"Aaron this is beautiful!" I said as I looked at the bracelet that he had put on my wrist.
"I'm glad that you like it!" He said with a little smile.
We had been dating for the last four months and things couldn't get better. As the baseball season was coming to an end we had been getting closer and he had introduced me to his parents. I was so nervous but they were so lovely and they had take me under their wings as if I was their daughter too. Even though Aaron and I had try to keep the relationship as private as possible most of his teammates knew and of course our close family and friends, but it wasn't like a social media kind of thing, it was the best according to Stephanie, and I honesty didn't want the attention that being Aaron's girlfriend would bring.
The Yankees were doing good and it looked like they were going to battler the wild card with the Houston Astros, we were all hoping for the best and my dad's contract had been renewed for the next season which meant that we would be coming back to New York, because my dad had decided that we were going back to Miami for the off season , I was trying to make my college schedule so that I could do online classes during the summer so that I could travel often enough with them.
"This is your last day off in the season, well before the wildcard game!" I said before taking a sip of my juice.
"Yes.." Aaron said expectantly.
"I was thinking that maybe you want to like do something today?"
"Being with you, that's all I want to do today" He said taking my hand and massaging them before kissing them.
Every little thing that Aaron did just made me fall in love with him more and more. There were not enough words in my vocabulary to describe the many things that this man could make me feel.
"So, if you guys don't win, when are you going back home?" This was the last thing I wanted to talk about in my very limited alone time with Aaron but, I need to know what may be coming up so that I could be prepare.
"I don't really know, I was hoping that you could help me out with that," He said with a little smile.
"What do you mean?" I said genuinely confused.
"Well, if we lose that I hope we don't, season is over."
"Yes"
"Well if the season is over, Maybe I can stay a couple of days so we can explore the city"
"I think that's a good idea!"
"I mean you'll be going to Miami and I'll go home so," He stopped talking when he saw my more than unhappy face.
"What's wrong?" Aaron asked.
"Nothing, is just that this last couple of months had been so amazing and now the season is coming to an end, and you know, we'll go back to our lives, " I couldn't help it, I was sad, I really wanted to find away to stay with Aaron but the truth was that I had to go back to Miami and he had to go back to California.
"Isabelle, don't look at it like that! I don't want you to think that this is it, that we had a good time during the season and now that it's over we'll just go our separate ways, I love you and I want this relationship to work, but I know that you need to go home and go to school and finish your career and I have to go home too, we'll find away to be together through this I promise you, this is not how it ends." He was holding my face in his hands and I could see that he was being honest with me.
"Promise me that you'll stop thinking about that, it'll all work out I promise!" Aaron said.
"I love you" I manged to say as I felt the tears of joy filling my eyes.
"I love you too baby" Aaron reached down and kissed my lips.
*******
We were at Aaron's apartment, somehow after we got back from our launch date we fell asleep.
A loud sound woke me up. at first I was unsure of what it was until I finally realized that it was my phone ringing and then Aaron's phone started to ring too.
I manged to move enough to reach my phone since Aaron was holding me.
"Hello!" I said still sleepy.
"Where are you, honey?" I heard my dad's voice in the other side of the phone.
"I'm at Aaron's, what's going on?" I tried to get out Aaron't grip but he was just too strong even when sleeping.
"Steph has been calling him" Dad said.
"We kind of felt asleep, did something happened?"
"Steph says that we'll meet you guys there in half an hour"
"Okay..? is everything good dad?" I was starting to worry.
"It's better that we deal with this in person," Was the last thing he said before hanging the phone.
I woke Aaron up and told him about my dad's call, I made a fresh pot of coffee and gave Aaron a mug, we were seating on his bed drinking the coffee and going over anything and everything that may be going on and nothing seen serious enough for my dad to make his way here with Stephanie.
"I give up!" I said after twenty solid minutes of rambling.
"I honestly don't know!" Aaron said before taking a long sip of his coffee.
The house phone rang and Aaron picked it up to let the guy from the lobby know that my dad and Stephanie could come up.
A couple of minutes later they knock on the door and I went up to get it open.
I greeted my dad and say hi to Stephanie before she made her way into the apartment.
"Guys we are under heat" Was the first thing she said looking for something in her ipad.
I looked at Aaron who's face expression was as confused as mine.
"Explain?" I said waiting for what Stephanie had to say.
"Your little romantic date is all over the news and it's not good!"
I looked at Aaron as I felt how this wasn't good for him.
"What do you mean?" I asked Stephanie.
"As you guys may know, Aaron has been very popular among the ladies and the Yankees were actually planning a publicity Stunt during this off season" Stephanie said still looking into her ipad.
I looked at Aaron because the whole publicity stunt was new to me but he didn't look surprise so he probably knew about it and hadn't told me.
"I mean this is not news for you guys, so I don't really know how you guys were so careless today," Stephanie gave me an expecting look.
"Wait, what do you mean this is not news for us, what are you talking about?" I said and I couldn't help it but look at Aaron who was starting to walk towards me.
"Honey relax" My dad said from the kitchen I had even forgotten that he was there.
"Aaron, you didn't tell her?" Stephanie asked.
"Aaron?" I asked my eyes fixed on him.
"Isabelle, please!"
"What was it?" I didn't let him finish.
"What?"
"The publicity stunt?" I asked trying to keep myself calm.
"It's not important, I didn't want to do it anyways"
"Aaron, that's not what I asked.
"They wanted him to date a famous model so that he wouldn't lose relevance in the media during the off season," Stephanie said after Aaron remind silent for a couple of seconds.
As I heard Stephanie's words all I wanted to do was run out of that apartment all the sudden the space was too small, and I just didn't want to be in front of anybody as I felt that my heart was breaking just a few hours ago Aaron and I were trying to find ways to make our relationship work during the off season but now knowing that he knew what real plans were as he was laying in bed with me making plans just hurt me in a whole other level.
"Dad, I want to go home!" was all I managed to say as I felt how my eyes were filling with tears.
"Isabelle, please you need to hear me out" He grabbed my hand ever so gentle, but this time far from making me feel safe his touch made me want to run.
"No, I don't want to, I can't really look at you right now Aaron" I went to the leaving room and grabbed my purse and made my way back towards the door.
"Isabelle, it's nothing final it was mostly an idea," Stephanie tried to stop me but it was too late I really didn't want to hear anything from anybody.
"We need to talk about this you can't just live" Aaron was standing in front of the door as I tried to leave.
"Let me go, please just let me go" My body was against his and he was hugging me. I felt his lips on top of my head and for a second I though of letting my guard down and stay but I needed to get away and cry myself to sleep away from Aaron.
I knew that I was probably pushing my luck, I knew he was just in another level and I was just a simple little girl but this news had hit me differently.