Wicked Game | Grayson Dolan

12

Samantha

Seattle goes well. Grayson actually shows me around a little bit, and I'm adding it to my list of cities to revisit with Natalie. My sister is my favorite travel buddy, and we always try to take at least one twin trip a year. It's rejuvenating for us.

Now we venture down the west coast. We stop in Portland for an off-day, and the hotel rooms have outdoor hot tubs on their terraces. It's super fancy, even though my attached room with Grayson's shares it's hot tub. Which could be trouble.

Either way, I put my favorite bikini on and venture out there. Grayson is still in his post-game day recovery mode (he played a double header yesterday), so I figure I have a good amount of time to be out here by myself.

Maybe I should call my sister. I reach over the hot tub's ledge to tell Siri to call Natalie, and she picks up after the second ring.

"I was just about to call you, Sam," she says.

I smile. "Really?"

"Twin moment for sure," she says. "You read my mind from 2000 miles away."

"I miss you," I say. "We're in Portland tonight for a day off, and then we fly to San Francisco tomorrow."

"Nice. I miss you too. What are you up to now?"

"Sitting in the hot tub, and hoping Grayson doesn't come out here. Every room has a private hot tub, but my room is attached to his."

"Ugh," Natalie says. "You can't request a single room?"

"They put all of the assistants in attached rooms to their clients."

"Sounds like an HR nightmare waiting to happen."

We laugh.

"I can't wait to come home," I say. "I almost cried on the plane because I already was missing you."

"Aww," Natalie says. "I did get a little teary in the car on the way home from dropping you off. Indy and Jack cheered me up though. Then Ethan made dinner for all of us, so it was nice not having to cook."

"How are they doing?" I ask.

I can almost hear Natalie's smile through the phone. "They're great. Indy's starting to move in with Ethan, and Jack is just busy being a cute little kid."

"Anyway," Natalie says. "You should get back to relaxing in the hot tub by yourself before someone comes and ruins the solitude."

"Okay," I say. "Call you tomorrow. Love ya."

"Love ya too, twinny," she says, hanging up.

I lean my head back and close my eyes, reveling in the mixture of fresh air and the warm water.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Grayson says. "Mind if I join?"

"Go ahead," I say. "I just got off the phone with Natalie."

"Is she feeling better?"

"She sounds good," I say. "Usually I can tell by the sound of her voice. She's good."

Grayson smiles. "You know, I knew that Ethan was going to tell me he was becoming a dad before he even said the words. I just could tell that something had changed his life, and there Jack was."

"Jack is such a special little human," I say. "He's changed all of us."

"I wish I lived closer when he was born," Grayson says. "He's a great kid."

"He's a baby, of course he's great," I say.

I notice Grayson's eyes float down to my collarbone. Funny enough, that used to be his favorite spot to kiss back when we were dating. I don't know why. He just kissed it a lot.

"This feels nice compared to my cold plunge from this morning," Grayson says. He's been doing ice baths all season. I guess it's supposed to make your blood flow better, and it especially helps athletes recover after they've put their bodies to work.

"I couldn't imagine. I think I'd catch hypothermia on the first try."

Grayson chuckles. "It's not that bad. It's like jumping in Nantucket Sound when it's only May."

I smile and shake my head. "That was also when we still had our youthfulness."

"We're not that old, Sam," Grayson says.

"I know. My body just works differently now that I'm not a teenager anymore."

"I can attest to that," Grayson says. "Especially with playing baseball. I train way differently than I did in high school. Even college."

I nod. "Do you think Ethan will put Jack in baseball?"

"Maybe," Grayson says. "The kid can already hit a whiffle ball when it's tossed to him. He's got good coordination, and he's not even two yet."

"True," I say. "I think we're all a little biased about Jack, but he can do anything in my eyes."

"He's the perfect kid. A poster child, if you will," Grayson says. "Jack gives me baby fever on a daily basis."

"Tell me about it," I say. "He's quite the little charmer."

"What does he call you? Sam-Sam?"

"He's graduated from Sam-Sam," I say. "I tried to teach him my full name, and now he calls me, "Na-nantha."

Grayson laughs. "God, he is precious. Ethan really has done a great job. I wouldn't have known what to do if I was put in his position."

"Me neither," I say. "I don't even have a boyfriend. There's no way I could handle being a single mother with my job."

"I can say we do have a pretty supportive bubble of people around us. I think you'd do better than you realize."

"Well, thanks for believing in me."

"Why wouldn't I? You're incredible, Sam."

"Thank you," I say. "I guess you're kinda great too."

"I'll take that," Grayson says. "At least we're past the point where you can look at me now."

I laugh. "I was being a bit stubborn in the beginning, wasn't I?"

"Nothing I didn't expect," Grayson says. "I know I really fucked up back then, and I deserve the flack for that. I wouldn't know what to do if the roles were reversed."

"I'm going to say something very honest."

"Go ahead, I'm all ears," he says.

"If we ever find ourselves out in Nantucket for a weekend, I think I'd be capable of pretending everything was back to normal."