Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 75626 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75626 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 378(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
I know I need to read and respond to the texts from Kelsey, but I also need to see what’s being said online. I open the internet app on my phone and type my name into the tool bar, something I rarely do because I stopped caring about what people said about me a long time ago.
There’s story after story about how I left my date at the table to rendezvous with Maggie. There are so many images of us together, in compromising situations. Someone clearly spent a good amount of time photoshopping Maggie and I together. She’s on the other side of the country, for God’s sake.
And even if she was at the fundraiser, I wouldn’t have left Kelsey. At all.
But does Kelsey know that?
Kelsey Sloane
So, yeah. I woke up to these in my email. Not sure how they got my email since it’s private, but they did.
Hello?
Alex?
Are you seriously going to ignore me?
Well, you’ll be happy to know they have my phone number as well. I’ve lost count of the numbers I’ve had to block.
Seriously, Alex?
Kels I’ve been flying and I turned my phone off during the flight so I could sleep. I don’t know what to say other than I’m sorry I’m not there to make this better. I’m sorry someone did this to us.
I read, erase, and type again, and then finally send the text to her. Nothing I say is going to make this any better for her. I should’ve known something like this would happen. The way Estelle and some of Maggie’s other friends acted last night should’ve been a sign. They were nasty to Kelsey, and for no reason. They seemed to have forgotten it was Maggie who left.
She left them.
She left me.
The breakup happened because she moved away. I wasn’t going to fly back and forth or spend the off-season living in England. Going with her was never an option for me. Deep down I think she knew this, and both of us knew our relationship had run its course.
Kelsey Sloane
Since when don’t flights have WIFI?
Our flight does have WIFI. I turned my phone off so I could sleep.
The chat bubble comes up, and then disappears. I stare at my phone for a couple of minutes and then text her back as we pull into the stadium parking lot.
I’ll call you when I get to the hotel and we can talk.
I ignore the rest of the texts, even though I’m curious what Maggie wants. The only thing I have to say to her is that she needs to get her friends under control because this kind of shit is unacceptable. Kelsey doesn’t deserve to see fake fucking images of me and other women.
As soon as we get off the bus, I hear Noah mumble a long line of expletives.
“Dude, do you need some soap for that dirty mouth of yours?”
“No,” he huffs. “Fucking douche.”
I follow his gaze and my mouth drops open. Peyton is being hugged by another guy and it’s not a friendly hug, it’s one of those where you can tell the huggers like each other.
“Who’s that?”
“Kyle Zimmerman.”
“QB?”
Noah nods.
“What’s your beef with him?”
“He’s the reason Peyton was in the car accident.”
“Wait, what?”
“Yep, he was driving the car. He walked away with a broken leg and my wife . . . well, you know the extent of her injuries.”
Noah’s close friends know how they’ve struggled with infertility, which the doctors have said is because of the damage she sustained. He doesn’t talk about it much, but I know he wants to have kids. A whole team of them if he had his choice.
“I thought he was in Chicago?”
“Traded to Carolina two weeks ago.”
“Oh, shit.”
“For the first time in my life, I wish I was an outside linebacker because it would be my mission to take him out.”
Noah has an entire team of defensive men who would do anything for him. All he would have to do is ask. “You know—”
“No,” he says sharply, cutting me off. “I’m not that type of player, and I’d never jeopardize someone else’s career because of a vendetta I have against another player. That’s not who I am. Besides, Peyton would never ever forgive me. They’re friends and I have to accept it.”
“That’s tough.” I watch as Peyton and Kyle continue their conversation, and it’s clear there’s an affection which is more than friends for one of them. “He likes her.”
“I know. Thankfully, she loves me otherwise I’d have to go all alpha and piss on her leg or something.”
“Gross. Lick her face, it’ll stink less.”
Noah cracks up. His laugh is loud enough that Peyton turns around and leaves Zimmerman there. It’s totally shady that he just happened to be here when our bus pulled in.
Peyton comes to us. I don’t care that she’s my best friend’s wife, she scares the crap out of me. Her calm demeanor is a front for the evil that lives in her pint-sized body.