Then again, had Rocky not said something to me, I wouldn’t have known either.

  “I’m glad she’s gone,” I said before I could stop myself.

  The guys started oohing and aahing like I’d said something that was a low blow, but that girl was the biggest drama bitch queen I’d ever met. And even though I knew Mac wanted nothing to do with her and she was no longer a threat in my eyes, her presence had still irritated me. I was glad we wouldn’t be running into her on campus anymore.

  “We all need girls like you, Sunny,” Colin said with a grin, and I saw Mac shoot him a look that could kill.

  “Speak for yourself. I want to be single as a Pringle.” Matt tossed his dish in the sink, and we all started laughing, even Mac.

  “We need to go,” Mac directed, and the guys all started moving around frantically. He definitely ran this house. “I’ll catch a ride with my girl. See you guys at practice.”

  Mac’s hand was on my lower back as he pushed me toward his bedroom, where all of our things were. I palmed my car keys, and we headed out, the other three guys piling in Dayton’s car at the same time.

  Once I parked at school, Mac sprinted to the driver’s side and opened the door for me before helping me out. He seemed to get even sweeter with time.

  As we walked on campus, holding hands, I saw the numerous glances in our direction, but they didn’t seem as mean-spirited as usual. There were no narrowed glares or snarls on faces. People simply seemed more curious than anything else.

  “It’s calmer than I thought it would be,” I said as he walked me toward my building even though his class was clear on the other side of campus.

  “What is?”

  “Just being with you. It was pretty hellish for Danika the whole time.” I remembered all the crap she’d gotten from other girls after she started dating Chance.

  “Well, I think dating a Carter is a different experience altogether.”

  Mac was probably right, but I wasn’t going to admit to anything that might make him feel less than.

  “I wouldn’t change a thing.”

  “Me neither.” He kissed me in front of the entrance to my building. “I love you,” he said as he pulled one of the doors open and held it for me to walk through.

  “I love you too,” I said before he turned around to hustle toward his own class.

  Mac Davies still loved me. And I was never going to get tired of hearing him say those words to me. Ever.

  End of the Semester

  Mac

  The last few weeks had flown by. Time seemed to do that once you were in a routine. Sunny and I both missed New York, which was insane because we’d barely gotten to know the place. We argued one night that maybe it was Danika and Chance that we missed and not the location. But when we both started shaking our heads at the thought, we knew we were wrong.

  It was definitely both. Our best friends and the place.

  I’d been dreading the semester ending since the day it’d started. I was one step closer to my last season of playing baseball at Fullton State and hopefully getting drafted. It would all come down to the next few months. I’d been working my ass off in the weight room and on the field. I’d never felt more prepared to tackle a season than I did right now. But it wasn’t all up to me, and I wasn’t sure if that made things better or worse.

  Winter break also meant that I had to go back home to Arizona. And even though I wasn’t going back for very long, my stomach was in knots, just knowing I had to go at all. No one should feel that way about their home. Home should be what Sunny had once said—safe, comforting, and welcoming. My house was none of those things.

  “I’m going to miss you so much.” Sunny sniffled against my neck.

  It was the longest we were going to be apart since we’d started dating, and I hated the idea of leaving her. I wanted to be by her side all the time. She anchored me and gave me peace. It was an incredible feeling to know that while other parts of my life might be shaky, she and I were solid. There was something about having a stable relationship that made all the other shit bearable ... even if it still sucked.

  “I’m going to miss you too. But I’ll call you every day, okay?”

  “I freaking hope so,” she said as she swatted my arm and growled. She actually growled at me.

  “Why’d you hit me? You’re always hitting me.” I pulled my bag out of the backseat of her car and slung it over my shoulder.

  “ ’Cause who wouldn’t call their girlfriend every day? That’s what you’re supposed to do.”

