Page 4 of Everything In Between
TWO
hayes
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6
Any other night,my little sister’s relentless bouncing would grate on my nerves. But tonight, I can make an exception.
She’s practically buzzing with adrenaline, as if she were the one on stage doing all that crazy choreography.
“Did you see the way she came to the stage right at the beginning? That look on her face that made you feel like she was performing just for you?” Riley gushes. Her blue eyes are alight and glittering with unadulterated enthusiasm.
“I did.”
“She owned that whole stadium,” Riley says, awe sweeping through her. “And did you see how she strutted across that stage in those high-heeled boots? She made it look easy—which, let me tell you, it is most definitelynot.”
“I believe you,” I say, nodding to my sister. How could I not have noticed?
“I don’t know how she does that,” Riley continues. “Those heels looked dangerous. I’d probably break an ankle.”
“She must do a lot of training and practicing to be able to do that.” I can recognize a fellow athlete when I see them, evenif one of them is wearing thick heeled go-go boots. Suddenly, I’m curious about the rehearsal schedule for a world-famous pop star.
“Oh, she absolutely does,” Riley says confidently. I find it amusing that my sister is so knowledgeable on this matter, as if she is a part of the inner workings of the singer’s training schedule. She throws her hands up in the air, letting the excitement get to her once again. “Ugh, I love her. Her voice is like an angel’s.”
I shrug, nodding again. I can’t disagree. I did notice that her voice—even with running and dancing across the stage—remained steady, unwavering, as she seemed to hit every note perfectly. Not that I would know if she hadn’t. I really wasn’t familiar with much of her music until tonight, aside from what I’d heard secondhand from Riley.
“So, what did you think?” my sister asks, breathless. The Uber driver glances into the rearview mirror, as if waiting to hear my opinion as well.
I swallow thickly but opt for the truth. “It was incredible.”
Riley reaches over and punches my shoulder a little too hard. “See, Itoldyou she was more than just... what did you call her?”
Embarrassment fills me as I admit, “An overrated pop princess.”
“Exactly!” She throws another punch, but I dodge it, not needing another bruise on my deltoid.
“Would you cut it out? I’ve gotta throw a football this weekend. I need to have a working arm.” I’m sure Coach will be super thrilled to learn I can’t throw properly in the next game due to mysister.
Her eyes glint, and she raises her fist, gearing up to toss another punch.
“All right, all right,” I concede, laughing and holding my hands up in surrender. “I was wrong.”
“You were so wrong,” she teases me before sitting back in her seat, mollified by my admission. She lets out a heavy sigh. “Gosh, that was a great show. And to think you were dreading coming along with me.”
“I wasn’t sure what to expect when you asked me to come with you. I thought I’d be surrounded by fangirls and bored out of my mind.”
Riley smirks. “You should’ve seen your face when her opening sequence started. I should’ve recorded your expression.”
I narrow my eyes. “She knows how to put on a show, that’s for sure.”
“Doesn’t she? Ugh, she’s amazing.”
I fight off a smile at the way my sister talks about Jersey Matthews as if she’s a friend. I mean, she’s been listening to her music nonstop for the last eight years. I can see why she’d feel like she knows her personally.
A thought in the back of my mind comes forward with a vengeance—Wouldn’t it be something to know her?
I had tried to pull strings for my sister and get her backstage to officially meet Jersey. After all, she was playing inmyhome stadium. It would make sense that we’d be given special treatment. But Jersey’s security was rock solid, not budging even as I flexed my name a bit.
It isn’t every day a Super Bowl titled quarterback asks to meet a pop princess, but I have no shame when it is for my little sister’s sake. I’d do anything for that twerp. Even put my name out there and make a show of wanting to meet the most famous woman in the world. Unfortunately, I came up empty-handed. We were banished to my family’s suite to watch the show. To be honest, I think that might’ve been the best seat in the house.
