The Tour

forty-one / intro to the draft

"Uh, what?" I asked, slightly surprised that he had waited until now to tell me.

He looked at me for another second before answering, "I think I'm going to spend the summer in California playing baseball."

I blinked in surprise. "Why now? Haven't you been training in Hawaii for your whole life?"

"I was talking with Nolan after one of our games when we played UCLA and he recommended it. He said that he had some connections that could be really helpful for upping my game because there isn't much feedback on this island that I haven't heard before. This season went well for me, and I want to see what I can make of the next two," he grimaced, "But I realize that it means more time across oceans for us. I thought about it for a long time because of that."

I slid back into the passenger's seat and stared at him. "I mean I can't say that I'm thrilled, but I understand that it would be hypocritical for me to say that you shouldn't. Obviously I want you to get the best training possible, and if you have the connections to do that then you should. It's not going to be fun to have to spend more time long distance, but it's only for two more years, right? We can make it."

He nodded at me. "Yeah, probably. We'll see where this goes?"

Now he was confusing me. "Where else would it go? You only have two more years of eligibility because you managed to play this season."

Will's eyes uncomfortably shifted to the road in front of the parked car. "Some people are talking about me and the draft again. It would be a really long shot and I probably won't be able to regain that much of my previous skill, but some college people have been mentioning the possibility."

He froze me with that news. I hadn't even considered the possibility that he could still get drafted after the accident. I stuttered slightly with my response, "O-Oh, wow, I hadn't heard that. That's great, I get why you want to go to California now. And I think that you should do whatever gets you towards that if you want to keep playing." The words almost got stuck in my throat on their way out. 

"I know you're probably surprised, and I'm sorry that I didn't mention it earlier. I just decided about California the other day," he said, chewing on his lip nervously.

I mustered up a smile and leaned over to give him a hug, kissing his cheek when I pulled away. His hand trailed along my back after I leaned back into my own seat. "Well, I should probably head home and unpack."

"Yeah, yeah, of course. Do you need help with your bags?" He glanced back at the trunk.

"No thanks, I've got it," I shook my head, "I'll see you soon."

Will walked around the back of the car to open the trunk for me, and I heaved all of the luggage out. "I love you, Riv," Will said softly once I was holding everything.

"I love you too, Will. And I'm so proud of you," I said with the biggest grin that I could manage. Turning away, I walked into my house, dumping all of my bags in the hallway that led to my room and going past the family room where the TV was blaring, straight onto the beach. The shadows from the palm trees spread across the beach in the moonlight, and I leaned against the foot of one and sat in the sand. Flickers of moonlight glinted on the small waves and I stared out at them.

I wasn't going to cry, but I felt close. Long distance had already been so difficult, and I couldn't imagine Will not being home when I was going to be this summer. It might be possible to work out a visit or two in California, especially with the Championship Tour's stops in Southern California, but it was a big state and we would both be working. I was lost in thought when the screen door from the house behind me slammed.

"Hey hon, you weren't even going to come say hi?" my mom asked as she swept her skirt under her to sit on the sand next to me.

"Sorry, I wasn't in the mood at the moment."

"Did something happen? You surfed well and we're so proud of you, no matter what the result is," she replied.

I glanced over at her and attempted to prevent my voice from cracking. "It's just been hard with Will. I love him, but the distance just seems to make loving him painful because I miss him, and he just told me that he's leaving for California all summer to play baseball."

"Oh, River, I'm sorry." She frowned and wrapped her arms around me, holding me still for a couple of minutes before releasing me. "You know that I'm so happy that you two finally started dating, and I'm glad that it's going well, but I'm sure that it's difficult."

"It's not just that," I choked out, "He's talking about the draft again. I don't know, maybe it was naive of me, but I just thought that he would be done with baseball after college, especially after the accident. There was just this vision in my head where he would graduate and get some normal job that would be flexible enough that he could travel with me. The thought that things would change in two years was getting me through this, and now I don't even know what to think."

"Wow, that is a lot," my mom agreed, taking her own look out at the waves. She glanced back at me. "Well, as much as I support Will, the MLB draft is no sure thing. From what I've seen he's playing much better than expected, but he still has to improve a good amount to get there. His agility still isn't the same. So, as much as I love him, there still is a chance that he has to go get a normal job in two years. On the other hand, I realize how hard it would be for you if he did get drafted and moved to Kansas or something to play baseball."

I sighed and leaned my head onto her shoulder. "I just can't imagine being away from him for so long. I love him so much more than I thought I would," I said, forcing out a slight laugh.

"I know you do, hon. And I think you two are a very special couple. But I also want you to know that I support any decision that you make. If you ever decide that it's too much distance and you want to break it off, that's okay. And if you can deal with the distance because you can't picture life without him, I will fly with you to competitions and you can cry on my shoulder there."

I smiled a little at her support, even though my stomach was still twisting with all of the possibilities. 

kinda short but here it is, um feel free to drop your favorite baseball team/player or favorite surfer in the comments because I'm curious and it seems fun