Page 41 of Catch
“Have you had any time for yourself? I know the Cheetahs have you working seven days a week. Will that slow down for you?”
I wiped my mouth and took a sip of water. “I don’t want it to slow down. Once I’ve proven myself and Grayson and I take the team to the playoffs, then maybe I’ll settle down. Until then, I don’t want to.”
Hayley shoulder-bumped me. “During the summer, she spends about a month with me and her dad in Rhode Island. He has a beautiful house on the beach. He’s so good with the boys. I make sure Sutton tunes out the world and just relaxes. The NFL gives their coaches time off right before training camp starts.”
“So, if you just broke up with Lexi, was there anybody else that you had a long-term relationship with?” Grayson asked.
Why would Grayson Moats be interested in my love life? This conversation was taking a weird turn and I didn’t know how to handle it. “I’ve had a few girlfriends but nothing serious. Lexi is the only woman I’ve lived with and that was more out of convenience.” I could feel the sweat starting to form in the small of my back.
“I remember you dated that one girl in college who worshipped the ground you walked on. What was her name? Kristin? Katherine?” Hayley asked.
“Kristin.” I shook my head. That was a terrible time in my life. “I wouldn’t say she worshipped me, but she was a bit much.”
Hayley looked at me. “Seriously? The girl planned everything from your wedding to finding a donor for your four children.” She looked at Parker and Grayson and thumbed in my direction. “After that fiasco, Sutton took a step back from the dating world. And she got off social media.”
“I got off social media because people were saying terrible things about women in the NFL,” I said.
“That totally sucks because you’re amazing, but you’re also missing out on fun platforms. Instagram is great. And I can’t even begin to tell you all the amazing things you could do as a coach on TikTok.”
I rolled my eyes at her. “And yet I still manage to live a full life without being controlled by my phone.” Hayley and Parker both put down their phones. “No, no. I don’t mean you two, I just mean I don’t need that in my life. You both have beautiful families andsharing them with the world is a gift. Crowbar is adorable, but who wants to see pics of him every day?”
“Every single person in the world does,” Hayley said.
I looked at Parker who nodded and back at Hayley. I shook my head. “Stop. Grayson, are you going to weigh in on this?”
He shrugged and grinned. “Sorry, Sutton. It’s the way of the world now.”
I leaned back and sighed. “Who has time for this?”
“Every single person in the world does,” Hayley said again. She reached for my phone. “Let me be in charge of your social media. Send me pics of coaching, Crowbar, and you in a bikini and I’ll post them for you.”
I snorted and reached for my phone, but she shooed me away. “Hang on. Let me at least download a few things for you.” I dropped my head in my hands, completely embarrassed.
“Fine.” I felt warm fingers on my hand and knew they weren’t Hayley’s. Parker had reached between the wine glasses and briefly touched my hand out of support. Her body was always warm. Years ago, I used to snuggle against her for body heat.
“It’s okay. I avoided it, too. I was busy raising kids. But we moved a few times and I missed my friends so I jumped on the social media train to stay in touch and haven’t looked back,” Parker said. She stood to clear the table. “Who wants dessert?”
“Please,” Grayson said. Hayley and I nodded.
Parker grabbed her and Grayson’s plates, and I grabbed ours and followed her to the kitchen. My eyes darted up and down her body. She’d matured nicely. She had curves and took care of her body. I knew that Hayley struggled a lot after each birth with body image. Being a quarterback’s wife came with a stupid set of unwritten rules. Parker obviously took that to heart because she looked the same size as she did in high school, only more curvy.
“What’s for dessert?” I asked, not really knowing what to talk about.
“Boston cream pie.” She looked at me expectantly as though daring me to question why she chose that particular dessert.
“Oh.” Boston Cream Pie was my favorite. It wasn’t a coincidence. I didn’t take the bait. I couldn’t. “That sounds delicious. Homemade or store-bought?” I knew it was homemade. She made me one for my eighteenth birthday. It was lopsided and the chocolate frosting melted because she put it together while it was still warm, but it was perfect because she made it for me.
“Homemade. I’ve come a long way in the last fifteen years.” She sounded angry at me.
I walked around the island and stood beside her. “You really have.” My voice was low so that only she could hear me. When she looked at me, I saw how vulnerable she was. Her happy-go-lucky attitude over the last few months was a front. We stared at each other for a long time. I wanted to reach out and pull her to me, but it wasn’t my place now. I wasn’t her safety anymore. She had a different life and as much as I wanted things to be different, she was untouchable.
“Things are different now, Sutton.” She was always good at reading my mind.
“Are they? Because they look the same as they did when we were kids.” I took a step back. Whatever was happening in this kitchen was something that we put behind us a long time ago and needed to stay there.
She took a step forward. “Things aren’t as black and white as you think. I would love to grab dinner with you one night, just the two of us, and tell you things that should’ve been said a long time ago.”
My heart steeled itself against her words. No wonder Lexi said I was emotionally unavailable. The moment I started feeling things, I shut down. “I think we should just leave things the way they are. I don’t need to know whatever is going on in your marriage. We should keep things simple. It’s the smart thing to do.” I smiled ruefully and headed back to the dining room where Hayley and Grayson were talking about NFTs. “It’s like I recognize the words but they mean nothing to me,” I said, jumping into the conversation as if the last minute didn’t happen.
