Far Love (Book 1)

13 | Change of plans

September 10th, 2023

The whole week at work I wanted to bring the money up to Rob, but I just can't do it. The money is the last of what I have of my mom and I can't let go of it.

After serving the last customer of the night, I walk to the kitchen counter window, "You ready to close?"

"Yeah, I'll close up if you just want to go home early."

"No I'll stay back, it's fine, you get going."

"No, you've done enough, go get home."

I pause, then just nod and walk toward the break room—there is no way he is that he was going to budge. I pack up my backpack and walk through the back door to my car. Tossing my backpack through the car to the passenger seats in the back, I turn on the radio. It's game night for UW and I've been checking in all day. Whenever I had a little time, I would check the score throughout my couple of hours of work.

The spokesman comments on many, many, many things and I silently woop and boo to myself when necessary.

When I get home, the spokesman announces the win for the huskies and I get out of the car. I know Dylan won't be available for at least another hour, so I walk up to my apartment and settle into the couch. Mara and Nina are nowhere to be found—Nina probably at practice and Mara out with some guy—so I turn the TV to the channel that the game is being aired on. I see Dylan's teammates congratulating each other and even a couple of players from the other team shaking hands with UW's players.

Subconsciously though, I'm looking for Dylan. When I see him in the background of the footage as he takes a swig of water, my heart picks up.

I silently giggle and feel a blush pick up on my cheeks. I see him pick up his phone from his bag and start pressing all over the screen. Two seconds later my phone is ringing.

I look down at my phone, and Dylan with his phone to his ear. I smile and pick it up, already knowing who it is. "Good job out there, I was tuned in the whole time."

"Thank you," through the screen, I can see him smiling in the background. "Weren't you working though?" he asks, skepticism in his voice.

I let out a breathy laugh, "Yes, but I kept checking the score, and on the way home I was listening on the radio."

"Oh, were you now?"

I blush, and even though he can't see my face, I still hide it in the folds of the blanket over me. "Yes, I was."

He chuckles through the line, "I had an idea while I getting into a play."

I'm curious now. "What was that?"

"Since you can't leave the cafe, and this weekend we planned to meet anyway because I didn't have a game, why don't I just come to California instead?"

"Uh-" I don't know what to say. When we initially planned to have me stay for a couple of days, I thought I was prepared. I hadn't been as nervous because I had seen him just a couple of weeks before, but now it has been almost a month and I'm not completely sure how it would go.

"We don't have to..." I see his face change to regret over the screen.

"No, I want you to come. I'm just surprised. Are you sure? What about football?"

"We practice on weekdays and are asked to go to the gym on the weekends. I usually go to the gym in Claremont when I'm in California, so it should be fine."

"And I work, so-"

"I can wait for you." Butterflies fill my chest. The screen cuts to a commercial and he says, "So this weekend?"