Chapter 24
Twenty-Four
Serena
The alarm on my phone jolts me awake. Add to that the hotel clock and there’s no going back to sleep. I don’t even know what city we’re in. The back to back flights have taken their toll on me.
I reach my hand over to turn both of the alarms off.
It’s ridiculous I have to have so many alarms but I know myself.
I’m also not relying on Hazel to wake up.
Peering over at her bed, she’s clearly still asleep.
I could wake her up now. Or…I can use the time to take advantage of the shower and having first dibs.
That seems like a better option. Hazel has an issue with hogging all the hot water.
I tiptoe across the room to keep from disturbing my friend. The sentiment is almost fruitless because she did sleep through two alarms blaring. One day I aim to be like her. Or at least, go one night without weird dreams. I never had this problem before I started dating Bentley.
I turn the knob of the shower to hot and until steam fills the bathroom before adjusting the temperature.
The dream from last night keeps mulling over in my mind.
In it, I met a slew of girls who claimed to have been with Bentley before me.
I remember breaking down into tears in the dream.
But it seems as if the insecurities have followed me outside the subconscious. One day I won’t deal with these issues.
Stepping into the shower, I let the almost too hot water wash away the remains of the dream.
I think a lot of it stems from not talking before bed last night.
We’ve talked every night since we started dating.
Or, at least, as close to bedtime as possible.
Last night he must have forgotten. I reach for the shampoo, and squirt a dollop in my hand before lathering it in my hair.
Or, he may have tried calling after I went to bed.
I didn’t even think to check my phone when I woke up.
My eyes pop open at the realization and I’m seconds away from jumping out of the shower to check the phone in question.
Except…shampoo drips into my eyes and they are on fucking fire.
Shower revelations are always a pain in the ass.
I rush to rinse the shampoo out of my hair and quickly wash my body.
I should shave my legs since we typically wear skirts, but that’s not important right now.
As soon as my body is suds free, I step out of the shower, grab a towel from the rack and wrap it around my body.
My hair is dripping down my back, but I don’t care.
I need to squash any fears I have about us.
He mentioned he was having dinner with his mom and sister. If they said anything, it could sway our relationship. Not that Bentley is someone who is easily swayed, but those two mean everything to him. If anyone could sway our budding relationship, it’s them.
I march to the nightstand, ignore Hazel’s stirring body on her bed, and pick up my phone.
I can’t keep denying that I don’t feel more for him, and this is that fear crawling out.
I swipe the screen open and see a red bubble over the phone icon.
It’s from Bentley. He didn’t leave a message, so I close the app and open the text messages.
My heart soars at the sight of his name.
He must be waiting for me to call him back.
I press his name, and the phone rings until the voicemail picks up.
I hang up instead of leaving a message. Glancing at the time, I calculate the time difference.
I’m on the east coast, so he’s probably at practice right now.
I know they start pretty early. I’ll text him back instead.
Serena: Sorry, I fell asleep last night. I get on a flight in a little over two hours. I’ll call you after I land if I don’t hear from you before. Have a great day, Hot Stuff.
Oh my gosh. I slide my hand down my face. Did I seriously just write that? This is a time that message recall would be great. Who the hell calls someone that? He’s going to laugh so hard when he sees it. My insecurities are calmed down. For now. It’s amazing what seeing him reach out does for me.
“Why are you half naked?” Hazel grumbles from beneath her pillow. I think? “You better not have been sexting, or doing anything dirty, while you’re literally next to me. That would be a whole new level of weird for you.”
I grab a pillow from my bed and chuck it at her. “Don’t be disgusting. There’s no way in hell I’d be able to do that with you in the same room.”
“You’d be surprised what people do when they think others are asleep.” She pokes her head out enough to waggle her eyebrows at me.
A part of me wants to ask her what she’s seen, or heard.
But nope. I don’t want to go down that rabbit hole, or hear all the sordid details.
I'm sure she’ll have zero issues doling out.
“Hush and get your ass in gear.” I grab the corner of her blanket on her bed, and begin pulling it off.
“We have to head to the airport soon, and it takes you a long time to get ready.”
“You’re bossy,” she pouts. Relenting she gets out of bed and slowly makes her way to the bedroom. I mean, moving inch by inch as if she has all the time in the world.
I get ready while she’s in the shower. My vision keeps drifting to my phone. Willing a text from Bentley to come through. This long-distance thing is starting to wear on me. Looking into the travel agent business is going to be a top priority on my next day off. Something has to give.
Of course, we’re running late. That’s what happens when you let Hazel get ready last. She takes her sweet ass time and then we’re left scrambling to get our shit out of the hotel.
I swear I could pummel her right now. I have no idea what the hell takes her so long.
She doesn’t even look like she’s wearing makeup.
I swear if we are dinged for being late, I’m going to start making her take showers at night.
Or better yet…stay in my own room instead of trying to save the airline money.
It doesn’t matter now, though. We’re rushing through the airport.
Bags bouncing along behind us, and almost falling while we run to the gate we were supposed to be at twenty minutes ago.
Something catches my eye as we pass the bookstore.
They are in every airport across the world, but it’s a magazine I see, and my eyes widen.
I stop in my tracks and Hazel keeps hurrying forward.
It takes her a few minutes to realize that I’m no longer with her.
“Hey, what are you doing? We have somewhere to be right now.” She leaves her suitcase where she was standing, because sometimes she lacks common sense, and marches over to where I’m frozen.
“What is going—?” Her questions die as she sees what I’m staring at.
People push around us, trying to get to their gates.
Searching for food, or just killing time before their flight.
But my eyes are glued to the picture on the front of one of the trash gossip magazines.
It’s me. Well, I know it’s me I’m sure nobody else does.
