Page 143 of Tight Ends & Tiaras
He snatches it back. Tucks it into his pocket. “Nah. It’s cool. Like I said, I found it. Maybe it belongs to someone else. I’ll just wait until I see Sienna around.”
I watch him jog back to his car.
Fucking weird.
Unless he’s trying to get Sienna to go out with him.
Fuming at the thought, I drive to the banquet, which is being held in the large ballroom above the student union.
By the time I get parked and through an insane amount of security, I’m late. I make my way to the table, which, for some reason, is at the front with some mucky-mucks who are supposed to donate a lot of money. I’ve missed some great speech, blah blah blah. I smile across the room at Krud, who can’t strangle me in front of the boosters.
Krud has squeezed himself into a suit and is hamming it up and pretending he’s not an ass as he wanders around shaking hands and slapping backs.
Thankfully, my seat is next to Olly, who I’m happy to hang out with. Too bad he brought Amelia.
Fortunately, Winston’s seated on the other side of the ballroom. He and Fowler are having a heated discussion, ignoring their dates.
As I’m taking a sip of my Coke, the granny next to me says, “I just love those tight pants y’all wear! They make your booties look so nice!” She pats me on the arm and winks, making me choke on my drink.
Across the table, there’s another couple, a pregnant lady with her husband. He’s probably in his mid-forties, and I’d be surprised if she was twenty-five. They chuckle when Sylvie the granny asks me if I’d be willing to model those pants for her.
“Sorry, ma’am. You’ll have to buy a ticket and come to our next game to check out the goods.”
She laughs and slaps the table. “Thank God someone here has a sense of humor.”
Olly leans toward me and whispers, “Why all the security tonight? You’d think the president was stopping by.”
“I have no idea. You got here before I did.”
“Only by a couple of minutes. Amelia and I took a detour.” He gets a starry-eyed look that makes me mildly nauseated.
Of course my best friend is in love while I’m having a hard time giving a shit about anything. All I see are couples everywhere. They’re dressed up and kissing, and it makes me miss Sienna. It reminds me how I never had the chance to take her out or do anything special with her.
And now I’ve lost the opportunity.
I keep waiting for that sense of loss to stop hurting, but if anything, it’s only getting worse. Even talking to Dr. Patricia, who was finally able to squeeze me in, doesn’t help.
I’ve been thinking about that conversation Sienna and I had last week in the parking lot. Truthfully, I’ve thought of little else.
I finally got Maggie to admit that Sienna was staying with her in that drafty house she inherited. Everyone on this side of town knows that house. It’s the biggest eyesore on the block. I’m surprised it hasn’t been condemned. Since I found out, I’ve been debating whether I should march over there and demand that Sienna give me another chance.
But nothing’s changed in my situation. I don’t know what I have to offer Sienna besides those twenty minutes when we wake up together and talk softly as the sun comes up. Or the showers we take when we’re trying to “conserve water.” Or late nights when I wrap her in my arms and collapse into a coma. Or those quickie lunches when I race home to see my girls.
And I’m not even talking about the sex, although it was out of this world. At this point, I don’t give a shit what she did or didn’t do with Winston. I just miss her sweet smile and great laugh and all the ways she helped me be a better person. I miss her optimistic outlook on life and the way being around her made me happy.
Only Sienna’s not at our home anymore. Maggie greets me with a smile and a happy Lily when I’m able to sneak off campus for a little while, but it’s not the same. Nowhere close.
Maybe those moments we spent together didn’t mean much to Sienna, but they meant everything to me.
I pull at my tie, loathing every minute I have to sit here and pretend everything’s fine when my life feels like it’s falling apart. The only thing I have right now is Lily.
So I put on a smile and pretend that’s enough.
