Ella's POV- October 2019
Once we got to the hotel, he was quickly checked in and given a hotel room key.
"Ready?"
I smiled up at him.
"I can wait down here" I teased as I stood up.
He rolled his eyes as I laughed.
"Lead the way" I told him.
I followed him into the elevator and leaned against the wall as the door closed.
"You okay?" I asked when I noticed his hands immediately grip onto the rail.
"Yeah, I just don't really like elevators"
Makes sense.
"Have you ever been stuck in one of them?" I wondered.
"Yeah"
There it is.
"For like 5 hours"
Gross.
"And we're here," I said as the door opened.
We stepped outside and I watched as he swiped his room key to open the door. He pushed the door open and turned to me.
"Ladies first"
I walked into the room and turned to look at Gavin when he closed the door.
"Do you unpack your stuff?" I asked.
"Yes"
Cool.
"You can take a seat wherever"
I took a seat on the small couch and watched him pick up his suitcase and set it on the bench at the end of the bed.
"Do you want to watch TV?"
I shook my head.
"We can talk," I said.
He smiled and unzipped his suitcase.
"Well, what do you want to talk about?"
I leaned back against the seat.
"How long has it been since you've shaved?" I wondered.
"I was hoping you wouldn't notice"
I laughed.
"It's kind of hard to not" I noted.
Even though he was blonde, he did not grow blonde facial hair.
"My plan was to shave it off last night, but I fell asleep"
"I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, I was just curious" I stated.
I sat up when a clothing item of his caught my attention.
"Oh, good, you brought a costume," I said.
He smiled.
"What are you talking about, this is a regular outfit"
I watched as he opened the closet door and pulled out a couple of hangers.
"I never pictured you to casually wear a Where's Waldo kind of shirt out in public" I noted.
Much to my surprise, he giggled, which in turn caused his cheeks to flush up.
"With a matching beanie," I added.
"What's your costume?"
"A gumball machine," I told him.
I pulled my phone out of my pocket.
"I bought a red dress at a thrift store and glued pom poms to the upper torso area" I explained.
Once the picture on my phone loaded, I stood up.
"You'll see it tomorrow," I said as I handed him my phone.
He took my phone and looked at the picture.
"That's creative"
"It's a good thing I got a short-sleeved dress" I noted as he handed me back my phone.
"How do you keep warm?"
"I would layer up, but this bad boy prevents me from doing so" I replied gesturing to my arm.
He nodded.
"Most of my sweaters don't fit me, so I just have to work with it. Thankfully, it hasn't been too cold, but it is expected to get colder" I said.
"Yeah, it is"
It'd be chilly tomorrow.
"Vests, shawls, and blankets are my best friends at the moment," I told him.
If it got really cold, I'd wear my teddy coat over my vest. The sleeve on that coat was big enough for me to 'layer' on.
"How long will you have the cast on for?"
"Fingers crossed I can get it off after Thanksgiving break" I answered.
He nodded.
"What about physical therapy?"
I no longer felt any discomfort when I moved my arm up or down.
"Every other week, but once I get the cast removed it will be once or twice a week" I replied.
"When is the semester over?"
Uhhhhhh
"The third week of December" I remembered
"And you're seeing a physical therapist in LA?"
"Yeah, my mom's arranged all of that," I said.
He disappeared into the closet.
"Speaking of your mom, she mentioned you'll be home for the long weekend"
"Yes," I confirmed.
He peaked out.
"I'll be in LA for Veterans day too, and I'm staying with Nora since CT will still be Virginia Beach"
"Oh, he did end up going home?" I questioned.
He nodded before disappearing into the closet once more.
"Yeah, he had something to work out, but he'll be back for Thanksgiving"
"So who's staying with Nora now?" I wondered.
Cause I'm pretty sure she was not staying with mom and dad. I talked to her yesterday evening while she was making dinner in her kitchen.
"Josie"
Josie was my older sister, and most likely his nutritionist.
"So what's the deal with you and Cody? If you don't mind me asking"
Huh?
"What do you mean?" I asked.
He smiled.
"Why is he terrified of you?"
Oh, that.
"He's an idiot," I told him.
"Well yeah, obviously, but why is he afraid of you?"
I clicked my tongue.
"Cody and I used to get along really well. Carolina is my best friend, Claudia's cousin" I told him.
He peaked out of the closet.
"So she's Sonia's cousin too?"
"Yes" I confirmed"
Sonia (and Stella's) dad Isaac, Carolina's dad, Andre and Claudia's dad, Mateo were siblings. Andre and Mateo were twins, Isaac was the oldest.
"Yeah, Carol and Claudia's dads are twins" I explained.
He nodded and stepped back into the closet.
"He's been nothing but a dick to Carol. I honestly don't know why she gave him a second chance" I stated.
"They do have a child together, Ella"
So?
"Do you know the whole story?" I wondered.
"No"
It wasn't really a secret, so it was storytime!
"They met while he was in Triple-A and she was a student-athlete at the University of Oklahoma," I told him.
"What'd she play?"
"Softball" I answered.
I think she played outfield...or was she a catcher?
