“I don’t care about reporters. I don’t care about headlines.” Another step. The chair is the only thing between us now. “Your dad’s scarier than any media circus, and I’m still here.”
“You shouldn’t be.”
“Probably not.” I grip the back of the chair. “But here’s the thing, Ava. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since I walked into this shop. And after last night?” I shake my head. “I’m not walking away because it’s complicated. Life’s complicated. This…” I gesture between us, “… is the first thing that’s felt simple in years.”
Her expression cracks for half a second. I see it, the want, the hesitation, the fear. Then she locks it down.
“It’s not simple for me.”
“Then make it simple. Say yes.”
“To what? Sneaking around? Lying to my father?” She laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “I’ve watched what happens when athletes get distracted. When they start making choices with the wrong head.”
“That’s not what this is.”
“Isn’t it?” She tilts her head, studying me. “You barely know me.”
“I know you’re sarcastic and stubborn. Everyone says you’re brilliant with a tattoo gun. I know you refused to ink me becauseyou have principles.” I lean forward. “And when you kissed me back, you meant it. That’s enough to start.”
“Starting is easy. It’s the ending that destroys people.”
“Who destroyed you?”
The question lands harder than I intended.
Ava’s eyes go cold. “None of your business.”
“Fair enough.” I straighten. “But for the record, I’m not him. Whoever he was, whatever he did, I’mnothim.”
“You don’t know what you are yet, Reece. That’s the problem.” She moves around the chair, closing the distance. Her voice drops. “You’re twenty-seven. You’re at the top of your game. You have endorsements, groupies, and an ex who still texts you at midnight.”
“How do you know about Lena?”
“Because I haveInstagram. Because she posts about you constantly.” Ava crosses her arms. “You think I don’t see what your life looks like? The fame, the attention, the options?”
“None of them are you.”
“Right now, maybe. But in six months? A year?” She shakes her head. “I won’t be the girl who wrecked your focus. I won’t be the reason Coach Bishop questions your commitment. And I sure as hell won’t be another cautionary tale.”
The words hang between us, sharp and final.
I could argue, push back, and tell her she’s wrong about all of it.
Instead, I nod slowly. “Okay.”
She blinks. “Okay?”
“You’ve made your position clear… I respect it.” I head for the door, my hand on the knob, before I turn back. “But for what it’s worth, you’re not giving me enough credit. And you’re not giving yourself enough either.”
“Reece.”
“See you around, Ava.”
I’m out the door before she can say anything else.
I make it three blocks before I have to stop walking. My hands are shaking, and I shove them in my pockets before staring at the street, jaw clenched so hard my teeth ache.
She’s wrong about me, us, all of it.
