Page 26 of The Comeback

This is a good thing, I tell myself. I need to get my mind off Ava. Since talking to Jenna on the beach, I’ve been thinking about the last text Ava sent me, a week after she broke up with me. I know you hate this. I do too. But I really believe it’s for the best. The easiness to my relationship with Ava was still there when I let the hurt fall away on Sunday, along with the heat I remembered crackling between us from our first date back in high school. I was on the brink of offering to stick around and sleep on her couch on Sunday night to make sure she was okay, so her showing her exhaustion was a great excuse to extricate myself fast and keep my heart safe from her.

But as I drove home, I wasn’t thinking about how good it could be now for us if Ava hadn’t left. I was wondering what would have happened if I’d answered any of her calls and texts after she broke up with me. If we’d stayed friends, and after college if we might have ended up back together.

And that’s why I need to get my mind off her. How can I be contemplating letting myself fall back in love with someone who couldn’t handle the hard? Just because I’m playing professionally now and have a great contract doesn’t mean the hard is over. I can’t trust that Ava won’t run away again when she can’t handle something.

I ring the doorbell at Hayden’s place, and she answers immediately. She laughs at the surprised look on my face. “Sorry,” she says, her tone sounding nervous. “I got the time wrong, so I’ve been ready for half an hour.”

I relax and grin. I’ve been wary, yes, but her easy honesty feels genuine, and that’s a good sign. I try for a joke. “You can admit to me you’re just hungry. Trust me. I get it.”

She laughs, leading the way out of the condo before I get a good look at it. “You caught me.”

We walk to the truck, her professional look reminding me of Ava. Black pants, like Ava wore at the dinner party, but these ones skinnier. Hayden has on a draping tank top that shows off her muscular shoulders and arms. One thing looking over her Instagram feed has shown me is that she’s committed to the healthy lifestyle of an elite athlete.

I open the door of my truck for her, holding out a hand if she needs it to climb in. She’s wearing high heels. And while she does smile and put her hand in mine, she has no trouble sliding into the truck easily. The other night I had to almost lift Ava into the truck. A day full of allergy medications, blood work, and scratch tests had exhausted her. So then, of course, my brain reminds me of the way she used to grab on to the door panel handle and hop up into the old truck I drove in high school. I push that thought far away. I’ve dated so few women, especially past the first date, that I’m not sure if this constant comparison is something I’ve always done or if it’s because Ava’s been at the forefront of my mind the last couple of weeks.

I try for positive thoughts. Hayden’s been easygoing so far. I let out a breath of relief at that as I round the front of the truck to get in.

When we get to the restaurant where Hayden made the reservation, we’re led to a table in a back corner. It’s upscale, and not exactly a place I frequent, but I can get behind impressing someone on a first date or coming somewhere like this for a special occasion.

We fall into easy conversation about collegiate sports. After the waiter comes to take our orders, Hayden pulls out her phone. “I’m sorry, but it’s kind of my job to get a picture of us tonight so I can post later.” The grimace I thought I was hiding must have shown because she rushes on. “We don’t have to, of course, if you don’t want to. I thought it might go a long way to show people the real relationship, that we’re dating and getting to know each other and that thing with your ex isn’t a big deal.” The words spill out faster and faster, and then she laughs, the same nervous one from when I first picked her up.

I force a smile. She’s right. That’s why Claire said Hayden and I should go out soon. I’ve already convinced myself I’m going along with Claire’s plans, so there’s no need to go around and around about it. My stomach twists with a discomfort at using Hayden this way, to spin a story. But she is willing and I do like her… I push the unwelcome thoughts away.

I try to relax and make my smile more genuine. Hayden was fun to talk to at the game, and up until now we’ve had a good time. Just go with it, Jett. “Right, of course.”

Her shoulders fall slightly in relief, and she gets up and sits in the chair next to me. I put my arm on the back of it and lean in toward her. She takes longer than I want angling the phone and adjusting us both for the low light in the restaurant. Long enough that a waiter comes by and asks if we’d like him to take it.

Hayden agrees immediately but then hops up to stand next to him, adjusting how he’s holding the phone. I take a deep breath and remind myself that this is Hayden’s career. Ironically, Ava’s words buzz around in my head. I wouldn’t expect the most popular guy in the state to understand the uphill battle Gabriella’s facing. I can admit I was unfair about that aspect and that holding a grudge against Hayden for making sure her brand is successful is unfair as well. But I can also admit that it’s not my thing.

She drops back into the seat next to me, taking another few seconds to set up her own pose before telling the waiter to take several shots. He hands her phone back, and she thanks him before he walks off.

“Thank you,” she says to me. She puts her phone in her purse, and I warm to the fact that even though taking the picture was kind of an ordeal, at least she doesn’t flick through the pictures right now to decide which one to use. Or if any were usable. “I know that’s annoying,” she says with a grimace of her own.

It hits me, memories of all the times someone would stop me and Ava at a restaurant, to talk football with me. Or how patiently she waited after a good game, grinning through interviews I had to do, before she could hug me. Because those interactions are what it took to make my brand successful—to make it to where I am now.

“No problem,” I say. “I get it.” I hope Hayden hears the truth in my words. So maybe the kind of spotlight she’s chosen—a different spotlight than mine—isn’t my thing. If I really want to give this the fair shot I told Jenna I was going to, I have to work around those annoyances the same way Ava did all those years ago for me.

By the time I pull up in front of Hayden’s house, I’ve enjoyed our date. Claire was right to encourage me to give things a chance. I put my hand on the door handle to open it after I park so I can go around to get Hayden’s door for her, but she lays her hand on my arm and stops me. “Can we talk for just a second?” she asks.

I nod slowly, confused. If she wanted to spend more time together, she could have invited me in, so this feels weird. Is she letting me down easy? My interactions with Ava lately have shown that maybe I come off more judgmentally than I think, and Hayden might have picked up on that. Or she’s as bothered as me that despite a real connection between us, this is kind of for publicity.

“Yeah, of course,” I say.

She leaves her hand on my arm and scoots a little closer. “I had a really great time tonight. Thank you for doing this. It feels more awkward than our texts and that day at the game, right?”

I nod. “At first, yeah. But I had a great time too.”

She squeezes my arm. “I’m glad. That’s why I want to get something out of the way right off. I’ve noticed you and Colby Duncan are pretty close friends, yeah?”

Again I’m thrown by the turn of the conversation. I guess I assumed Hayden would know that when I asked her to be my plus-one to his wedding, but I probably didn’t mention that I’m a groomsman and maybe before she just thought I was only going as a teammate. “He’s probably one of my best friends.” And, besides my brother and his wife, really one of my only close friends. It kind of stings to realize this, especially right now, but it proves that Claire has a point about how my personality has morphed into grumpy.

Hayden grimaces again, and my brain spins at where this is going. Colby is one of the nicest guys on the team, on the field and off. Everyone loves him, so what could the problem be? “So I’m guessing you’re probably close with his fiancée, Gabriella Diaz, too?”

“Yeah, pretty close. What’s up?” I need Hayden to spill whatever’s going on.

“I just want to be completely up front. Some things went down between us right after college, and she might still have feelings about it. I feel horrible about the things I said to her—I was just starting out as an influencer, and I needed a job that she got. But, looking back, I handled everything all wrong. I just don’t want that hanging between you and me if we do this again and me wondering what she’s said about me or whatever.”

Hayden tilts her head at me, worry in her expression and the apology for whatever happened in her voice. I slide my hand down into hers. “Gabriella hasn’t said anything to me about you, and if she does, I’ll make sure she knows what you said.”

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