The Player | SPORTS ROMANCE | 18+

Chapter 29

SALVADORA DE LEON

"Mama!" Arturo yelled as he came running into the house from the back yard. "I can't find the ball."

"Have you checked under the porch chair?"

It went silent for a moment until I heard his shoes retreating. A few moments later, when he yelled out that he found it, Hazel, Ava, and I all laughed.

"I can't wait to have kids." Ava sighed, her head turned to glance out the window where Amy, Ashley, and Arturo were kicking around a soccer ball in the backyard. Arturo was baseball mad, but Hazel's girls favoured soccer. Probably because their dad, Rob, was obsessed and lugged them around to as many games as he could.

"Have you guys started officially trying yet?" I asked, placing the wine bottle on the coffee table since I was getting annoyed always having to head into the kitchen for refills.

"Kind of." Ava shrugged, avoiding eye contact.

"Kind of?" Hazel asked, curious.

"We're still using condoms."

"You're not going to get pregnant that way." I pointed out.

"Not unless the condom breaks, or you poke holes in it, but I don't recommend that." Hazel pitched in. "I thought Hunter couldn't wait to have kids."

"That's what I thought, too, but he's been really stressed with work lately." She sighed, a melancholy expression washing over her face. "I don't want to put more pressure on him than he already has. We just need to wait for the perfect moment before we start trying."

"Let me tell you, the perfect time never comes." Hazel snorted. "If you try to wait around for it, you'll find yourself waiting forever."

"I can second that." I said. "I got pregnant in the first month of my new job, and I was only twenty at the time, but I wouldn't change a single thing about it. I don't know what I would do without Arty."

"And Rob ad I were supposed to wait a few years before we tried to have another baby, but I was already pregnant with Ashley before Amy's first birthday." Hazel said. "It's difficult, but they're perfect. I wouldn't change a single thing about it either."

"I know, guys." Ava sighed, her lips quirking down at the corners. "Hunter is just stressed with work. I don't want to stress him out even more by hounding him for a baby. I want to have one when he's ready to have one as well."

"It sounds like you're both ready to have a baby to me, but both of you are too in your head to tell the other." I said. "Have you spoken to him recently about trying for a baby?"

Ava pursed her lips but before she could answer, three loud knocks sounded on the front door.

"Hold that thought." I murmured, but Ava beat me to it. No doubt eager to change the subject even though she knew that we were right.

"Expecting anyone?" Hazel asked, moving to pour herself another glass of wine.

"No." I murmured and shook my head. "It might be a delivery, but it's not scheduled to arrive for a few more days."

"Someone has been holding out on us." Ava sing-sang as she headed back into the living room with the biggest bouquet of red roses I had ever seen in her arms.

"Woah! Those look pricey!" Hazel's eyes widened as she swallowed a big gulp of wine and watched Ava place down the huge flower display in the centre of the coffee table. "Who is it from?"

"Guess." Ava grinned excitedly, as if this was some sort of game.

The worst part was that I knew exactly who these flowers were from. For one, I wasn't exactly out in the dating scene so there wasn't anyone who would want to send me flowers and secondly, there were clearly far fancier and more expensive than a regular person could afford.