It’s from the game Bentley played in Missouri.
The game I went to, and he pulled me out of the stands afterward.
You can’t see my face which is a bonus. But it doesn’t stop the shock that rolls through me at the fact that I’m on the fucking cover of a tabloid.
My name isn’t mentioned anywhere on the cover.
There’s a question in bold, capital letters: WHO IS THE MYSTERY WOMAN?
I didn’t realize that athletes ended up in these sort of publications, but I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.
That’s not what alarms me, though. Beneath that is: Will she be another in the long line of broken hearts?
Pictures of Bentley with other women surround the one featuring me.
It’s like a punch to the gut after my dreams last night.
These are pictures I’ve seen before. They popped up when I first started looking into who he was as a person.
But seeing them altogether, and how different they are from me.
I’m plain in comparison. Boring, and not who most athletes fall for.
I’ll never live up to those standards. I may be well traveled, but inside…
I’m still that girl from the country trying to find her place in the world.
Hazel steps between me and the rack of magazines, successfully breaking my line of sight.
“This is trash. You know that, right? They do it to rile people up.” She wraps her arm around my shoulder and pulls me toward the gate we’re supposed to be at.
Passengers won’t be boarding for a bit, but we need to get things ready.
“Don’t pay any attention to it. We need to go, though. ”
“You’re right.” I take two deep breaths and let her lead me to our flight.
“It’s nothing. Meaningless dribble.” Except, how do I know?
We see each other maybe once a week or two, and other than the phone, we aren’t able to communicate as much as I would like.
All those insecurities I pushed down earlier come bubbling back up.
Passengers will begin boarding soon. We’ve finished wiping everything down and getting the snack area ready. This really is a thankless job. I don’t think people realize all the crap we have to do before we even let them on the plane.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out and see Bentley’s name flash across the screen. I’m still stunned by the magazine cover I saw, and the only way I’ll get answers if I answer the phone. “Hello?”
“Thank God,” he breathes in relief. “Did I catch you before you take off?”
A small smile tugs at my lips. He doesn’t sound like someone who is trying to hide something. “Obviously. Otherwise I wouldn’t have answered the phone.”
He doesn’t address my smartass comment. “What did you and Hazel do last night? I tried calling but you didn’t answer.”
“We ordered in, and then I passed out.” My voice is clipped, and I hope he can’t hear it. I’m not trying to be snooty, but the images on the magazine, a real life representation of my dream, flashes across my mind.
“Well, while you’re in Austin, you’re going to relax. Except for when you meet my mom and sister. The rest of the time, we’re going to hang out at my house, binge watch TV, and have all the crazy sex we can manage in a short amount of time.”
“Mhmm,” I reply. Thirty minutes ago, that would have sounded wonderful. Thirty minutes ago, I didn’t see all his past conquests splattered across a glossy piece of paper.
“What’s wrong?” I can’t tell if he’s playing dumb, or if he really doesn’t know about the magazine cover. Surely that’s something his agent would have clued him into.
“You haven’t seen anyone else since we’ve been together, right?” I’ll be shocked if he heard the question. It comes out barely above a whisper. My fear is fueling the question.
“Why would you even ask that?” His voice is hard. Shit, I’ve offended him. “I already told you that I’ve been one hundred percent committed to you since that first day I saw you. I don’t understand what’s going on.”
Hazel walks by me and motions for me to hurry it up.
It’s almost time to get the passengers on board and situated.
I might as well do this now. If not, it’s going to eat at me the entire flight.
“There’s a, um, magazine with a picture of us from the game.
” He says something to interrupt but I don’t let him.
“And surrounding it are pictures of you with a bunch of different girls. I didn’t think they were recent, but I need to know for sure.
We can’t keep going forward unless we are on the same page. ”
“So those are the games she’s going to play.”
That catches my attention. “Who is she?”
He sighs, and I can hear the frustration he’s been holding onto. “That reporter that interviewed me after the game. Jordan said she was trouble, and this is how she’s launching her attack. I wish I knew what the hell she wanted. You know, other than stirring up shit where there is none.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about her before?” I’m hurt he didn’t divulge that information with me.
“I was hoping it would be a non-issue. And that by not giving her anything about you, she’d drop it.”
“Well, thanks for that at least.” He’s sincere. If there’s one thing I’ve become accustomed to, it’s detecting people’s bullshit. Even over the phone. “I’m sorry for coming at you. I just didn’t know what the hell was going on.”
“No, you’re right,” he concedes. “I should have told you after the crap she pulled at the game. Jordan said she latches onto up and coming rookies. If they don’t give her all the information she wants, regardless, if it doesn’t pertain to the game, she makes their life hell.”
“And now you have a target painted on your back?” This is why I didn’t want to get involved. High profile means he’ll always be scrutinized. But the way he makes me feel is completely worth it. I can weather this with him.
“Basically,” he sighs. “But I’ll take care of it. Even if it means getting a restraining order of some sort.”
“That’s good to know.” Hazel is waving her arms in the air and signals to the first passengers coming on board. “Look, I have to go. We’re boarding now. I’ll call you later.”
“Okay.” He pauses for a second, “I hope this doesn’t change your mind about us. You are the only person I want to be with.”
“I know.” And I do, but it doesn’t stop the fear of him throwing me aside because I’m what he wants for now. Either way, I won’t count us out just yet. “Bye, Bentley.”
“I’ll talk to you later, Rena.” He hangs up quickly, and I know it’s because he’s calling me by my nickname. He’s never called me that before, but it warms my heart that he feels comfortable using it with me. Especially since I was so adamantly against it when we went on that first date.
All I can do now is wait and see what happens. I’m falling for him more and more. While it’s terrifying, it’s not nearly as scary as losing him.