"They were in a relationship when he got called up. He didn't call her the first couple of days and she just pushed it on him being too busy and adjusting to the big leagues. Her class got canceled one morning, so she gave him a call hoping to catch him before he headed out to practice. Someone answered the Facetime call, and it was not Cody" I said wiggling my eyebrows.
"Oh shit"
"She realized she was late as she packed up after graduation. There was a couple of days before the Women's College World Series started, so she flew to California hoping to talk to Cody. She reached out to Chris after multiple attempts of trying to talk to Cody, and he got her two tickets. Carol knew the relationship was over but felt he needed to know she was pregnant. Your asshole teammate didn't believe her and even accused her of cheating before getting security involved" I stated.
"That's crazy"
I hummed.
"Crazy is how things work out. It's unfortunate how things went for Carol, but thankfully she's got a supportive family who helped her raise that little boy of hers. Cody, he's one of baseball's top players, and in his words, 'absolutely miserable" I told Gavin.
"Is it true he got a restraining order against that girl he was dating?"
I nodded.
"Yeah, I heard Nora mention it to our parents when I broke my arm" I replied.
"Was she really Sonia's best friend?"
I pursed my lips.
"That friendship was always onesided" I answered.
He put his phone to charge and then went to put his toiletries in the bathroom.
"Well that sucks"
I shrugged.
"Kind of a change of subject, but I obviously noticed you have a note-taker even though you signed with your left hand"
So he noticed.
"I'm ambidextrous" I disclosed.
"Oh, really. How cool"
"I favor my right hand though" I added.
I asked for a note-taker because I believed I'd fall behind without one. Even though I could write with my left hand, I was a bit slower at taking notes with that hand.
"So there's something I want to talk to you about"
"And that is?" I wondered as he disappeared into the closet.
He stepped out of the bathroom.
"Your brother actually"
...
"What about him?" I asked.
"So uh, remember the day of the gender reveal you caught me in the roof?"
Yes, I still don't know how he got up there.
"Yeah" I slowly replied.
He was 'clearing his mind' while waiting for the washing machine to wash his clothes.
"I had you help me tighten the water hose in the backyard because they sprayed me" I stated.
He chuckled and nodded.
"I didn't tell you, but your brother eavesdropped on our entire conversation, and when I headed back in he told me that you were still hung up on your ex"
Why would Theo say that?
"I honestly don't know why Theo said that to you" I admitted.
Gavin shrugged as he stuffed his hands into the pocket of his hoodie.
"Up until the accident, my brother did not know why James broke up with me," I told him.
And I felt comfortable with Gavin to tell him.
"As it turns out, James was paid by his frat brothers to approach me," I said.
His eyes widened.
"Are you serious?"
"Our whole relationship was influenced by greed on his part. He claims that at first, he did what his frat brothers told him because he really needed the money, but the more he got to know me he started developing feelings" I told him.
"How did you find out?"
I sat up a bit.
"His housemate overheard James talking with one of his frat brothers, and he told me" I replied.
Just then, Gavin's phone started ringing. He swiftly pulled his phone out of his pocket and silenced it.
"Sorry, continue"
"I figured it was just nonsense that his housemate had overheard, so I just brushed it aside and let the night continue. It wasn't until we were in his room, and he tried to set the scene that I noticed a tiny green light right across from his bed, on his roommates' desk. I walked across the room and picked up the camera only to see it was recording" I said.
Gavin scrunched up his nose.
"I shut off the camera and as I went to pull the SD card, he tried to yank the camera from my grasp. I screamed at him to let go of me because he was hurting me, and in a matter of seconds the door barged open. James immediately let go of me, and I took the SD card and grabbed my purse. As Liam went to ask me if I was okay, James told me to 'get the fuck out'. He was kind of my ride back to campus, and luck was not on my side because my phone was dead. Liam told me he'd take me, and when I plugged in my phone to charge when I got to my dorm, I saw I had a text from James. In that text, he told me if I didn't give him that SD card then we were over" I told him.
As I finished, Gavin pursed his lips before chewing on his lower lip.
"I didn't give him the SD card" I stated.
I still had it.
"What a fucking dick"
I shrugged.
"I'm just glad I saw his true colors before I slept with him" I noted.
"A person who claims to care for you does not do what he did"
Exactly.
"I cried for two weeks over this situation, and then I just pushed it aside and set my focus on school and skating," I said.
"I take it he's the person who called you nonstop the weekend I met you?"
It was hard not to notice my mood change.
"Correct" I confirmed.
He took a deep breath before plopping down on the bed.
"It's why I was annoyed" I explained.
He smiled.
"Oh I remember that"
I stuck my tongue out at him.
"How long did he think he would be able to hide that from you?"
I shrugged.
"Enough about him, are you ready to go?" I asked.
"Yeah, just let me put on my jacket and we can head out"
As he put on his jacket, he turned to me.
"So where are we going?"
"To eat" I replied.
He smiled before just staring at me.
"Yes?" I questioned after a couple of seconds of his intense staring.
He scratched his jaw.
"This is more than just a friendship, right?"
I smiled.
"I sure hope so" I answered.
He nervously chuckled.
"So this dinner, is it a date?"
"You tell me" I replied.
"I'd really like for it to be a date"
"Then it's a date," I said.
He smiled.
"Then let's go on this date"