  “Babe.” I couldn’t help but laugh as I reached for her chin and held it in my grip before planting a kiss on her luscious lips. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

  She shook her head. “It’s not that.” Clearing her throat, she looked up at me, her blue eyes shining like freaking sapphires. “I mean, yes, I’m going to miss you so much that I don’t even want to think about it. But I’m worried.”

  The last thing I wanted was for Sunny to worry about me. I could take care of myself. I’d been doing it for years. “Why? What are you worried about?”

  She bit the back of her thumb, stalling. “I’m worried about your dad. What if he doesn’t let you come back?”

  I wanted to reassure her and tell her that Dick Davies couldn’t stop me if he tried, but the same question had definitely entered my mind. There was always the possibility that Dick wouldn’t allow me to come back to Fullton. Not that I’d listen, but that threat was still there.

  “Nothing is stopping me from coming back for the season,” I ground out, determined, channeling my inner Rocky. “Or for you.”

  A small but still worried smile formed on her lips. “Okay. But you’ll tell me if things go sideways, right? I’ll come get you.”

  She’d offered to come get me. The fact that this girl loved me that much was so fucking overwhelming at times. What did I do to deserve her? I wasn’t sure I’d ever stop asking myself that question.

  “I love you so much.” I grabbed her and pulled her into my arms, holding her tight.

  “I love you.” Her breath was hot against me. “You’d better go,” she said, pulling away, and I glanced back at the inside of the airport, thankful that it wasn’t too crowded.

  “I’ll text you when I land,” I said before walking inside and leaving my heart in the front seat of her car.

  I felt sick to my stomach for the whole flight, which was only an hour. Not even enough time to formulate a plan—and I always needed some sort of plan. Letting my guard down around Dick wasn’t an option, and he never came unprepared. The only slight sliver of hope was that maybe he wouldn’t be the one picking me up, but I knew that was a long shot.

  Dick Davies loved to verbally destroy me, and he rarely missed an opportunity. So, imagine my surprise when I finally stepped into Baggage Claim and saw a man I didn’t recognize, holding a sign with my name on it.

  “I’m Mac,” I said as I walked up to the stranger.

  “I’m Curtis. Your dad sends his regards. Do you have any luggage?”

  “Just this.” I motioned toward the bag slung over my shoulder.

  “Follow me,” he said, and I did as I had been told.

  Once we were outside, he walked into the closest parking lot and pointed at a blacked-out Mercedes G Wagon. He opened the rear passenger door for me, and I got in before firing off a text to Sunny, letting her know I was here and that I’d call her later.

  There was so much I’d been keeping inside recently. My fears about the upcoming season. Coming here for the holidays and all of the familial expectations that went along with it. I was required to play a part, to show up and be the prodigal son who couldn’t wait to come work for the company, but I wasn’t sure I could do all the faking this year. I hated the lying.

  “Hey, Curtis, do you know where my mom is?”

  I wondered why she hadn’t come to pick me up, but I knew that it was already late enough in the afternoon that she was probably too drunk to drive. It made me angry with her, and I hated being mad at my mom. I felt like a piece-of-shit son for judging her drinking when I knew that it was her way of coping.

  Still, her choices pissed me off.

  “I believe Mrs. Davies is at home,” he answered, and I couldn’t tell if he knew about her situation or not. He honestly didn’t sound like he did. But he could just be a good actor. My dad would hire nothing but the best in order to protect the family reputation.

  Curtis turned the wrong way, and I sat up straighter, growing uncomfortable with each second that passed.

  “You’re not taking me to the house?”

  His eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. “He asked me to bring you by the office.”

  Fuck. The dog and pony show was beginning earlier than usual.

  DD typically waited until the company holiday party to tote me around and force me into uncomfortable conversations. But apparently, not this year.

  “I’ll wait here,” Curtis said as he pulled into a designated parking spot in front of the large building.

  Maybe this trip to the office was going to be short and quick. If DD had planned on keeping me here all night, he would have sent Curtis away and driven me home after.

