“I mean, she might have more exciting news.” I laugh lightly. “It’s just a try-out.”
“They are going to sign you the first day!”
I laugh. “That’s what Mav said.”
“That kid talks my ear off and he didn’t even mention this to me. I can’t believe him.”
“Well, he has a lot going on. I’m sure it slipped his mind.”
“Now we have to wait until Saturday to leave. We have to celebrate this in Charlotte!”
“I would hate for you to wait for me.” I bite my lip. “I should be done Friday at noon.”
“So, we can still leave Friday. It’s only a two-and-a-half-hour trip!”
“Okay.”
“Do you not want to go?” she asks. “Because that’s fine too, but if this is about Mav, don’t you worry about him. Mitch is coming, Misty is coming, Jo will be there, obviously, I’ll be there, Rob will be there. The last person you’ll have to hang out with is Mav.”
“It would be kind of weird if I go on a trip with you guys and ignore him.” I laugh lightly again because this is such an awkward conversation to be having with his mother.
“I assume you’re fighting, but I don’t want to pry. He’s sounded off the entire week. Not that it’s any consolation.”
“It’s not,” I say. “I don’t like knowing he’s going through things and feels like he can’t talk to me about them.”
“This is what it’s like. We push the people we love most away all the time because we think we’re shielding them from the pain, but all we’re doing is creating more of it.”
I swallow. “It sucks.”
“I know, love. So, Friday night is a yes, right? Rob is renting a party bus.”
“I’ll be there.” I laugh. “I can’t miss a party bus!”
“Right? That’s what I’m saying.”
“Thanks, Milly. Talking to you always helps.”
“I’m always here. Mav is my son and I love him, but even if he wasn’t in the picture, I’d be here for you. I hope you know that.”
“I do.”
“Okay. See you soon! Love you.”
“Love you.”
When we hang up, I start to cry. This extended family that I adore so much is another thing I’m going to lose if I lose my friendship with Mav. I know Milly means it when she says she’ll always be there for me, but it’ll be different.
It’s always different.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
We all pile into the party bus after saying our hellos to one another. Milly grabs my hand and Misty’s and announces we’re sitting in the back and tells the guys to be in charge of the playlist for the first hour of the trip. We’ll be in charge the second hour. It’s just as well. I wouldn’t know what to play and I’d end up playing whatever Maverick listens to since he’s practically in charge of the playlist at the house anyway. As the three of us head to the back, I glance over at Misty, who looks at me at the same time and shoots me a “this will be interesting” look. I smile. We sit down—Misty, Milly, and me—in the back row of the bus.
“Well, if you’ve ever wanted to try out stripping,” I say, looking at the pole in front of us.
“Been there, done that. It’s actually a really good workout,” Milly says.
I laugh. “Oh my God.”
“I saw the funniest video about a guy saying that if we want to learn to strip we should go to the strip club and have an actual stripper teach us,” Misty says. “I thought about it until I remembered that the only time I’ve ever been to a strip club was with these idiots and I wanted to die.” She looks at us. “With the baseball team, I mean.”
“You couldn’t pay me enough to go to any kind of club with the baseball team,” Milly says.
“Yeah. Lesson learned.” Misty crosses her arms, then looks over at me. “So, professional soccer, huh?”
“It’s just a try-out. I don’t want to get my hopes up.” I bite my lip.
“They’re going to sign you,” Milly says.
“Yeah, you can’t think like that. Manifest that shit, girl,” Misty adds. “You’re going to get a badass contract and travel everywhere. How exciting.” She smiles wide. “What does Mavy think about losing his best friend?”
I know Misty and I know it’s a genuine question, but the words are all wrong right now and I feel a punch in the gut from it. My eyes well up without warning and I wipe them quickly, letting out a breath.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that in a bad way at all,” Misty leans over and sets a hand on mine. “I think it’s safe to say you guys have an unbreakable friendship.”
“Is that what you’re worried about?” Milly asks. “You guys losing your friendship when you join the real world? You know that won’t happen.”
“It’s a lot of things.” I wipe my face. “I guess I just don’t like change as much as I thought I did. The unknown is scary.”