“And Tristan plays tomorrow,” Tessa says, her voice stern and steady, eyes locking with Coach Rice.
He clears his throat and nods his head once before stuffing his hands into his pockets.
“Tristan plays tomorrow,” he repeats before turning on his heels and heading out of the room. He pauses at the door before turning back to Tristan. “Sorry for all this, Kelly.”
“No need,” Tristan replies instantly. “I know your hands were tied.”
Kiana tries to turn on her heels and head out the door, but Steven stops her immediately, blocking the doorway.
“You’re not going anywhere, honey,” he says. “Not until the cops get here, at least.”
“Oh, and Hines,” Brett takes a step forward, eyes throwing daggers at the man still standing behind his desk like a coward. “You’re fucking fired.”
The Titans won the game the following day, with Tristan having the game winning touchdown with only seconds left on the clock. The stadium had never been louder, proudly welcoming back their beloved player with many people holding up signs with encouraging messages. It made Tessa’s heart swell with pride and admiration for this fan base she has come to know and love the past few months, which worsened her anxiety about the upcoming playoffs. Once the season was over, whether that be with a Super Bowl win or not, Tessa was supposed to return to her life back in New York City, and she became almost sick at the thought.
Which is how she found herself quiet and distant at what was supposed to be a celebratory dinner for Tristan being taken off suspension a few days later.
They were sitting at a large table in a private room in one of their favorite high end Kansas City restaurants surrounded by loved ones. Brinley and Phillip sat on one side of them, while Jordan and Katie sat on the other. As much as Tessa wanted to enjoy the moment, allowing herself to feel the happiness and comfort of being with these people and being tightly tucked under Tristan’ arm would only cause more pain and dread.
“Hey,” Brinley said, pinching at Tessa’s side. “Come to the restroom with me?”
Tessa looked up at her and nodded her head once, telling Tristan quietly that she would be right back.
Once her and Brinley were secured behind the bathroom door, Brinley took Tessa into her arms and gave her a long squeeze.
“As much as I love hugging you,” Tessa said with a chuckle, “What’s the hug for?”
Brinley pulled back and put a gentle hand on Tessa’s arm.
“Something is bothering you,” she says with a knowing look in her eye.
Tessa takes a deep breath and tries to shake her off, but Brinley relents.
“You can’t keep all your shit bottled up inside,” Brinley says sternly. “You did it back in college and I never even knew about Tristan! I had to find out from my husband who only had like, half the details anyway. Talk to me, Tess. Please.”
Tessa feels a pang of guilt at her friend bringing up her lack of communication skills. She’s right, she does keep things bottled up and to herself most of the time.
“I’m in love with him, Brin,” she whispers.
“I can tell,” she says. “And he’s in love with you. Worships the ground you walk on, actually. So, what exactly is the problem?”
“This was all supposed to be temporary,” Tessa says, tears beginning to gather in her eyes. “Say they don’t get past the play offs, and this is all over in less than a month. How am I supposed to just go back to New York and continue on with my life?”
“You don’t,” Brinley says simply, as if none of this is a big deal. “Who says you have to go back to New York?”
“My whole life has been there for the past 6 years,” she says. “My job, my apartment that I pay an insane amount of money for, by the way. And it’s not just a job, it’s my career. I went to school for this, I’ve worked my ass off for years to be where I’m at now. Am I just supposed to give that all up for a man?”
“I don’t think Tristan is just a man, Tess.”
“No, he’s not,” Tessa replies softly, feeling guilty for referring to him that way. “He’s everything. The impact he left on me when we were young completely changed me as a person, and literally nothing was ever the same after him. I don’t think I’d be able to survive losing him again.”
“You don’t have to lose him,” Brinley says, taking Tessa’s arms in her hands and shaking her. “You don’t have to run away again.”
Tessa lets those words sink in, causing a burning feeling in her chest and a heavy lump in her throat. She’s right. This would just be her running away again, finding an excuse for it not to work out, coming up with some bullshit reason why he is better off without her or vice versa. But she’s in way too deep now. She thought she fell for him when they were at Vanderbilt, but it was nothing like this. This had the potential to be unsurvivable if it didn’t work.
“I think you two need to have a real conversation about this,” Brinley says. “He would bend over backwards for you, Tess. He’s obsessed with keeping you happy and doing whatever he can to be with you at all times. Something tells me he’ll find a way to make this work.”
“Yeah,” Tessa breaths out heavily, trying to let go of her stress and anxiety. “We definitely need to talk about it.”