  I left my bag in the seat and walked inside, pressing the elevator button for the fifth floor. I could find my dad’s office with my eyes closed, but when the doors opened, DD was standing there, waiting for me.

  There was no hug. No smile. Nothing that indicated he was even remotely pleased to see me. Typical DD, the eternal asshole. He gave me a once-over, clearly disapproving of my casual attire, but I hadn’t known he was bringing me here. Had I known, I wouldn’t have changed anyway, so fuck him.

  “Follow me.” He started speed-walking, and I practically had to break out into a light jog to keep up with his pace.

  He walked me into an empty office with floor-to-ceiling windows on one of the walls. The room was massive, already fitted with a couch, a TV mounted on the wall, and an attached washroom.

  “This is yours,” he said with a flick of his hand.

  “My what?”

  “This will be your office when you start in June,” he said, ignoring the fact that the draft was in June and the last thing I wanted was to ever come work here, baseball or not.

  I swallowed around the newly formed lump in my throat. “I thought I was starting in the mailroom?” I asked sarcastically, giving him the wrong idea that I was actually interested in this shit.

  “Oh, you are.” He leaned toward me, his tone menacing. “But no son of mine can stay at the bottom for long. It’s all for show. Formality, you see. That way, no one can complain that you didn’t pay your dues.” He sounded so proud of his plan.

  “When’s the Christmas party?” I asked, completely ignoring everything he’d just said. The same way he pretended like my future in baseball didn’t exist.

  “Tomorrow night. You’ll be expected to show up with me and your mother and not leave before we do,” he said, as if I didn’t already know the rules.

  It was the same thing year after year. Arrive at the party as a family, smile, pretend that we can all stand each other instead of wanting to rip each other’s throats out. Leave your cell phone at home. Be excited about the company and your future in it. Ignore all questions about baseball. Try not to look as dead on the outside as you feel on the inside. Smile. Lie. Smile. Pretend. Smile. Fake it. Don’t make me look bad. Don’t embarrass me.

  “Don’t you have something you’d like to say to me?” he asked, his power trip firmly in place as he leaned up against the desk that was supposed to be mine in a matter of months.

  “Um, I’m not sure.” I had no idea what he was waiting to hear from me.

  “How about thank you?” He waved an arm around the office like he was presenting me with the world’s greatest gift.

  “For what?”

  “For what?” he repeated, pushing off the desk and stalking toward me. “For providing you with a future that you clearly cannot provide yourself on your own. What would you even be without me?” he snapped, as if he’d ever given me a choice.

  It was truly a wonder how I’d gotten to go to Fullton State in the first place and play baseball.

  “I want to see Mom,” I said, hoping that he’d let me leave and that showing me this office was the only reason he’d made me stop here in the first place, that there wasn’t something else up his sleeve.

  “Good luck with that,” he said with a groan.

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “She’s probably asleep. She’s never awake anymore.”

  My jaw clenched. “How would you even know? You’re never home.”

  His finger was in my face instantly. “Watch your tone, boy. You think you know everything, but you don’t know shit.”

  “Can I go now?” I pretended to be unmoved by his behavior, but he intimidated the hell out of me. I hated how I still felt like a little kid his presence.

  “Ungrateful asshole. Leave,” he said, and I took off before he changed his mind, hating that I’d have to see him later that night.

  My Favorite Person in Arizona

  Mac

  “Mom!” I shouted as I walked through the front door, unsure of where I’d find her, if I’d find her at all.

  DD hadn’t been wrong when he said she was probably sleeping, but there was a chance she might be awake. She knew I was coming home today.

  “Mac?” Her voice sounded quiet and soft as she pulled open one of the bedroom doors and stepped out of it, fully dressed. It made me happy to see her up and alert. “I’m so glad you’re home.”

