*Jane*At first, I’m frozen, not really sure how to react. But I soon realize that this new girl has held out her hand to me in greeting and that I’ve just completely zoned out. My initial response is to slap her hand away, for some or other reason. But I don’t.“I’m sorry, what?” I ask, and she smiles patiently at me. “My name’s Jessica. And you are… ?” she asks and I shake her hand.Despite her kind words, something about her just rubs me up the wrong way. I can’t quite put my finger on it, even though there’s no reason for me to be feeling like this.“Jane,” I tell her, hoping none of the bitterness that fills my mouth when I introduce myself is audible in my voice.“It’s nice to meet you, Jane.” She turns back to face Noah with a fond look on her face. “I also just wanted to wish you luck for the rest of the season, Noah. I know how this time of the year can be for you.”Noah nods curtly in acknowledgment but still doesn’t look too happy to see her. He pul
*Jane*“So she has the audacity, as Noah’s ex, to act all friendly with you,” Rachel confirms, touching up her makeup in the mirror. I throw the last of my books into my bag, checking the time to make sure we’re not going to be too late. I’m planning to stop at the Bulldogs’ practice session for the last bit just before I head off to class. Rachel and I both crawled back into our dorm room at an ungodly hour this morning. This meant that both the boys were most likely also going to be at least slightly late for their practice. It also meant that last night was a great night for both of us. For all her talk of me having a noticeable afterglow, I didn’t miss Rachel’s own bright spark in her eyes and her wild hair when I saw her for the first time earlier. She’d merely smirked at me, a knowing look on her face. But the second we began to debrief each other and the topic of Jessica came up, all playfulness left the conversation and Rachel became both intrigued and annoyed. S
*Jane*I’m so used to heading over to Noah’s that I immediately recognize the route to his apartment. He doesn’t say anything on the way there. He looks pensive, so wrapped up in his own thoughts that I begin to worry about what this big talk is really about. But upon closer inspection, he doesn’t look exactly worried. There’s a slight hint of nervousness maybe, but he has this tiny smile nestled in the corner of his mouth, as though he’s picturing something that’s making him happy. It’s so entrancing that I don’t realize I’m staring at him, like an idiot. I only figure this out when he turns to look at me, and that serene expression morphs into a cocky smirk, prompting me to snap my head back to stare out onto the road ahead. “Something on your mind?” he asks, finally breaking the silence. “Less than you, apparently,” I say, my cheeks burning bright at being caught mooning over him. “A hint about tonight would actually be kind of nice of you, you know.”“It’s
*Jane*For the first time ever, Noah and I drive to his morning practice together. He lends me a jersey to wear over my dress and it makes for a decent outfit which I figure I’ll just change out of on my way to class. But I like it—I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of wearing his clothes. It’s like a silent announcement to the world that he’s mine. Noah seems to be in an excellent mood today, one that carries over even into his practice session. It’s the first time I watch the full thing and I have to admit that I don’t get it. I mean, I understand that all athletes have to train hard to maintain and improve their athleticism, and I get that baseball is a very physical sport. But there’s something about Coach Parker that just rubs me up the wrong way. Noah doesn’t speak of him too fondly, and now having witnessed his training sessions from start to finish, I can understand why.The man is harsh. While I can’t say anything about the drills, it bothers me more w
*Noah*I throw myself into practice, pushing myself so hard that even Coach doesn’t manage to find a single point of criticism. The exercise and drills do enough to distract me from the shit show that happened yesterday, but the second I take a break, everything comes rushing back. I don’t know what happened and when everything changed, but Jane’s sudden flip into distancing herself from me was so unexpected that it just left me feeling stranded. She wouldn’t even speak to me. How was I supposed to fix something if I didn’t even know what was broken?“It just sounds like things got heated, man,” Oli points out as we finish up the last drill section. “You think?” I ask gruffly. “I just wish I knew what happened. One of the worst things is that she ended up defending some random friend of hers instead of just listening to me, or telling me what the problem was. I knew that bastard was trouble.”Oli shakes his head. “Come on, Noah. You know Jane. You know that she doe
*Jane*I’ve just pinned back the last piece of hair to the side of Rachel’s head when she finally decides to break her silence over what happened. “So … have you spoken to him yet?” she asks tentatively. “Rach, I really don’t wanna talk about this. There’s something much more exciting happening,” I tell her, going over to my cupboard to pull out the perfume she’d asked to borrow. “And if you don’t wanna talk about your date, we could at least talk about how amazing you look.”And she does. Rachel and Oli have made their relationship official and I couldn’t be happier for both of them. I actually kind of like Oli. The few times I’ve met him here and there, he’s been really nice. Plus, they suit each other in that quiet sort of way that makes so much sense in retrospect. And he’s coming to take her out tonight, meaning that Rachel has dressed up and looks immaculate as always—I’ve helped her do her hair in a half-up, half-down style and she’s wearing a stylish littl
*Jane*Time has gone by so fast that I barely blink and Noah is on another tour. But this time round, things are better. We're three days into our second attempt at making things work long-distance and already we’re making sure we don’t leave any room for further misunderstandings. Noah’s been true to his word, making sure that I know I’m a priority in his life and that I never feel like my presence in it is somehow detracting from his future career prospects. He even takes videos of some of the practices and games to send to me. For my part, I make sure I keep the communication line as open as I can. I want him to know that I support him in everything he does and that I’m here for him. He has yet to fully take me up on that offer when it comes to talking about that slimeball of a coach, but I get the feeling that he appreciates the offer all the same.Things are starting to feel a little bit more stable now, even though there is that tiny spark of doubt that waits fo
*Jane*“It was so good to see you,” Mom says, squeezing me tightly. “I couldn’t be prouder.”The lump in my throat makes it harder to speak, so I just nod, hugging her back. “I’m gonna miss you.”And I realize even as I say it just how much I’ve missed her in the time before she came to visit. Having my mom stay nearby for the past week and seeing her every day only reminded me about why I was working my ass off at Billmore. I grew up seeing her struggle so hard to take care of both of us all on her own. She was the inspiration for my work ethic, for my desire to make something of myself and become successful in my own right. And now that I have that mindset, I appreciate her so much more. I know she did her best with me. “Tell Noah I expect to see him soon and that he better take care of my daughter,” she adds, a mock warning that warms my heart.“I’ll pass on the message.” I smile at her. “Have a safe trip back.”I watch as she leaves and gets into her car,