Aria holds out a hand. “That’s exactly what I mean. You’re a natural with kids. I’m sure the list goes on.”
“You mean I haven’t lost my soul on the field, is all.”
Aria takes a sip from her glass.
“It’s a lot of pressure to have all those people banking on me. When I fumble a catch or mess up a play, I always think about those kids I’m letting down. It’s not like I’m saving lives like the rest of my family, but I want to make people proud. I want to do my best for the team, and everything is in thepublic eye. I can’t have a tense word with a teammate without it being discussed online.”
Aria’s eyes are focused on him when he looks up. She listens intently, and he takes it as an invitation to go on.
“And there’s the pressure to say the right thing to the reporters, to show up to the right events, even to wear the right thing, if you can believe it. But sometimes it just feels like there’s not enough of me to go around. Football and the fans want every little bit of me.”
“It’ll weigh you down.”
“Do you even feel a little of the same? You make it all look so easy the way you pop out hits and sell out arenas, always with a smile on your face.”
Aria scoffs. “Griff, I feel every single thing you do. Every time I put together a song, I worry that the fans won’t like it. When we plan a concert, there’s always the expectation that we outdo the last one. I want to show up for fans too, but I can’t ever get to every kid. Then there’s the fact that I want to write new songs when my label only wants more of the same. I’m not the same person I was when I started out with eyes for only happily ever afters. I want to infuse more, be more honest about life, about the parts of love that are hard too. Even if it’s still beautiful.”
“Sounds even harder than football.”
Aria shrugs. “Eh. It’s not about comparing. Being in the public eye is hard. Especially when you care. You’re right that we’re not saving lives, but we can make people’s lives a little more enjoyable for a while. It matters to us both, it sounds, but carrying the pressure to always perform and always be perfect grows heavy.”
“It’s why having a place like this is a godsend.” Griffin gestures to the room.
He pauses. Being with Aria gives him the same feeling as being at Enzo’s.
Aria raises her glass. “Here’s to ‘just getting it.’ And now that you’ve brought me here, you have to promise to bring me back. Even if Enzo got some mixed signals, I’m glad we came here. A place we can just be ourselves.”
They clink glasses and drink.
“We could’ve easily blown our cover with those live mics,” Griff said.
“Guess it’s a good thing we’re actually starting to become friends of a sort,” Aria says.
Griffin feels a warmth spread over him. It’s not news to him that he genuinely enjoys Aria’s company, but it sparks a new energy in him to hear her confirm that it’s mutual. In fact, he’s far more interested in their off-script time together than the official appearances.
“It makes these appearances far better than if we had to fake it.”
Griffin and Aria fall into a discussion about their PR plan as they finish their food. The taper candles eventually drip wax down their sides, and Enzo comes out to check on them.
When Griffin calls Vic to pull back around and pick them up, he feels a twinge of sadness, knowing the night is coming to an end. Fortunately for him, his next activity with Aria—filming a commercial—isn’t far around the corner.
Chapter 20
Aria
As promised, a Griffin Hayes number 13 jersey arrives on Aria’s doorstep the next morning. She opens it as soon as she brings it inside and throws it on over the tight long-sleeve T-shirt she has on. Aria twirls in front of the mirror but stops when she notices a card in the package. She pops open the envelope and reads:
Aria,
Thanks for being such a good sport (pun intended) about all of this. Especially when Enzo overdid it last night. I can only hope the quality of the pizza more than makes up for it.
Griff
Aria washes the jersey and even steams it in preparation for the game.
She can’t remember the last time she counted down to something so eagerly, but over the next five days, she slowly plans out the rest of her outfit as she marks off the time. She also texts with Griffin every one of those five days. He sends goofy locker room selfies and funny memes about old cartoon shows she’s never seen. She sends cute cat pictures and eventually divulges that she’s been yearning to adopt a pair of kittens ever since the gala event.
Just go for it! I’ll cat-sit when you go on tour,Griffin offered.
