Highest rank on the hot list over the last two weeks - #222 in Chick Lit

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© 2017 Shay Spencer. All rights reserved.

Something Real

[ Chapter 15 ] The Pure Essence of Jay's Football Skills

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If someone had asked me a month ago, I would have blatantly said I'd never be caught dead missing Hayden Pennington.

Things had sure changed since that first day.

"Elias wanted us to tell Jay that he was sorry for not being able to make it." My mother was nervously playing with the strap on her purse as she spoke.

Two weeks had gone by since the infamous brunch, meaning the last leg of Jay's tryouts would take place today. Elias had skipped out on all the fun last minute without much of an explanation.

"I thought that he took the day off," I sighed, glancing out the window of the car periodically. "It's the last of Jay's tryouts."

"And we already know that he'll make it, Scarlett," she scolded. "Jay's the best one on the team."

"All the more reason to show up," I mumbled.

Hayden had left me a note a few days ago, one that I didn't find until he was long gone from the Pennington mansion, and from Beverly Hills for that matter. It detailed he and Jay's plans to spend time with their mother in San Francisco until Jay's tryouts. This, left me quite alone for the entirety of our supposed three day weekend.

Elias and my mother were far more boring than I had first imagined, and this time, I didn't have Hayden, or Wren, to keep me company.

"Have you talked with either of the boys," my mother narrowed her eyes in my direction. "Hayden and Jay have neglected to call home."

"I don't even have Jay's number," I laughed, trying to lighten the mood.

"So you have talked with Hayden, then." My  mother assumed, nodding her head along with her words. "What did he say?"

"I haven't spoken to him since before he left," I said. "I didn't even know they were going anywhere until they were already gone."

The silence in the car slowly consumed us, leaving either of us to our own thoughts as the car sped onward and towards the stadium.

Elias had arranged for a private plane to fly us all over to San Francisco this morning. But with Elias now excluded from our plans for the rest of the day, it was now just my mother and I.

It had been the most awkward morning of my life.

"Zane should be here," my mother spoke up, brushing past our last topic. "You haven't talked about him for a while."

I shook my head, sitting up in my seat as I caught sight of the stadium. I was dying to see Hayden at this point.

Even Wren would be a welcomed presence.

"There hasn't been anything to talk about."

The car pulled up right along the edge of the sidewalk leading up to the stadium, and I jumped out the second the car stopped running.

"We'll be at the top of the stands, Scarlett!" She called after me. "Bring Hayden and Wren when you find them!"

I felt like I was all of sixteen with the way she was micromanaging me lately.

I turned around the corner of the stands, and within a mere two seconds, I had run straight into the last person I had expected to see here.

"Woah." He grunted, gripping his beer bottle a little tighter. "We've got to stop meeting like this, Scarlett Blaine."

I gave a small nod to Axel, looking between he and his companion.

"Last time we met, you didn't have my best friend tagging along with you." Her cheeks were a bit pink with embarrassment. "Could I steal her for a minute?"

Axel held up his hands, giving in to my humble request, "go right ahead. But if I give her to you, you're going to have to do me a favor."

"And what would that be?" I mused.

He smiled back at me, "drinks? I'm dying to get to know Zane's new girl, and I'm sure I can score you another beer at the concession stand."

"Don't count on it."

The man winked in my direction before he made his way up the stands. I was certain he was looking to sit near my mom. From what I had heard, they'd gotten along just fine after Hayden and I abandoned the brunch.

Wren crossed her arms over her chest expectantly, "what?"

I rolled my eyes and pulled her aside, "you haven't returned any of my calls."

"Well," Wren paused, "you won't give me your 'blessing', so I guess we've reached an impasse."

"Can you drop this already?" I tried to reason. Wren was more stubborn than anyone I'd ever known. I knew it was a long-shot, but these last two weeks had shown me how much I missed the days when Wren and I actually got along.

"I don't see that happening," Wren said snidely. "You've been against my relationship from the start."

"Only because you're doing it to piss me off," I countered. "Mission accomplished, Wren. Now before you go and ruin whatever's left of our friendship, can you please end things with Jay?"

"What? Because he's almost your step brother?" She mocked, throwing her hands up in the air dramatically as she did. "Fat chance. If you wanted me to follow those little rules you got, I'm going to need you to set a better example. I'm not the one fucking my step brother."

I closed my eyes and bit down on my tongue to keep from saying something I didn't mean.

