Page 71 of Gridlocked on the Gridiron

She’d spent most of her time so far cooking healthier meals for her father and cleaning up the house. She didn’t really have friends in the area anymore, and she felt itchy sitting around and doing nothing. Like an idiot, she’d decided to leave her tablet in Charleston, thinking it’d be good to get away for a couple of days and spend quality time with her father. But that had been a bust, and her hands were twitching, begging for something to do.

Her flight the next day was only two hours, and then she’d be back in her cozy house that she now realized had transformed into a home. A home she missed dearly.

In the meantime, she finally decided to doom scroll through all of the posts about her and Colton. Curiosity and boredom won, and she found herself scanning the headlines that appeared when she searched their names together. There was one new one which didn’t feature her at all. She clicked on it, stomach already twisting into knots.

It was a picture of Colton, Maya, and another woman, and it’d just been posted. The woman was beautiful and tall, just like Maya, and probably about Maya’s age too. She looked like she could’ve been a model. Her eyes were fixed on Colton, whose face was stoic, like an unbothered statue. He didn’t appear to be looking at the woman, but the feeling in Lucia’s stomach still moved to her chest, impeding her ability to breathe.

As if he’d been inside of her head, her phone vibrated with a text from him.

Colton

If you see the picture that was just posted with me, Maya, and another girl, that’s just Maya’s friend.

Not pictured: Landon, whose tongue was down her throat moments before the photo was taken.

She wondered why she cared so much. Why that green fist of jealousy squeezed her heart so tightly, so painfully. Perhaps it was because of how natural the woman looked beside him. How right it seemed for her to be there, standing beside him, gazing up at him like he was the answer to all of her problems. Maybe she’d been there with Landon, but the photo was a reminder that Colton was one of the best quarterbacks in the league. He could have had any woman he wanted, and she was sure this beautiful woman was far more his type than she was.

That was okay. She’d agreed to a January break up, and at some point after that, she was certain he would realize his feelings for someone who looked as perfect as this woman. And their relationship would be a distant memory. Three months wasn’t very long anyway.

Lucia sent back a thumbs up. Then, not caring that it was dumb and childish, she responded:

Lucia

You don’t owe me an explanation.

Colton

Just never want you to feel an inkling of what you felt with Clark.

Her heart did that dumb hiccup again. The one that made her wonder how much of her soul she’d given up for this agreement. How could this man who’d been so hell-bent on making Max’s life so miserable for so long, indirectly doing the same to her, also be the man who’d taken her face in his warm hands and wiped her tears, offering himself up to fix everything? How could he be the man who’d made every effort to ensure she had friends in a new place? How could he be the man who’d made sure she got home safely every day?

She didn’t know how to reconcile the two versions of him. Max had grossly overexaggerated Colton Beaumont’s cruelty. Colton had never been the terrible villain Max had made him out to be.

She brushed off the thought as she typed out her next text.

Lucia

Thank you.

Almost immediately, he responded.

Colton

See you tomorrow?

Lucia

Yes.

Shouldn’t you be off your phone and enjoying a night out with your siblings?

Colton

Always gotta check on my girl.

Her chest tightened, and her fingers ached to respond. To clarify what he could possibly mean by that. Why he would call her that when nobody else could see or hear.

And then it hit her like a freight train. All of her suppressed feelings came flying out as she realized why she cared so much, why she’d been so jealous at the sight of the picture.

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