Page 104 of Scoring the Player
“A little of that,” I admit.
He smiles, staring at me a little more closely. “You seem different. New haircut?”
“Umm…no. It’s the same.” I run a hand over the long strands hanging over one shoulder.
“It’s something. Don’t tell me. It’ll come to me.” His gaze slides to Jane and he shakes a finger. “And you. You look familiar. You’re sure you didn’t come to the concert this summer?”
“I get that a lot. I have one of those faces.”
He smiles. Bev steps into the room. “Mark wants to see you before you leave.”
“Tell him I’ll be right there,” Eddie says. “I have a few things I need to do.”
“Of course,” I say. “Thank you so much for inviting us tonight.”
We say our goodbyes, and then Jane and I head back to the hotel. I’m exhausted from a week of crappy sleep, so we order room service and put on an old movie. Jane falls asleep quickly, but I’m restless. More often than I’d like to admit, my mind wanders to Felix.
We’ve exchanged a few texts, but nothing substantial. It’s Homecoming weekend and he’s been busy with a bunch of media stuff: interviews and photos, and that’s in addition to the events he has to drop by with the rest of the team. Last night, they had to attend an alumni mixer for past Valley U football players. Tonight, they have to go to the bonfire where the Homecoming royalty is announced. And in all of it, Felix is front and center. He grumbles about it, but he handles the pressure of being the face of the team well. Plus, his face is a really, really good one.
Saturday morning, a car picks us up and takes us to the stadium where Eddie will be performing tonight. This place is way bigger. Bev is, once again, our tour guide. She takes us through a maze of hallways until we reach our destination.
When we finally step into a room behind her, my heart races. Racks of clothing are pushed to one side, while on the other side, people are busy doing things from mending to steaming clothes. The energy is focused but a little chaotic. I love it.
“Dahlia!” Eddie calls from the back of the room. Two women stand in front of him, circling and eyeing his outfit. When they finish, he steps forward to greet us. “You made it just in time. I was saving your pants for last, hoping you’d be here for the reveal.”
“I’m so excited,” I say honestly. “And I love that. Amiri?”
He glances down and pulls at the shirt. “Good eye. They sent a few items over this morning.”
He turns and heads back to the women who are now eyeing me and Jane carefully. “Come on. Let me introduce you to some people.”
So many people have a hand in Eddie’s wardrobe it’s a little overwhelming. I meet his stylists, Maria and Emily, the head of wardrobe, Victor, and all the crew who travel with him, plus several more people that I don’t catch the titles or names of, but who are performing tasks ranging from fixing clothing items to labeling and organizing everything in a very specific way.
Seeing Eddie in the pants I created is totally surreal. They fit him perfectly and the smile that lights up his face makes me feel prouder than I ever have.
He’s handed several shirts to try on with them. I bite the corner of my lip as I watch it all come together. He tries on a mesh tank top first that Maria immediately vetoes, then a button down. Emily brings a hand to her mouth as she studies him.
“I imagined it with a basic white T-shirt,” I say. Everyone stops moving and looks at me. I feel the flush on my cheeks but keep going. I step to a rack of shirts and pull one off. “Something like this.”
Eddie shrugs and holds his hand out. “I love a basic tee.”
“Me too. It’s classic,” I say.
I’m relieved when he puts it on, and everyone seems to okay the look.
Both pieces are labeled and organized with the others. Jane and I sit back and observe as they finalize the other outfits.
A couple of times, Eddie asks my opinion. I can’t get a read on his head of wardrobe, Victor. Maybe I’m overstepping, but Eddie invited me and he’s asking, so I give him my thoughts when asked.
When it’s all done, Victor comes over to me. He hands me an envelope. “The construction of the pants was pretty good.”
“Thank you,” I say like I’m not sure it was a compliment.Pretty good?
“If you’re ever looking for a job, let me know.”
I’m stunned, but manage to get out another thanks before he turns and starts barking orders to his team.
“OMG!” Jane screeches. “I think he likes you.”
