aggressive, wanting, taking what she desired.

And it made Abbie’s clit throb, made her rock her hips down against Rose’s.

She brought her own hands up, sliding them into Rose’s hair. She had such luxuriously beautiful, thick, dark hair, and Abbie had gotten distracted at multiple points in time looking at it. Simply staring at Rose, taking her in.

Wondering if her hair would feel as soft as it had the night they’d spent together in college.

And it did.

God, she ached to know everything that was different about Rose. Everything that was the same.

It took her far longer than it should have for her to realize that the vibrating she was feeling wasn’t coming from herself or Rose, but an external source.

Namely, Rose’s phone that was in the pocket of her jeans.

Fuck, it made Abbie shudder again, and it was so wrong for her to have such an intense reaction to Rose’s phone, yet here she was.

It seemed Rose didn’t even register it, though.

She continued to kiss Abbie like her life depended on it, her tongue sliding against Abbie’s in a move that made her toes curl. She’d brought her hand down to cup Abbie’s jaw, and slid her other back, taking the opportunity to take a handful of Abbie’s ass.

Which – god, how was Abbie supposed to think clearly? Supposed to function?

The vibration happened again, though, and this time it seemed that Rose registered it for what it was.

She broke their kiss, just enough to disconnect them. They were still breathing in the same air, still so close Abbie’s lips were tingling from the proximity.

“I think–” She had to pause, to clear her throat. “I think your phone is ringing.”

Rose let out a groan that sounded genuinely pained. “It is.”

But she didn’t move away immediately.

She took in a deep breath.

Flexed the hand she still had on Abbie’s ass, making Abbie inhale sharply. Because – since when was her butt so responsive? She was still wearing clothes.

She had to assume it was the Rose of it all.

Rose huffed out a breath, the impatient warmth of it hitting Abbie’s lips. The truest definition of breathing Rose in.

“It’s Nathan,” Rose muttered, as she sighed, deeply, and slid her hand away from Abbie’s jaw. She could feel the reluctance in it. “He’s outside.”

The words served as a bucket of cold water for Abbie. Not that she was upset by Nathan’s presence, but by the simple that that he was outside?!

“I’m sorry. What? Your soon-to-be-ex-husband is sitting outside of my house. Can you elaborate more, please? I hadn’t even texted you yet to see if you could talk tonight.”

Rose narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. “You were planning on texting me tonight?”

“Yes, it’s the main reason for me being such a loser and not going to the party tonight. Because all I’ve done for days is think about you and what we’re going to do.”

She could see how hard Rose swallowed, before hearing the tremulous breath she released.

Abbie quirked her lips up into a small, teasing grin. “If you’d waited about five minutes, you could have shown up here at my request. Saved yourself from looking so impatient.”

“That’s not really in my nature. You should know that about me before we embark on anything.” There was a dryness in Rose’s tone, mixed with an earnestness.

Abbie’s smile melted into something a lot more sincere. “I actually do know that about you. Note that I was surprised to see you on my doorstep, but I didn’t really question it all that much.”

Rose’s phone vibrated again and she reached down, taking it out of her pocket. Without breaking eye contact from Abbie, she answered, “I’ll be out in a minute.”

And then she unceremoniously hung up.

“Did you have car trouble, and Nathan was the person that made the most sense to bring you here, or…?”

“Cassie’s school is doing a Halloween thing, and we agreed to drive to it together. But I...” Rose hesitated, before she set her jaw, and continued, “We were driving near your house, and I just needed to see you.”

Rose tapped her phone against her palm, taking in a deep breath, before she turned her imploring stare up at Abbie.

“And I hope the fact that Nathan and Cassie are outside doesn’t serve as encouragement for you to continue to delude yourself into believing that we can possibly not act on our feelings. I know that it’s complicated, Abbie, I do. I know that Cassie is working through the divorce. And I – I can’t not do things like go to the Halloween party to make her know that we’re still a family, even if it’s a different kind of family now. I understand that it’s complicated,” she acknowledged, staring intently into Abbie’s eyes. “But that’s just life. And if you still think we could work together, like nothing has changed at all–”

“I don’t,” she cut in, needing to cut Rose off there.  

Rose’s mouth fell open, obviously shocked. “You don’t?”

“Why do you say it like that? Like you’re surprised? We just made out against the door.”

“Because I’d assumed you were going to need more convincing, given your very admirable – and sometimes annoying – black-and-white moral compass.”

“And how were you planning on convincing me?”

A slow, sly smirk slid into place on Rose’s lips, and Abbie ached from it immediately. Just. God.

“I had some maneuvers up my sleeve,” her voice dipped into something raspy, setting the flames that had just started to dull inside of her back up to high heat.

“You’ve already convinced me,” she managed to get out. Abbie closed her eyes, dragging her hand through her hair. “Frankly, I’m not sure how long it would have been before I broke, anyway.”

It was important to be honest with oneself.

“Yes, you were already becoming very obvious about your feelings. Subconsciously, you wanted me to know,” Rose teased, with that underlying sharp barb underneath. The one that Abbie – someone save her – found herself craving.

She laughed, leaning back against the door. “Yeah, maybe I did.”

After all, she’d never been too great at holding big secrets in, keeping it to herself.

Her eyes were heavily lidded, and she kept them open. Just staring at Rose. Marveling, admittedly, at where they were.

She’d have never believed this would be the case three months ago.

Maybe the best things really did happen when you weren’t looking, when you least expected it.

“I have to go. But I’ll see you tomorrow,” Rose asserted, sounding a little like she couldn’t quite believe this, either. “And we will figure out what it is that we’re doing. Maybe… after practice? You could come to my place? There will be no soon-to-be-ex or child present, and we can really get into it.”

Abbie’s heart skipped a beat. “The conversation,” she said, needing to clarify, as she throbbed again. “We’ll get into the conversation we need to have.”

Rose’s eyes glinted back at her. “That, too.”

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