Page 17 of Everything In Between
THIRTEEN
jersey
Hayes
How’s it going today?
Jersey
It’s the Monday-est of Mondays. Cal almost had a stroke from yelling at me over the headlines from the gala. And on top of that, nothing I’m recording is to his liking, which means I’ve had to record the same thing over, and over, and over.
Hayes
That sounds exhausting.
Jersey
It’s not my favorite. I’m so glad to be home. I’m just hoping the final takes we took for today were good enough and I don’t have to have a repeat tomorrow.
Hayes
Hoping that for you too. I’m positive it was better than “good enough.” And what happened at the gala wasn’t your fault. He shouldn’t have yelled at you about that.
Jersey
I’m really sorry about the whole situation.
Hayes
You have nothing to be sorry about. I have no idea how the paparazzi even got in.
I bite my lower lip, dread settling in my stomach.
Jersey
I think I have an idea…
Hayes
Don’t hold back on me now. Tell me.
Jersey
Bethany was looking through all the photos and a few captured Corey lingering in the background. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was the one who let them in.
Hayes
That sounds about right, honestly. I caught him giving me a death glare a few times.
Jersey
Crazy that all it took was for me not to be interested to garner his attention.
Hayes
His loss. My gain.
I smile down at my phone, my heart singing a happy song to the tune of Hayes Vogt. If I close my eyes, I can still feel his touch lingering on my skin.
Hayes
I haven’t been able to get you off my mind. Would you want to meet up again sometime?
I don’t know why all of a sudden, I’m so nervous.
I enjoyed the time I got to spend with him at the gala, but now that he’s proposing it—making a meetup purposeful rather than coincidental—I’m wary of putting myself out there so soon and putting him at risk of negative publicity again.
I put on my brave face, shoving down any trepidation.
Jersey
Are you sure that’s a good idea?
Hayes
I don’t see how it would be a bad one.
Jersey
Did you see the headlines?
Hayes
I did. They were hard to miss. Still… my question stands.
I don’t respond right away, unsure of what to say. Worrying at my lower lip with my teeth, I type out a few responses but delete them all. Thankfully, Hayes beats me to the punch.
Hayes
I’m going to be in LA next Thursday for a game. Then I don’t have to be back to practice until that following Wednesday. I want to spend the weekend with you. Paparazzi be damned.
A burst of eagerness and longing course through my body, starting at the tips of my ears and working its way down to my toes, overshadowing my anxiety about seeing him again.
Jersey
That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day.
Hayes
Thought you might like that. I could even try to secure you a VIP ticket to come to the game.
His suggestion should make me excited. Getting the chance to see Hayes do what he does best in person has been something I’ve been looking forward to.
But for some reason it has me pausing. Me showing up at a game shouts “we’re in a relationship” loudly, and boldly, to the entire world.
That’s making a statement—especially being only six months post breakup with Corey.
Until now, whatever’s been brewing between me and Hayes has really only been mine.
Am I ready to share that with the world?
Am I ready for the onslaught of opinions from everyone?
Jersey
Can I call you?
Hayes
Of course.
I count down from fifteen and then tap on his contact information. The phone starts ringing, and he picks up right away.
“Everything okay?”
“Do you want everybody to know we’re in a relationship?” I ask him outright.
He pauses for only an extra second and then answers. “Are we in a relationship?”
The ball’s back in my court. It’s a valid question that maybe only I can answer. I pick at my thumbnail. “I think if we’re not, I’d like to be.”
He exhales a breath on the other end of the call and I can hear his relief when he says, “Me too.”
“If I go to your game, everyone will speculate, so we need to be on the same page,” I explain. “I don’t want there to be any confusion from you or from me on where we stand. Especially after what happened at the gala.”
Hayes hesitates again. “Have I confused you in any way? Given you some type of mixed signal? Cause if I have, it wasn’t intentional.”
“It’s not that. It’s just—”
“What?” he whispers, urging me to tell him what’s on my mind.
I wrap my arms around my legs and close my eyes, breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth for two beats. Hayes must be able to hear the swift change in my demeanor because my phone suddenly chimes, indicating he wants to switch to FaceTime.
When I hit accept, I’m met with the familiar sight of his face, eyes crinkled up at the corners with concern. His gaze rakes over my face and his lips turn down. “Jersey, what’s wrong? Talk to me. That’s the only way we can move forward.”
“You won’t be scared off?”
He chuckles. “No, honey, I promise you there’s no chance of that.”
Taking a deep breath, Bethany’s words echo in my ears and I decide it is time that I live a little, without any hesitation.
On top of that, his assurance melts through my lingering doubts, so I launch into what’s on my mind.
“I haven’t been seen out with anyone since my last relationship ended and I’ve never been involved in the headlines like this before.
Kelsey’s been blowing up my phone nonstop about releasing an official statement to the gossip, but then she keeps changing how she wants to approach it.
It’s just another thing to worry about that no one tells you when you sign up to be a celebrity. ”
He blinks twice, not expecting that to be the reason. Leaning back in his chair, he gives me his full attention. “Do you want to talk about it?”
