“There he is!” Gabby screams and jumps up and down as Zeke takes the court.
He’s easy to spot since Gabby has shown me about a million pictures of them together, but even if she hadn’t, the way he’s looking at her would have clued me in.
Nathan hands me my loaded fries and rings and takes the seat next to me with his hot dog.
Our group is taking up most of an entire row. Zeke got us floor seats behind the team and it’s exciting. I don’t know a lot about the players or teams, but the energy at sporting events feeds my soul.
Nathan and I switch seats two minutes into the game because Gabby is killing my eardrums. The girl can yell, and she’s making sure the entire place knows how proud she is of her man. It’s adorable… from a distance.
At the half, Nathan’s boss Lincoln comes over to say hello. I gotta admit, I’m not exactly sure what it is Nathan’s doing for him, but he loves doing whatever it is.
Lincoln extends a hand when Nathan introduces me. Tan skin and dark hair, tall and athletic build. He’s a little older, but he’s a good-looking guy. He doesn’t hold a candle to my man, but I’m not blind.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Same.”
Nathan makes introductions all the way around, and my boyfriend looks so proud and happy amongst his friends. Our friends. They’ve become so much more than people I know because of him. I’d love them regardless because of how good they’ve been to Nathan, but I love them even more for how good they’ve been to me.
We told them all the truth about our fake relationship, and they took it in stride. Gabby was a little hurt, I think, that Nathan didn’t trust her with it sooner, but when he told her that it was because he didn’t want to admit how much he really wanted the girl—me—she forgave him and we both swooned a bit.
Lincoln shakes Nathan’s hand as the buzzer sounds, signaling the start of the second half. “I’ll call you this week. Enjoy the game.”
“Boss seems nice,” I say after he’s gone.
“Yeah, I think so too.”
“I thought his specialty was golf. Why is he at an NBA game?”
Nathan shakes his head. “He’s everywhere. Last weekend, he was at a Brewers game in the executive suite.”
“Fancy.”
He pulls me to him and wraps his arms around me, resting his hands on my lower back. “You wanna hang in the executive suites, princess?”
“I want to hang wherever you are.”
Nathan
I watch Chloe make her way out to the aisle with Blair to hit the ladies’ room.
Gabby leans over, following my line of vision. “So, when are you going to ask her to marry you?”
“What?” My head snaps around to meet her grinning face. “I’m not… We’re not…”
Gabby bites back a smile while I spiral. It’s not that I don’t see a future with her but it’s so soon.
“You’re blushing, Nathan Payne.”
My cheeks do feel warm, so I take a sip of my Coke and try to focus on the game. Of course, Gabby is having none of that. She nudges me with her elbow. “What? I see the way you look at her. She’s it for you. Your whole damn world. It’s the same way Zeke looks at me.”
Her eyes flit to the court and if that look she’s talking about is anything like the one she has on her face right now, I can see how my feelings are so transparent to her.
“We’re not there yet,” I tell her. “The only ring I can afford to buy her would have to come out of one of those cheap quarter machines.”
“She doesn’t care about the size of the ring.”
I glance down at the rock on her finger. Zeke went a little overboard, but I get it now. He wanted to make a statement about how much she meant to him. I want that, too. “Maybe I care.”
She pulls the ring from her left hand and holds it out to me. “Here.” She tries to push it into my hand. “Take it. We could trade it in and get her something else, of course.”
“Of course,” I mock like that’s the ridiculous part of this situation. I shake my head and thankfully, she puts it back on her finger.
“Glad you didn’t take it. I’d miss it.” She holds it over her heart. “But don’t let money be what stops you. When Zeke proposed, I didn’t even look at the ring until after I’d said yes. And even if it’d been made out of paper, I would have still loved it.”
Chloe and Blair return, and we watch the final half of the game. The Suns win, and we’re ready to celebrate.
We’re meeting Zeke at his apartment, so Chloe, Vanessa, and I pile into Mario’s car. Gabby is riding with Wes and Blair, giving me and Chloe the backseat to ourselves. I pull her into the middle, and she buckles but has to swing her feet to the side. It’s not roomy, but I’m completely okay with her being up in my personal space.
Vanessa reads the directions from her phone to Mario, and they go back and forth on the best routes. Zeke’s apartment is nice. One bedroom, one bath with an awesome view. He and his teammates arrive just after Gabby gets the music going.
“Nice game,” I tell him. “It’s going to be a rookie season for the record books.”
He tilts his big head to the side. “Still early.” He introduces me to his teammates Kevin O’Stark and Jason Harris.
“Nice to meet you,” O’Stark says. “I’m looking forward to seeing you out there next year.”
“Me? You mean Joel?” I tip my head to where my buddy is talking to Katrina and Chloe, using his hands with a big animated expression.
He and Zeke chuckle before he responds, “Yeah, you. You’ve got some nice handles and a good sense of the court.”
“Thank you,” I manage, shocked that this guy has seen me play.
He nods and the conversation turns to their upcoming road trip to Denver.
As much as I’m trying to enjoy college and not look too far ahead, being in Zeke’s place and seeing the life and friends he’s made since graduating makes me excited about the possibilities of the future.
I find Blair and Vanessa in the kitchen.
“Blair, do you happen to have a piece of paper and a pen?”
Vanessa rolls her eyes. “Probably varying colors and sizes.”
Blair shoots her a pretend dirty look before admitting, “She’s actually not wrong.”
She produces options and I pick one, tear out a sheet, grab a pen, and thank her.
I hole up in the bathroom for a good ten minutes. A weird place to be writing a love note to your girl, I realize. When I’m done, I pocket the pen and paper and go find Chloe. She sits on the couch between Vanessa and Katrina, but as I approach, Vanessa stands, giving me a perfect opening to take the seat next to Chloe.
“Hey,” she says with a big smile and her green eyes light up. “Where’ve you been?”
“Around.” Placing a hand on her thigh, I lean into her space.
“It’s weird to think, in a few months this could be you. Living in Phoenix, or wherever, and playing in the NBA.”
“So weird,” I agree. “Also, weird, Gabby tried to talk me into proposing to you tonight.”
Her eyes go wide, and I think she’s holding her breath. Shock and maybe excitement plays out on her face.
“Don’t worry, I’m not going to. Not because I don’t want to marry you someday, but because I want to do it the right way. With a big rock.” I use my hands to give her an idea of the size—roughly the size of my head—and she laughs. “And in the perfect spot with all the right words.”
I produce the ring I made from the paper Blair had in her purse, take her hand, and place it on her finger. “I wrote all the things I love about you on there. Barely a blank spot on either side.”
She inspects it, turning it around and trying to read the small scrawls and drawings.
“I don’t really expect you to wear it. It’s likely to fall apart before the end of the night, but I want you to know how much you mean to me and how excited I am about every day. Not just the future where we have jobs and fancy apartments, but even today when all I can give you is this.”
She holds it up over her heart, just like Gabby did with her giant engagement ring. “I love it and you.”
And the thing is, I know she does. Paper isn’t as valuable as diamonds, but when filled with sentiments from the one you love, it’s just as precious.