Hendrix - Kelsey Clayton Page 0,2
hair tied back into a messy bun. Innocent hazel eyes. And a massive cup of coffee sitting on the corner of her desk that tells me she's definitely not a morning person.
Moving across the room, I slip into the seat beside her. She only glances up for a second, but I can guess by the amount of pens she has sitting on her desk that she's a freshman. There's something about her I can't put my finger on, but I just want her attention.
“I don't think you have enough.”
She turns to me, and confusion etches across her face. “Excuse me?”
I nod toward the seven pens. “You need at least ten for this class, or you have no business being here.”
At first she looks offended, but when my smile breaks through, she rolls her eyes. “I didn't know smartasses could function before noon.”
I shrug with a smirk. “What can I say? I'm one of a kind.”
“I bet you are.”
Extending my hand, I give her my best smile. “Colby Hendrix.”
Thankfully, she takes it and slips her hand in mine. “Saige Ambrose.”
I can still remember how soft her skin felt against my own, but that's not my business anymore. She's his now, despite my thoughts about it.
The two of them looked like your typical loved-up couple as she shows off her flashy engagement ring. If the purpose of this was to break the hearts of all his idiotic female fans, I'm sure they succeeded. When he presses his lips to hers, I'm instantly searching for the remote.
“Get this crap off my TV,” I grumble.
I grasp it in my hand and go to change the channel when something Chastity says stops me.
“Okay, so I know it's a very private subject, but I can't help but ask.” She pauses to build the suspense, and a picture of a little girl fills the backdrop. “You have a daughter, correct?”
Saige pulls her thumb in and wraps her fingers around it—a nervous habit she's always had. “I do.”
“Tell us a little about her. She's adorable.”
She smiles uncomfortably. “She's five, and the smartest little girl I've ever met in my life.”
Chastity chuckles. “I'm sure she can thank you for that.” She looks over at Topher. “And what about you? Do the two of you get along?”
He grins down at Saige. “I don't know, babe. Do we?”
Saige rolls her eyes and lightly smacks his arm. “My daughter loves him, though there was one time she got to meet Harry Styles on set, and I swear she almost fainted.”
The audience fills with soft laughter.
“Oh, she sounds like the cutest thing.”
“She is.” Saige smiles proudly.
Chastity places her hands in her own lap. “And what about her father? How does he feel about his daughter's mom being engaged to Hollywood's favorite?”
She glances up at Topher who gives her knee an encouraging squeeze. “It's actually just the two of us. Her dad isn't involved, but she's never suffered because of it. She's always had everything she needs.”
Chastity smiles. “Well, I don't doubt that for a second. She's lucky to have you.”
After a little more banter, the interview ends, and the show credits roll before changing to an infomercial, but I'm frozen in place. The only thing I can picture is a little girl with brown hair and green eyes.
She's five. Her dad isn't involved.
I do the math over and over again, running my fingers through my hair.
It's not possible.
She wasn't.
She wouldn't have.
Right?
2
COLBY
Hours pass in the blink of an eye as I lie on my bed. All the tossing and turning in the world can't seem to get me to fall asleep. The only thing I can picture is big green eyes staring back at me. My eyes. The eyes of a little girl who looks like an equal mix of Saige and me.
No matter how many times I do the math, it all comes out the same. She had to be pregnant or get pregnant right around the time we broke up.
Maybe it was a rebound. Perhaps she wasn't thinking clearly and jumped into bed with someone else, only to get knocked up in the process. That would explain why the father isn't involved. Hell, she might not even know who the father is.
Who am I kidding? She's never been that kind of girl, and I don't think our break-up would change her personality.
I grab my phone off the nightstand and open Instagram. From what I remember, Saige was never the biggest person on social media, but she always had one. It takes a