Page 263 of Just for the Cameras
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, leansin, 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 acomplete 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.
