Page 84 of Dibs
“Honestly, I thought they already had. It’s been several months, right?”
“Yeah, but we were taking things slow. He has kids too and we just wanted to make sure, you know?”
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“But things are no longer slow,” Jamie stated.
I blinked. “Okay?”
She held up her left hand, a massive diamond shining in the evening sun.
“Oh, wow,” I breathed. “Congrats.”
“It was all so sudden. I wasn’t expecting it at all because, like I said, he hasn’t met Jase and Cammie.”
“But you said yes.” It wasn’t a question given the rock that was blinding me.
“I did, because it feels right even though we haven’t been dating long.”
“I know what you mean,” I said, thinking about Gage. Staring at Jamie’s engagement ring sparked an idea. I wanted to spend forever with Gage, and I wanted the entire world to know. We were buying a house together, but why not add a little more bling to our lives?
* * *
Grabbingthe notes off my desk, I made my way to the set, ready to go live for the pre-game broadcast. The Padres were playing the Giants, and one point I had covered was how to beat Aron Parker at the plate. I wasn’t an expert, but it helped that I had played with him for half a season on the Rockies.
Me: Still can’t hit them outside?
Aron: LOL!!! What the fuck? Are you trying to scout me?
Me: Throw me a bone. It’s for the fans.
Aron: I’m not going to tell you how to do your job motherfucker.
Me: I will take your hostility as a sign that I’m correct and you can’t hit outside.
Aron: You know damn well that I can hit anything thrown at me.
Walking on set, I took a seat across from Mark, the PadresLivehost.
“Hey, Chase,” he greeted.
“Evening, Mark. How’s it going?”
“Good. Think the Padres will win tonight?”
“I’m not sure,” I admitted. The Padres were having a great season, sitting at number two in the division behind the Dodgers. The Giants were third, but only a few games behind the Padres. “But it will definitely be a good game.”
“You’ve got that right.” He stacked the papers in front of him. “Have any plans for the 4th?”
I did have plans for the 4thof July. Plans Gage didn’t fully know about. “We have family coming into town and are having a party at our new place,” I answered Mark.
“Cool. We’re going to Tahoe to catch the fireworks show there.”
If things went as planned, there would be fireworks at my house too.
* * *
The game wentinto extra innings and after doing the post-game show and discussing how Aron had hit a home run in the tenth to pull ahead, leading to a Padres loss, I drove home. I was exhausted as I opened the door. It was after midnight as I threw my keys in a bowl near the front door, slipped off my shoes, and made my way to the bedroom. I’d expected Gage to be asleep like I assumed Tyler and Dylan were, but he was sitting up reading in bed as I entered our room.
