“Got it,” she says. “Are you going to the lounge?”
I shake my head. I still feel the WAGs lounge is sacred ground. Maybe when the news about Aiden is out, I can pop in for brief periods, but I know my place.
Even if everyone knows I’m with Aiden, I’m still the coach’s daughter. I need to respect their space.
“No, I’m just running in here to get something to eat,” I say, inclining my head to the private club across the hall. “Then I’ll go sit with Mom.”
“Okay,” she says, smiling. “Then if I don’t see you for the rest of the night, I’ll see you Monday.”
“See you!” I say before heading into the club. The sleek space is decorated for the holidays now, filled with greenery, a decorated tree, and lots of twinkling white lights. The club is reserved for WAGs and anyone who has a ticket on the front row, right at the glass, and you’re always given a wristband upon entry unless you’re a known regular, like I am.
“Hi, Suzette!” I say to the woman at the hostess stand.
“Hello, Scarlett!” she says.
I head inside, making a beeline for the luxury buffet. I pick up a plate and get some pesto chicken salad, my go-to on game nights, then discard my matcha in favor of a bottled water and take a seat. The club is loud, with music playing and the Manatees pregame show on most of the monitors. Over the bar, other sports channels are on, and I see someone reporting on F1 from Las Vegas.
I flip over my phone. Hadleigh has been silent since our last text, when she was about to go to some expensive club in Las Vegas where Xavier was making an appearance. She was going with her best friend, Isla Foley, who is a reporter for the Downforce Network and girlfriend of F1 driver Caleb Collings. So I know she was definitely going to meet him.
But she’s been silent ever since, which is weird.
I can’t say I know much of anything about F1, but I know she mentioned they would have practice sessions tonight, which she was going to watch from the Collings garage.
Hm. I decide to dig a little more. I go to Hadleigh’s Instagram. No updates. No picture of her with Xavier. I check her Connectivity Story Share. Same.
I’m sure she’d share a pic if she met him. Unless maybe it was a private meeting? But from what I’ve seen on Reels and Story Share and TikTok, Xavier Williams is not averse to having his picture taken.
I hesitate. We’re having coffee next week and doing our Friday girls’ night out, but we’ve only exchanged texts since our fateful meeting at the grocery store and I’m not sure if it’s okay for me to ask her if she met him. Is there some kind of friendship rule for this? Like do we need to hang out first before I can send that kind of text?
I chew the inside of my cheek. Am I overthinking this? Like what is Hadleigh going to do if I send her a text? Block me? Shesent me texts showing me outfits and expressing how excited she was to meet her crush.
I am definitely overthinking this.
What’s that old saying? Fortune favors the bold?
That’s me,I think with a bit of amazement. I’m becoming bold. I pursued a relationship with Aiden—while some might say that was a choice of insanity, I say that’s the choice of a bold woman who knows a good thing when she sees it. I was bold in asking Hadleigh if she’d like to get coffee. I was bold in offering my photography services to Georgie.
Being bold has given me a man I love and potential new friends. Risking everything for Aiden—and having his belief and support—has changed me.
I’m bolder now. And it’s no time to stop being so.
I pop open Hadleigh’s contact info and type her a message:
Hey! Where are my pictures of you with Xavier Williams? What was he like? Even hotter in person? Was he charming? DID HE SMELL GOOD?
Then I hit send with no hesitation.
I resume eating my pasta, and I’m considering taking a swing through the dessert table when my phone vibrates on the table. I see that Hadleigh has responded:
I met him. It was fine.
WHAT?
Not that I by any means know Hadleigh well, but this seems like a very un-Hadleigh response.
I mean, she ran into an endcap because she was so engrossed in a TikTok of the man.
Concern grips me. Was he an asshole? Or worse, did Xavier make an unwanted move on her? My fingers fly across my keyboard as I respond:
