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The doorbell rings throughout the whole house, it sounds like so a damn cat Hailey curses under her breath and reaches over for thelike hell he didn’t wake Ryder

After I pay for our food, I place it on the kitchen counter and reach into the cabinet for the paper plates

Hailey coe "You want sos are weird and a little uncomfortable for us, I’m not really sure how to act around her because I don’t want to push too much and make her shut down

I take a slice out, put it on a plate for Hailey and then dish myself one Hailey places my bottle of water on the counter next to me, I hand her one of the plates I step around her and take a seat at the breakfast bar I chose to sit here so I could be close to her withoutit too obvious, but Hailey is already one step ahead of me She hops up on to the counter She’s close but too far away, I decide to give her the space she is keeping between us

"So," I twist the top off my water bottle, "Hoere finals?" Last I heard she orried about a few, but before everything hit the fan with us she had been staying up all hours studying When I would wake up at five in thefor practice I would have to move the books off her lap and cover her up

Hailey wipes herpaid off I passed all ret transferring?"

Hailey stares at me for a few minutes "No I loved ODU," she looks over and se works too, though But now I’ it"

My eyebrows burrow, "How come?"

She looks at me like I’m stupid "Really Mason?"

I flinch Guess that was a stupid question to ask If she’d stayed at ODU she wouldn’t run into me all the ti a bite of her pizza

I play with the label on the water bottle and answer her truthfully "I liked the classes but hated all the pressure that baseball brought with it I live, breathe, and eat baseball and I wouldn’t change it for the world, but I kind of wanted to be like every other nore kid You know? Everyone wanted me to be everywhere all at once Why do you think I ca you?"

Hailey clears her throat, "And I’ht?"

"Hailey," I warn

"I know, Mase I see that shit on Facebook all the time I was ok with it, you knohat I mean? I knew you werehos back and forth, stopping right before she hits the cabinets with her heels

"I ao to stand in front of her I lift her chin to make her look at me "I’m yours"

A tear slips from her eye, "Iaway the tear She’s hurting and I can’t bear that I’ony just a little bit; I tell her, "I love you, Boo"

Slowly I start to lean forward, I want to kiss her so badly it hurts but I don’t want her to co at my lips and then licks hers "Mason," she whispers