CHAPTER 47
MAPLE
“Girl, we need to tie up that shirt,” Scarlett says as she takes me in.
Thankfully, I was able to get Scarlett’s information from Everly, and we’ve been talking all week. She’s been my insider as well as Gretchen, both of them giving me the confidence to keep pushing through and wearing Graydon down—that is, until I broke after the silence got too strong.
It hasn’t been easy. There have been nights when I’ve cried myself to sleep, desperate to hear from him, just a text, any kind of text, but he’s gone radio silent.
And that silence has destroyed me. If it wasn’t for the contract that I signed and the obligation I have to fulfill, there is no way I would be here.
I would prefer to be in my apartment, buried in my bed, possibly with Butterfinger Bites surrounding me.
But now, I have to make a spectacle in front of an entire stadium and a pit full of cameras ready to capture a moment between us. A moment that I know is not going to be real, despite how much I want it to be.
And the worst of it all…what if he doesn’t go through with the obligation? What if I show up and he doesn’t?
Because what if he doesn’t walk over to me?
What if he doesn’t come to say hi?
What if he leaves me stranded out on the field, cameras pointed at me all alone?
Or worse, what if…what if he comes over just for the cameras, leans in, kisses me, and reminds me of all the love I have for this man, only for him to coldly pull away and leave it at that?
Either way…I’m the one who loses.
But he warned me of this, didn’t he? He told me I was going to get hurt. Might as well finally come to terms with that.
“Here,” Scarlett says as she pulls a hair tie out of her purse.
I chose to wear one of the jerseys that Gretchen gave me, but it’s kind of big. I paired it with some cute jean shorts and white tennis shoes, and I put my hair into two loose French braids to keep it from blowing in my face.
“Turn around for me.” I turn around, and Scarlett gathers the jersey in the back and ties it with the hair tie. “I’m just going to slip the knot under the shirt so it will look cute.” She does just that and adjusts the shirt so it shows off an inch of my skin. “Is that okay?”
“I don’t know. Does it look dumb?”
She smiles and shakes her head. “No, you actually look really hot.” She then pulls her phone out and points it in my direction. She takes a picture and shows it to me. The shirt is much tighter, showing off my frame better, which I appreciate, but God, the look on my face is terrified.
“I look so scared.”
“Yes, but that’s okay. We’re not in the public eye just yet.”
“This is a bad idea, Scarlett. I’m going to be humiliated.”
“Stop that. The minute he sees you, he’s going to come back. I know he is.”
I shake my head, not so sure of that. “No, he doesn’t…he doesn’t want me,” I say, my voice choking up.
“Don’t.” Scarlett points her finger at me. “Do not doubt yourself. I know you gave him a choice and trust me, he will make the right one.”
“We’re ready for you,” Corinne, one of the public relations girls, says as she gestures for us to follow her.
My eyes widen as I look at Scarlett.
“You’re going to be okay, I promise,” she says. “We’re about to be in the public eye now. Just smile and try not to be nervous. He’ll come over. I know it.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
“Then we’ll wait for him outside the locker room and surprise attack him. I’ll go for the jugular, and you can go for the crotch. A one-two punch from us both at the same time will have him rethinking his decisions pretty quickly.”
I chuckle and lean into her, grateful I have her for this moment and I’m not doing it by myself.
If she wasn’t here, I would for sure have invited Everly, even though Hank suggested he could go with me.
I told him that wouldn’t be a good idea, and I even had to have a talk with him on Friday about boundaries and that I appreciated him as a friend, but I didn’t need him looking out for me.
If he couldn’t accept my relationship with Graydon, then we couldn’t be friends.
He wasn’t happy about it, but he said he would work on his feelings toward Graydon. Not that it really matters at this point, but at least I settled that.
Together, Scarlett and I make our way through the tunnel and out onto the field. The pristine quality of the turf, the white lines, the enormity of the stadium, it’s…it’s incredible.
How can Graydon come out here and play the game he loves every week without getting nervous? Because holy cow.
Not all of the seats are filled just yet, but there are enough fans watching the players warm up that you can hear cheers, catcalls, and mocking jokes coming from every angle.
And as I become more and more visible, I can hear those cheers and catcalls increase while a gaggle of phones point in my direction.
