That she’s interesting?
That she doesn’t treat me like a brand?
That she looked at me like she already knew exactly who I wasn’t?
That I can’t stop thinking about her even when I should be focused on the game?
Sebastian watches me quietly. “You want to see her,” he says.
It’s not a question. I shrug, then nod, then shrug again.
“Then don’t ruin it,” he adds.
Jake nudges my shoulder. “Yeah, let her miss you a little.”
Orry nods. “I think they’re right, man. Let her wonder if and when you’re going to show up today. Plus, mystery is sexy.”
Boone snorts. “Easier said than done, we know, because you, Shep Haynes, are not mysterious.”
“Rude,” I say.
“But accurate,” Bennett replies.
Outside, the city comes into view. And for the first time since we left the stadium, I stop calculating how fast I can get to the bar. Then I start again. Then stop.
Maybe they’re right.
Maybe showing up tonight isn’t the move.
But maybe they’re wrong.
Maybe she’s waiting.
I glance out the window toward the direction I know she’s in. My fingers itch to search for her online and figure out a way to accidentally run into her, but I don’t even know her last name.
I wonder if she’s working.
And I wonder if she is, in fact, missing me…or if she’s relieved I haven’t walked through the door.
6
SUTTON
I’m mid-conversation with Cal when the bell over the door jingles. I don’t look up immediately but something shifts in the room anyway. A subtle change in energy that makes my skin prickle before my brain catches up. I glance toward the door and there he is, Shepherd Haynes, standing just inside like he’s deciding whether he belongs here.
My stomach does something stupid and entirely unwelcome. I freeze for half a second—long enough for him to notice because of course he does—before I force myself back into motion. There’s a slight tug at the corners of my mouth, but I fix my face and take a deep breath through my nose so he doesn’t observe that his being here affects me.
Because it doesn’t.
It’s fine.
I’m fine.
Everything is fine.
Normal, Sutton.
Be normal.