"I'm not with Hayden," I repeated. "I've told you that a million times already."

"And I've told you; I'm with Jay for the right reasons," Wren spit back. "I guess we're both still stuck in our ways, and I'm not going to be the one to crack, this time."

Wren brushed her hair over her shoulders and fixed her top before she stepped up onto the bleachers.

"Wren," I groaned, following her with my eyes. "Can we just drop this and be friends again? I don't have anyone else, and I know for a fact that you don't either."

"I've got Jay, Scarlett," she said sweetly. "And if you knew anything, you'd put your energy into keeping Zane instead of pining after your brother."

-

Hayden had made sure to stay as elusive as humanly possible for the duration of the game. It was only during the last few seconds of the fourth quarter that I finally spotted him.

He was standing along the sidelines on the opposite side of the field. The man had a camera strap hanging around his neck, and his hands were holding tightly onto a very expensive looking camera. He had a woman following him around as he snapped each shot; a woman that looked to be in her early fifties, and one with class to boot.

It had to be his mother.

The crowd erupted in cheers as the names of the new team members were flashed up on the scoreboards, and luckily enough, Jay Pennington was one of the first names listed.

Jay Pennington: Number 58. It fit him well.

I shuffled through the crowd that had accumulated on the field, and just as the masses began to disperse, I finally caught sight of Hayden.

"Hayden!" I smiled as he caught sight of me. "Where have you been?"

"Your whole life?" He teased.

"Obviously."

Hayden shook his head, motioning towards the bottom section of the stands for us to sit down on. "I didn't even see you come in. I was starting to think you and Angel had decided to sit this one out."

I nodded, taking a seat next to him. We watched as the others started to leave. The Pennington-Blaine-Manny-Reynolds crowd had managed to leave sometime before I had found Hayden. I almost liked the stadium better like this.

It looked so much more fun empty than it had when it was stuffed full of people.

"Was that your mom?" I asked, looking back to Hayden. "I saw you taking pictures with someone before the game ended."

"Yeah," he chuckled. "She thinks I'm the only one who can capture the pure essence of Jay's football skills."

"I'll be the judge of that," I smiled. I reached out, taking the camera from around Hayden's neck.

"Oh, no," he said, trying to stop me.

I laughed and jumped up from the stands, walking briskly away from him before turning on the camera.

"Blaine," Hayden warned. I could hear him following after me.

"What?" I called over my shoulder. "They're really good."

I couldn't contain the smile on my face as I clicked through each photo that Hayden had taken of his brother. With every click, I found a photo that was even more breathtaking than the one before it. The pictures depicted each moment of Jay's astonishing game.

Hayden had a real talent.

"Give it," Hayden whined, the man swiping the camera from my grasp. "I never took you for a thief."

"I never took you for a photographer."

Hayden fell quiet, and as I followed his gaze, I found that his mother was making her way towards us.

"Don't say anything too bad about me," Hayden whispered. "I'm like her favorite child, all of a sudden."

"Hayden," she greeted with a wide grin. "Is this the Scarlett that you haven't stopped talking about?"

Hayden nodded bashfully before tossing an arm around my shoulders.

"I'm basically her whole world," he said. "She can't go a day without me."

"Well that can be arranged." His mother nodded before holding out a hand in my direction. "Scarlett, I'm Mary-Anne Wellington. You're even more beautiful in person."

I took her hand gently and shook it, "thank you."

"Have you invited her to the Hamptons house this weekend?" She continued, not skipping a beat. "We'd love to have you, dear."

"Even if she says no, I'll drag her there." Hayden squeezed my shoulders.

"Marvelous!" She cheered, the woman waving over towards the exit. "You must join us for dinner, darling."

I bit my lip, looking up to Hayden. I knew this was supposed to be his time with his mother, and I wasn't wanting to impose on their weekend.

But by the look on Hayden's face, he wanted me there just as badly as I had been wanting to get out of the house these last few days.

"Where are we going?"

Mary-Anne smiled, "a little place called Rumba. I know you'll love it."

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We get to take a trip to the Hamptons! Who's looking forward to seeing Hayden and Scarlett on the beach?

And sorry for the day long wait - I had so much planned for this chapter, I actually had to cut quite a few things...

The next update will be on April 24th!

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Also! Check out The Buddies Rule - Chapter 27 will be up tomorrow!

Thanks guys!