“And now, your captain…your setter…number two…and making her senior year count, Allison Titov!”
I take in a deep breath and count to two before running out. Another thing my dad would do. It may be silly, but it’s his number and mine. His warm-up always seemed to work for him, and it may be all in my head, but it works for me too. The crowd claps for me as I slap hands with my teammates, but all I hear is him. Asher. I immediately look up into the bleachers, and between my mom and his, he’s standing, a pair of white-rimmed glasses over his patch, towering over everyone, calling my name through cupped hands.
Ally T.
He isn’t quiet with his cheers. It’s as if I’m the only one on our team going against Vandy with the way he is hollering. It concerns me a bit since we’re supposed to be keeping us low-key, but then I remember he’s always been like that. Always my biggest fan. My heart swells so big, I feel as if it will explode in my chest. Then I notice that my mom has made him a new shirt, still as my number two fan, but a part of me feels he may have moved into the number one spot.
Maybe not on his shirt, but definitely in my heart.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Ally
“Why are we looking for a dress for Shelli’s wedding when it’s months away?”
My mom looks over the top of the rack at me. “Because I need to know how much weight I have to lose to fit into the dress of my choice.”
I wrinkle my nose. “That’s insane.”
Her look is deadpan. “Not all of us have the metabolism you do. I used to—you’re welcome—but it left in my thirties. Sorry about that.” I smile as she holds up a red number that would look awesome on her. “Pretty sure this would get your dad’s engines revving.”
I gag obnoxiously, and I’m met with her laughter as she throws it over her arm. It’s been almost a week since Asher and I decided to give this a go. It’s basically been the best week of my life. Nothing has changed, he’s still silly Asher, but he bangs like a dream. I was so worried it would be different, but it isn’t. It’s easy. At least, for me, it is. I feel like sometimes he struggles with the concept of this being a real thing. I’m not saying he doesn’t want us to be real, I do think he does, but I also sense he is holding back. Or maybe I’m in my head. I don’t know. I just love him. So damn much, and I want him to love me. And I want him to want to be on the level I’m on.
I want him to put his heart in my hands and know I’ll die before breaking it.
“I heard Angie got into that program,” Mom says then, and I nod.
“Yeah. She’s pretty excited about it.”
“Lucy and Benji are not. They don’t want her to go after everything that happened.”
“I know, but she needs to. For her.”
“That’s what I told Lucy, but she wants to tie Taco up by his toes and beat him.”
“I don’t blame her,” I say as I move around the racks, looking at everything. I don’t need a new dress, but it would still be fun to dress up for Asher. “I think she’ll be fine, though. Angie is stronger than everyone realizes.”
Mom shrugs. “It hasn’t always been easy for her. It took Benji coming into her life for her to have a good father figure.”
“And because of that, she is strong,” I insist, meeting her gaze. “Angie will be fine.”
She wants to fight me, but I know it’s the mom in her. All of them want to protect their babies, but sometimes, they have to let us make our own decisions. Angie going to South Carolina will be the best thing for her. I believe that sincerely.
“Have you gotten anything back from your resumes?”
I shake my head as my stomach turns. “No, I’m going to send out the majority of them at the end of the month. I’m waiting for my recommendations from the rest of my professors and then my internship. They are dragging their asses, which really upsets me since I was the primary person who transferred all the patient files to digital.”
She scoffs. “Well, honey, if they were lazy enough to let their intern do it, that has to tell you something.”
“You’re probably right. I’m going to send another email reminder.”
I hesitate, though. The longer I wait, the longer it pushes back whatever might happen. I don’t want to think that Asher wouldn’t want to go with me, not with how great things are going with both the Bullies and the Assassins. He’s got two solid, great jobs, doing exactly what he wants, so how can I expect him to want to leave it all behind?
I know I shouldn’t count on it, but damn if I don’t want him to.
For me.
For us.