35. Grant #2
“If you need a spy, I’m happy being your eyes on the inside.” I sit next to Madeline on the couch, and she smiles at me. I’m glad she’s gone from Hudson’s personal chef to someone the women always include. “Just say the word.”
“That’s nice of you, Everett.” Lexi puts a slice of pepperoni on a plate and hands it my way. “Thank you for joining the cause.”
“Can I ask y’all a question? As esteemed women who interact with hockey players every day of your lives?”
“I love giving advice, just as much as I love being complimented.” Piper clasps her hands together. “What’s on your mind, Grant?”
“It involves a woman, but not in the way you think,” I say, cutting them off when all their eyes go wide.
“We were talking a lot. Hanging out, which was always a good time. I… there were—are—definitely feelings on my end. None on hers; she was very adamant that we were just friends. She said she needed some space the last time we hung out, and it was totally out of the blue. I’ve given it to her, but I think I did something wrong.
Something that made her perspective shift really quickly. ”
“Couple possible scenarios,” Lexi says. “She has a significant other, she had a major life change, or she has feelings for you too and she didn’t know how to combat them, so she needed to take a beat.”
“Hang on. Back up.” Blood pounds in my ears. The room gets hazy. “She likes me?”
“You’ve given us no details to go off of, so it’s hard to say without knowing specifics, but Lexi could be right,” Emmy says.
“Especially because it was so sudden. She might be scared of what she feels for you, and the easiest thing to do is ignore those emotions instead of explore them,” Madeline adds.
“It’s odd that it was such a quick shift.” Piper taps her cheek. “Was there a reason why she friend-zoned you so outright? That makes me want to lean toward her having a partner.”
“There would be complications if the two of us were ever romantically involved,” I say, treading carefully. “Scrutiny, potentially losing a job. That kind of thing.”
“Wait.” Piper gasps. “Is it someone high-profile?”
“I guess you could say that.” I rub the back of my neck. The bottle of wine I brought is looking really great right now. “There is attention on her, yes, because of her job.”
“It’s the president’s daughter, isn’t it? You’re the same age. She lives in DC.” Lexi’s smile is smug. “But she has security detail with her all the time, so it makes sense why you can’t be with her publicly.”
“Is that what’s in your notebook?” Madeline asks. “Her travel schedule and all the secret places you two can meet up?”
“I love this! You’re going to be like a royal family!” Piper says.
“No. No. It’s not the president’s daughter. I don’t even know that woman’s name,” I say. “It’s someone else. She never mentioned there being anyone in the picture before. Dating wasn’t… She never seemed interested in it, I guess.”
“I go back to my original statement that she developed feelings for you, realized those feelings can’t go anywhere, panicked, decided cutting off communication was easier than addressing the attraction head-on, and now here we are,” Lexi says.
“My god.” I squint. “You got all of that from what I told you?”
“It’s really not that hard to put together,” Emmy says.
“If that’s the case, what do I do?”
“Nothing,” all four women say, and I frown.
“You just said she likes me!”
“Grant.” Piper’s voice is gentle, and she puts a hand on my arm. “She’s stuck between her attraction to you and a lifestyle she’s chosen for herself. She doesn’t want to give that up for anyone.”
The words hit me like a freight train, but she’s right.
How many times has Amelia told me she cares about her career? That she would never give it up for a man? How often does she talk about not wanting to dim her accomplishments and success for another person?
All these months I’ve been focusing on how I felt without ever stopping to take a second to figure out what might be going through her head.
Fuck, I’m selfish.
“Oh.” I nod. It feels like someone is kicking me in the ribs. “I never considered that.”
“I’m sorry.” Piper sighs. “I didn’t mean to be so blunt.”
“Don’t be sorry. I needed to hear it. This conversation has been very enlightening,” I say.
“At least it’s not you,” Lexi offers. “She clearly liked spending time with you, and that’s a nice thing to know.”
“I guess so.” I groan and lean back on the couch. “Thanks for this perspective.”
“Would you wait for her?” Emmy asks, and my eyes meet hers. “Even if it took five or ten years, if you knew that one day she’d be able to act on her attraction to you, would you wait for her?”
“Yes,” I answer without any hesitation. “I’d wait a thousand years just to spend one minute with her in the way that I want.”
“Good.” Emmy smiles. “You’ve never struck me as a quitter, Grant Everett.”
Madeline opens the wine bottle. We go through two pizzas. Piper paints my fingernails with clear polish, and Lexi gives me a hydrating face mask to put on.
The night is fun, but Amelia lingers in the back of my mind. She might have pulled away because she doesn’t want to put herself into a situation that will cost her her job, but I don’t give up on people. I’m optimistic to a fault, and I can be patient.
I will be patient.
She’s worth the wait.