  “Hey, Mom.” I walked up the stairs and gave her a hug, smelling the faint hint of alcohol on her breath. She didn’t seem even remotely hammered, but the scent still deflated me. “How are you? You look nice,” I complimented, and she seemed so genuinely happy with my words. I wondered when the last time was that she’d heard something nice.

  “I’m hanging in there.” Her hand cupped my face as she gave me a kiss on the cheek. “How are you? You look so handsome. Now, tell me about this girl of yours.” She linked her arm in mine as we navigated down the stairs together.

  I had almost forgotten that I’d texted her pictures of Sunny and me during Thanksgiving while we were in New York. She wanted more information, but I told her that I’d fill her in when I came home. Mom had accepted that response and never pushed me, but I’d sent her pics all weekend.

  “She’s amazing, Mom. You’d love her,” I started to say before she interrupted.

  “I really like her silver hair.” She smiled as she fiddled with her phone before turning it around to show me. It was a picture of Sunny and me on top of the Empire State Building at night, her hair blowing around in the wind.

  “I like it too,” I agreed before being struck with an idea. “Do you want me to video-chat with her, so you can say hi?” I asked, and she looked so pleased.

  “I don’t look very nice.” She started messing with her hair, trying to tame the unruly, unbrushed pieces.

  “You look perfect,” I said even though she did look a little bit like a hot mess. Sunny would never say a word, and I figured that since she might never get to meet my mom, this would be a nice gesture for both of them.

  “Let’s sit at the table.” I redirected us to the kitchen table, and we sat side by side as I pressed on Sunny’s name.

  Her face lit up my screen as she answered immediately. I swore it hadn’t even gotten the chance to ring twice.

  “Sexy boyfriend. How’s Arizona?” she asked.

  I made a face, willing her to stop. I never knew what might come out of that girl’s mouth.

  “Hot. My mom’s here.” I tilted the phone, so my mom’s face was in the frame before Sunny could say anything else that might embarrass me.

  “Oh.” Sunny looked flustered. “Hi, Mrs. Davies. Sorry I called your son sexy. But I mean, I guess it’s your fault anyway. You made him,” she kept running off at the mouth, and if she were near me, I would have kissed her lips just to get her to stop talking.

  My mom laughed. I hadn’t heard that sound in I didn’t know how long. It felt like forever. Years even, although that couldn’t have been right. Her laugh was like a punch in the gut, a reminder of how miserable she’d become.

  “Hi, Sunny. I was just telling Mac how much I like your hair,” my mom complimented.

  Sunny started pulling at the strands. “Thank you. It was something new I tried this year, and I’m sort of obsessed. I love it so much.”

  “So, are you at home with your family too?” my mom asked.

  Sunny nodded. “Yep. My parents, my older sister, and a thousand dogs,” she explained.

  My mom touched the screen, as if she could reach Sunny through it. “Why so many dogs?”

  “Well ...” Sunny tried to figure out what to say, and I told my mom that Sunny’s parents owned a vet clinic. “Yeah. So, my mom basically fosters all these dogs that need their forever homes. It’s only temporary, but she doesn’t know when to stop. There are literally eight giant-sized dogs at our house right now. THERE ARE EIGHT DOGS HERE, MAC!” she yelled to reiterate.

  I’d always wanted a dog. And if my memory was accurate, my mom had wanted one, too, but DD had said our house wasn’t made for animals. The floors were too easily scratched, the couches too expensive to be torn, and he didn’t want his suits covered in hair.

  I remembered trying to convince him one year, but DD had not relented. Once his mind was made up, that was it. There would be no changing it, no talking him out of his decision, no chance of a compromise. DD said our home was not a democracy and I needed to know my place. Something about if I learned how to take direction now, it’d be easier for me to deal with having bosses in the future. Like the possibility of me being my own boss was completely out of the question.

  My dad was a fucking asshole.

  Sunny and my mom had continued talking while I was zoned out, and only the sound of my mom laughing again at something Sunny had said snapped me out of it.

  That sound.

 

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