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The days are only going to get longer and longer without her by my side like I had hoped she would be, and I’m not in the mood to deal with the emotions that thought brings.
Will I ever be though?
Chapter 28
Sydney
“Justine, I feel ridiculous,” I mutter into the phone as I step out of my car, shutting it loudly behind me.
She chuckles. “I’m sure you do. When was the last time you were able to let loose so freely?”
I roll my eyes and fix the flannel I have tied around my waist. “I feel like a hooker cowgirl. Maybe I should change my clothes.”
“Don’t you dare, I spent a lot of time making you look that good. You didn’t drive three hours to back down now.”
I know she’s right, but what if this does nothing to change Brent’s mind about me? I’ll feel even more ridiculous than I look. A few guys whistle at me as they walk by, their gazes dropping down the length of my body, and I nearly gag from their perusal. “This was definitely a mistake.”
“Own it, babe,” Justine says.
“Says the girl who’s happily sitting on her couch, probably watching reruns of a show she’s seen a thousand times.”
“Hey, don’t hate on my routine.”
I strut along the gravel leading to the entrance and stop when I reach the back of the line, which seems to be moving pretty quickly, and I groan into the phone. “You better hope this plan of yours works. I’m about to head in, talk to you in a little while.”
“Here’s to hoping you’re too occupied to call me! Love you, and go get him, babe!”
I shove my phone into the back pocket of my jeans, the new addition only making them feel tighter against my ass. I’m close to the front when someone bumps into me, nearly sending me face-planting to the ground, and it makes me angrier when they laugh about it before going back to whatever conversation they were having with their friend.
And here I thought I got away from the rude assholes in the city. When I reach the security, I pull up the online ticket I received and wait until they give me the go-ahead before walking through the stadium. There are plenty of women walking through the aisles, wearing almost the exact same thing I am, so I guess it isn’t too bad that I don’t look like an idiot alone.
The new cowgirl boots Justine convinced me to buy are digging into the back of my foot and I want to cry out from the pain. There’s nothing I hate more than getting a new pair of shoes and wearing them before they are properly broken in. To keep my mind off the pain, I dart my gaze along the stadium in hopes of finding Brent’s wide frame since I don’t want him to see me just yet.
I find an empty seat towards the far end and as soon as I sit down, I find Brent leaning against the fence with his eyes focused on a space in the distance. That must be where Nathan is and it has me wishing I could be next to him, washing all his worries away.
My heart cracks just a little when I notice a tall brunette stop next to him, her smile bright even from all the way over here, and it doesn’t help when Brent smiles right back at her. She brings her hand to his bicep, making me itch to stomp over there and move it the hell off him, then he pulls away slightly and eases any jealousy — for the most part, at least.
While different contestants take their turn, my gaze doesn’t waver from Brent’s, until they finally call Nathan’s name. An image of Nathan pops up on the large screen to my right as he waves at the crowd surrounding him, smiling brightly for everyone to see, and fall in love with, no doubt, and I scream until my lungs can’t take it anymore.
This is an important moment — not only for Nathan, but this is the start of Brent letting Nathan do what he wants even if he’s terrified of the outcome — and it wasn’t one I wanted to miss. When I mentioned the event to Justine, she thought this would be the best time to prove myself to Brent after I got all my other shit in order.
It took me a while, but I finally found a job that I’m starting in two weeks, and it’s only the next town over from Brent and Nathan. I’ve already got a new house lined up that I’m renting out, just in case things go my way tonight, and I’m excited to see where this new adventure will take me. I’d love nothing more than to have Brent and Nathan with me for the ride, but I also know there’s a chance that won’t happen, and for the most part, I’m okay with that.
My heart might not ever repair itself, but at least I’ll know I tried.
When it comes time for the winners to be announced, I stand in my seat, not bothering to listen to the people cursing behind me about being in their way. I don’t care whose vision I need to block to watch Nathan win this thing — which is exactly what happens. I’ve never seen someone smile as brightly as Nathan does the moment his name is called out as the winner and the crowd surrounding him goes wild.
Seems as though he already has fans and that warms every inch of my heart, just not enough to mend it. The only thing that can mend the shattered pieces is the man standing proudly at the fence, a smile just as bright as Nathan’s aimed at his son, and I sigh before finally sitting down. Everyone files away from the bleachers as the reporters barge into the middle of the stadium, more than ready to aim questions at the new winner tonight, and Nathan takes them all with ease.
I don’t know how long I sit there and watch him go back and forth with the camera people, but it’s enough to have me looking around and not see a soul standing around me. My attention darts to Brent, worry gnawing at me when I don’t see him anywhere, and I quickly hurry through the empty space as fast as I can before one of them notices me.
According to Justine, this won’t work if they know I’m here, so I have to be invisible to the two of them. A small bit of the crowd is sitting on the tailgates of their truck when I walk by, drinking the last of their beer before pulling away. My car is a little further away, but that’s not where I’m going — it’s time to search for a truck that no one could possibly miss.
There’s a smaller parking lot separated from the large one and I smile when the truck comes into view. I’m not sure how much longer they’ll be inside, but that’s the least of my worries — if I have to wait here all night, that’s exactly what I’ll do. Like Justine said, I didn’t drive three hours to turn back on everything we planned.
It was a rough drive, especially since Justine insisted on helping me get ready before I left as if I don’t know how to do everything myself, but I managed to pull through. I’m not sure anything would’ve stopped me from making it here, not even if I didn’t get any sleep the night before.
I’ve done nothing but repeat every word I’m going to say in my head, although I’m pretty certain it will all go blank once I see Brent walking up to me, and I’m anxious to know what he’s going to do. It could go one of two ways — he’ll either forgive me, or he’ll tell me to get lost — and I’m banking on the latter, which I’ve already prepared myself for.
