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“Rhys Peyton?” I looked away from watching her, and toward the voices calling my name. Two ladies, about the same age as Ash, came running up to us. “Can we get a picture with you?”
Normally, I didn’t mind at all. But I was on a date. Not just any date, a first date. I started panicking and shaking my head, torn between not wanting to be rude, and not wanting to turn my attention from Ash, for even a second.
“Calm down,” she whispered. “It won’t take long.”
The girls had gotten within a few feet and were holding their phones, hoping for that picture. “Sure.”
“Want me to take it?” Ash asked, holding her hand out for their phone.
“Oh my God, can you? That way we can both be in it.”
“Exactly,” Ash winked.
The girls got on either side of me, each touching one of my arms, and posing. Ash took a picture upright and then sideways. Then had them take another one because one of them had closed their eyes.
“Thank you!”
“No prob,” she smiled at them, returning the phone.
I wrapped my arm around her and kissed the side of her head, hoping the other girls would read my body language as wanting to be alone with my girl. “Have a good night,” I nodded to them.
“Rhys, you’re amazing,” one of them said. “We went to the game last week.”
“Thank you.”
“And we follow your brother on twitter. Well not him, just his team but, wait, is that him or someone else?”
“Levi definitely doesn’t tweet,” I laughed. “If you ladies would excuse us, I need to get back to my girl.”
Their eyes widened, and then they gave Ash a proud look. Each of them was finally connecting the dots, and they gave Ash a thumbs up, along with a, “You go girl.”
In all the times I had been approached by women, I had never blushed. This was the first time with a girl on my arm, though, and the way they gave Ash their support had me flustered.
I pulled her along, hiding my face in the darkness as they said their goodbyes. Ash was laughing next to me, knowing I didn’t know what to do, or how to act.
“You always like that with fans?”
“No. I just didn’t want to upset you or anything, and I didn’t know what to do.”
“Mmmm,” she hummed, leaning onto my arm. “Always take pictures. I will always be waiting for you when you’re done.”
* * *
The mention of Melanie never got under Ash’s skin. Every time we had to face issues with her, Ash handled it with as much grace as she did when we met the fans on our date.
Melanie had spent the week refusing to get a paternity test before the baby was born. She said it was too risky, and she wouldn’t do anything to harm the baby. In the meantime, she wanted me to start going to her appointments with the doctor. She said, through our lawyers, that I would remember how much I loved her once I saw our baby on the monitor, and heard his, or her, heartbeat. She was even planning a gender reveal party, and said it would be an ugly look if I didn’t attend.
She was delusional.
Somehow, I couldn’t find it in me to give her the attention I probably should have. She spent too much time lying to me, and manipulating me. Not to mention the way she treated Ash. Having my baby, or not, I couldn’t be around her.
And I still had a small nagging feeling that told me something wasn’t right. I still knew something that she didn’t—the low odds of me fathering a child.
After our date night, I told Ash I was going to confide in my coach. Sandy had a right to know of anything that may affect the team and our games. If I was distracted, he needed that heads up.
As far as Colin went, I was going to let Ash handle that. Although she told me there was nothing to say. He could find out organically as far as she was concerned.
Which was why when the Women’s Cup started, I had shirts made, and flew to Atlanta for the tournament. Colin was about toorganicallyfind out what I thought about his left wing.