I just ignore it, though. That’s what Gretchen has taught me to do this past week while I took her crash course in media training.
Honestly, given how things started with her, I thought that she was a complete bitch, but in all fairness, she was just doing her job.
In reality, she’s a really nice person and wants nothing more than for Graydon and me to be happy.
She’s played a huge part in getting me through this week and preparing me for today, despite what the outcome might be.
“Right over here,” Corinne says as she directs us to a sectioned-off part of the sidelines, right near the end zone where the Foghorns are warming up.
“Thank you,” Scarlett says as we walk right up to the sectioned-off square.
“Where is he?” I ask, scanning all the players and looking for his number, trying not to look desperate even though I am. I just want to see him, even if he doesn’t want to see me.
“Over there.” Scarlett points toward the opposite end of the field, where he’s bent over, stretching his hamstrings out.
My eyes fall on him, and my stomach twists in knots as he lifts up, his hair just long enough to fall over his forehead before he pushes it out of his face and twists his body, stretching his lower back.
There is a group of fans in the first row of the stands trying to get his attention, holding up signs and footballs, looking for a signature.
When he turns toward them—because they’re calling out his name—he waves to them, and it’s so cute as the little boy in the very front jumps up and down in excitement.
Graydon picks up a football and asks one of the trainers for something. The trainer takes a Sharpie out of his pocket, and Graydon quickly signs the football before handing it to the trainer and pointing at the little boy.
The trainer takes it over to the little boy, who hugs the football and starts crying.
“Oh God,” I whisper. “I don’t think I can take that.”
“He does that all the time,” Scarlett says. “One of the few players who don’t care about wearing out their autograph for kids. He’s one of the good ones.”
“I know,” I say, staring at him. “It’s why I love him.”
Just then, he turns toward us, and my stomach lurches when he spots me, his expression morphing into surprise as his eyes narrow in on my shirt, his number in bold on my chest.
“I think it’s safe to say he sees you,” Scarlett whispers.
“Yeah, I think he does, but he’s…he’s not moving over here.”
“Give him a second. He might still be stretching.”
He stands taller, and he says something to the trainer who delivered the ball. The trainer nods, and then Graydon turns his back on me and walks away.
Embarrassment fills me immediately as I realize that even though I told him he could choose his own path, this isn’t some magical moment—where he spots me, walks up to me, and kisses me because the minute his eyes land on me, all he can think about is claiming me.
Nope, instead, he walks away the moment I come into view.
“I…I don’t think I can stand here and keep a smile on my face,” I say, covering my mouth like Gretchen told me to do when talking so people can’t decipher what I’m saying.
“Maybe he…maybe he’s coming back.”
“He went into the tunnel,” I say.
“He could still come back.”
“Scarlett, come on.”
“Okay, yeah, umm, let’s just wait a second before we leave. I know Gretchen wouldn’t want people to think there’s something wrong between the two of you. Then we can go to our seats—”
“And watch the game? There’s no way,” I say, trying to keep my face neutral. “I can’t sit through this game and put on a happy face with all the cameras pointed at me.”
“I know, but you already showed your face, so people will be looking for you in the stands. You know what, let me see if I can have Gretchen get us into one of the suites. We can show your face on and off, but you can hang in the back for the most part with me. That way, it doesn’t stir any trouble, and from there, you can decide what you want to do. ”
“Okay, yeah. Thank you.”
Scarlett puts her arm around me. “Of course. I’m here for you, girl.
” She squeezes me, and then we both stare out at the field where Hutton is warming up on the twenty-yard line.
He waves to Scarlett, and I’m so caught up in their love for each other that I don’t notice the tall figure running in my direction until a cacophony of cheers erupts in the stadium.
“Oh God,” Scarlett says just as Graydon stops right in front of me.
My heart skips a beat as he closes the space between us and says, “Hey, beautiful.”
Oh God, don’t cry.
Whatever you do, do not cry.
“Hey, you,” I answer as I stare up at him in complete awe that he came back.
That he’s choosing to be near me.
“Thanks for coming to the game.”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” I say as I can feel the cameras and practically everyone in the stadium watching our every move, but it all fades away as I stand there, talking to him.
“Listen, I have a note for you.” He takes my hand in his, and he places a folded-up piece of paper in my palm. “Read it privately, where no one can take pictures over your shoulder, okay?”