Page 13 of Single Glance

God, I was being so damn selfish. Tori had her own life, and I was crying because she didn’t have time for me. But I couldn’t help it. I needed my best friend—my person. While I was ecstatic she’d found love, it also made a knot form in my chest.

It was fine. I’d be fine. It wasn’t the first time I’d had to pivot my dreams. And look how that turned out—I found my best friend and so many more amazing things. Perhaps the universe was signaling to embrace my wandering spirit more.

I leaned back in my seat, trying to force my tears away. I hadn’t lost Victoria, but I’d been pushed aside a little. Would this rift continue to grow between us until it became a chasm? Would I be stuck here, waiting for my dreams to come to fruition, while everyone else grew around me?

That was a depressing thought.

As I tried to talk myself out of my spiral, a knock came from the window. I turned my head, meeting Cam’s disapproving frown.

“What are you doing in there, menace?

ELEVEN

What the hell was I doing?

I should have been in my truck, heading back to the field for our game tonight. I’d already pushed my luck by sneaking out of practice, hoping to get back before our manager realized I’d ducked out. But I’d forgotten one of my good luck charms, and there was no way I could play knowing it sat on my end table. Damien covered for me as I rushed back to the house. The rest of the guys would be relaxing in the clubhouse anyway, trying to get their heads together before we had to take the field.

I should have hopped right back into my truck and slammed on the gas, should have already been on the highway, praying a trooper didn’t pull me over. Instead, when I left the house, my feet faltered when I saw Hadley unraveling in her car.

It was jarring. The girl never got rattled and always seemed to be in an annoyingly good mood. She was all smiles and rays of light. So, seeing her close to tears brought an uncomfortable ache to my chest.

Before I questioned my actions, I stepped to the driver’sside of her car and rapped my knuckles on her window. Her blue eyes darted to mine, and I sucked in a breath, almost losing the ability to speak when she looked at me like that. Shit, had I ever really looked at Hadley? Sure, I’d spent time with her, knew the girl was beautiful. But now that we were so close, I couldn’t help but take in the little details I’d overlooked before. The deep blue of her eyes, the color like the deepest trenches of the ocean. The dusting of freckles that covered the bridge of her nose. How her lips pouted so perfectly when she was surprised.

“What are you doing in there, menace?” I called out, unable to ignore the feeling in my chest. The longer I stared at Hadley, the more I noticed, which was a fucking problem. I needed her to piss me off and remind me why she irritated me so much.

She shoved open the car door, almost taking me out in the process. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you it’s rude to spy on people?”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” I scoffed. “You’re having a meltdown in the middle of the driveway. I’d have to be a dick to ignore that.”

“Never stopped you before.”

But her words didn’t hold their usual level of snark, and when I looked down at her, it seemed like she was doing everything to keep herself standing tall. It softened the walls in my chest, wanting to take that look off her face. “You wanna talk about it?”

Hadley’s eyes darted up to me, her brow furrowing in confusion. “You want to talk? To me?”

“If you want.” I shrugged. “You seem like you could use someone right now.”

It was the absolute last thing I should do right now. Every minute I stood here was a minute I missed from mypre-game ritual. I’d be cutting it close, and now, there was an even bigger risk of Benny catching me sneaking back into the stadium.

Hadley shook her head, “No. Thank you, but the last thing I want to do is talk right now. Honestly…” She chewed on her lower lip, looking over to the carriage house, then back over to me. “I need to get out of my head, find something to do for the night that doesn’t require me to think.”

“Come with me.”

The words came out before I realized it, flying out with some sort of need to help. I should’ve taken them back, said anything else to get Hadley out of my space. I was playing with fire, and God knows she loved to burn me. Seeing her so defeated fucked with my head, and for some damn reason, I wanted to be the one to fix it.

I nodded over to my truck. “Come to the game with me. I can hook you up with a ticket, and you can sit with some of the other families and friends.”

“You want me to come to your game?” Hadley repeated slowly.

I shrugged. “If you want to. No thinking required, just some overpriced beer and cheering for our team.”

“If I decide to come, do I have to cheer for you?” Hadley asked, some of that familiar spark coming back into her voice.

I just shook my head and held out my hand for her stuff. “Come on, menace. Get your ass in the truck.”

Home games were a different beast.Tension hung in the air, almost as if the stadium was waiting to see what the team would pull together. With our newer team breaking even in losses and wins,fans filled the seats, cautiously optimistic about our season so far. Even though the Hawks were new to the city, it had embraced the team, and people came out in droves to experience the stadium for the very first time.

Now, if only I felt the same way. Becoming part of the team was a change, one I appreciated and didn’t take lightly. I’d found my stride in the outfield, but the whole thing seemed like an audition. One wrong move, and they’d kick me right back down to the minors.

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