Hendrix - Kelsey Clayton Page 0,13
while still looking down.
“Did you forget how to walk?” He lifts his head and his eyes meet mine. “Saige.”
“Is this a bad time? I can go.” I knew this was a bad idea. “You know what, I'm going to go.”
I turn to walk away but he stops me. “No, it's fine. Really. Lennon was just leaving.”
The girl, Lennon, smiles sweetly and steps past me. She must mouth something behind my back because Colby smiles and flips her off. Great, just what I wanted, to be in the middle of their flirting. This isn't awkward at all.
“Want to come in?” he asks.
I nod. “That'd be great. Thanks.”
We go inside, and he closes the door behind me. The house is nothing like I imagined, except for the trophies that line one of the walls. His football trophies have always been Colby's prized possessions. Only now, there's more of them.
Another thing that's new but not quite surprising are the two framed magazine covers of when he won Hottest Man Alive...twice. Maddie still liked to bring it up. Every time I felt bad about myself or stressed out, she so lovingly reminded me of who my ex is.
“Don't be dumb. You're gorgeous, even the Hottest Man Alive thought so.”
I know she only meant to cheer me up and make me feel better about myself, but all it did was bring back up the fact that he left. Maybe I dwell on the past too much, but you would too if your boyfriend broke up with you by writing a letter and leaving town.
“Do you want something to drink?” he questions, pulling me from my thoughts.
I shake my head. “I'm all right. Thanks.”
He grabs a beer from the fridge and comes into the living room, gesturing for me to sit on the couch. The awkward tension in the room is enough to choke on, but I have to do this. Not for me, but for Brenna. I might hate his guts, but I know she won't.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” I blurt out. “Being a parent isn't a part-time thing. You're either all in or all out. You can't be both.”
His back straightens, and he puts the beer on the coffee table. “Saige, I know you probably couldn't think less of me right now, but trust me...”
“That's the thing. I don't trust you.”
He winces. “Fair enough. I deserve that.” After taking a deep breath, he continues. “I'm not going anywhere. I just want to know my daughter.”
I nod slowly, coming to terms with what I'm about to say. “We have to take it slow, especially after the other night. She's only five, and suddenly introducing you as her dad isn't something she can handle.”
“Absolutely. Whatever you think is best.” He sounds relieved. “I just want to get the chance to be in her life. We can go as slow as you want.”
Fiddling with my sleeve, I look away from him. I can't watch that smile on his face. Not now. Not anymore.
“How does Saturday sound? Do you have football?”
“Practice in the morning, but I can skip it if you need me to.”
Wow, Colby offering to skip football? Maybe he is serious about this. “That's really not necessary. We can make plans for after.”
He leans back against the couch. “Thank you, Saige. For not fighting me on this.”
“Thank me by not letting her down.”
I TUCK BRENNA IN and go back downstairs, where Maddie is waiting for me. It's obvious by the way she's squirming in her seat that she's dying to talk about what happened today. I refused to say anything about it because I didn't want Brenna to overhear, but with her sound asleep upstairs, I'm left with no excuse.
“Okay, spill,” she demands before I even sit back down.
I roll my eyes playfully. “You're so bossy.”
A wide grin spreads across her face, and she flips her hair back. “I know, but this is juicy gossip. I want to know what happened!”
“Which do you want to hear first? How we made plans for Saturday, or how I walked smack into him and his girlfriend?”
Maddie practically chokes on the water she was drinking and spews it halfway across the room. Gross.
“Colby doesn't have a girlfriend,” she says pointedly.
Not that you know of. “They looked pretty comfortable to me. I think I've even seen them in articles together before. Blonde. Tiny. Can't be much older than eighteen.”
Realization crosses her face, and she pulls out her phone. “You mean this girl?”
She turns the device toward me