I shrug weakly. “I don’t know where to start.”
“You were together a long time.”
“Yeah,” I say wistfully. “What a colossal waste of my time. Did you see that too when you looked me up? Or did you hear the gossip through the grapevine, like everyone else has?”
“I did see it, but I didn’t read too much into their versions of what happened.
I’m aware you dated Corey Shrader, that you broke up, and the media had a heyday with it.
That’s all I know. I stopped there. I wanted to hear your side of it whenever you were ready to share. Which I’m guessing is now?”
“I guess so.” I glance away for a second and then back to his face on the screen.
He bites his lower lip. “What happened?”
I let out a humorless laugh. “That’s the question I asked myself right after the breakup, too. I don’t really know.”
“He’s the one who ended it?”
“He was. After I asked him to marry me,” I say and watch him closely, gauging his reaction to that bomb. He visibly swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing with the action as his expression hardens.
“Oh yeah?”
“He said ‘no,’” I say bluntly, giving another nonchalant shrug.
“Did he say why?”
“He said that if he was going to have a wife, she couldn’t be as famous as I was. He’s a singer too, so I think my rapidly growing levels of fame were getting to him. He’s been in the industry much longer than me, but he’s not even close to where I’m at in my career in half the amount of time.”
Hayes scowls. “Self-conscious bastard.”
“So that was that. A relationship can’t sustain a blow like that, so I knew I had to move on.
I should’ve known earlier. I tried to be everything he wanted, but even then, it was never enough.
He only seemed to want me on good days, having no interest in being supportive when I was having a bad day.
“Yet at the same time, he always tried to beat me down or diminish my hard work to something like luck, or even giving all the credit to Callum. They were buddies,” I add in.
Hayes looks confused, so I go on. “The two of them are cut from the same cloth. Which was unfortunate because Cal’s input directly set the tone for our relationship.
To the point where I suspect the only reason Corey said no to my proposal was because Callum didn’t give him the go-ahead.
The more I reflect on it, the more I think Callum convinced Corey to date me for the PR. ”
“Jersey that’s—”
“A wild accusation? I know.”
“Were they friends before you started dating?” Hayes asks, two lines appearing between his brows as he frowns.
I nod. “Before we started dating, during the whole relationship, and even more so now that we’re not together anymore.
It’s crazy, and I have no proof other than the overjoyed vibe Callum gave off when I told him we had broken up.
I had artists texting me I didn’t even know had my phone number.
My sales skyrocketed because everyone felt bad for me.
Instead of ganging up on me, the media was fully in my corner.
It was like a dream come true from a PR perspective. ”
“It sounds more like a nightmare for you, though. I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Hayes says. “I promise you, I’d never hurt you like that. Hell, if you asked me to marry you, I think I might say yes.”
Despite the weight of the current topic, I laugh. Hayes’s face splits into a triumphant grin, successfully breaking the tension. “Don’t be ridiculous,” I say.
Hayes smirks and shrugs. “All that to say, I’m still okay with going public.”
“But what about the media? I’m nervous about what they’re going to say about it. Or say about you.”
“I don’t care what they say about me in the slightest. And nothing they say about you could make me feel any different. I’m here for all of you—the good, the bad, and everything in between.”
My shoulders relax, feeling lighter after talking this through with him. “I guess I better get myself one of your jerseys then, huh?”
He gives me a heart stopping smile that reaches all the way into his eyes and takes my breath away. “I guess you better.”
I never saw Hayes coming, which is maybe part of why I find the idea of being with him so appealing.
We’re from two different worlds which seems to be a good balance.
Knowing he’s not with me to use me as a leg up in the world, but because he wants to be with me, is comforting and reassuring.
That alone gives me the courage to go full throttle into this with him.
I’m ready to step into his world and show everyone that he and I are in this together just like he said—the good, the bad, and everything in between.
“Thanks for letting me come over,” Kelsey says as she brushes past me into my living room later that night.
“We gotta finish drafting this post for Instagram and then we can talk about if you want to do anything further. I loved your idea of shifting the focus away from you and back to the charity, brilliant!”
“That’s what the focus should be on,” I say with conviction. “Definitely not on me and my potential dating life.”
“I agree,” Kelsey says, tucking her knees up underneath her on the other end of the couch and placing a pillow on her lap to act as a desktop for her laptop.
“Kelsey,” I start hesitantly. She looks up at me from her screen. “There was something else I wanted to talk to you about. And it’s important to me.”
Kelsey studies my face for a moment before snapping her laptop closed. “What’s wrong?”
“Corey was at the gala,” I say. “And he was seated at the same table I was.”
“Oh.”
“That can’t happen again. I want to limit interactions with him as much as possible, and I can’t do that if I’m being seated right next to him.
” I exhale but hold her gaze. “If I’m going to attend any of your family’s events in the future, I’m going to need your mother to send Bethany the seating chart for approval. It’s nonnegotiable moving forward.”
Kelsey nods and swallows. “Of course. I’m really sorry, Jersey. I had no idea she put you next to him or had even invited him again this year.”
“It’s okay. Just with the storm he managed to stir up in one night, I can’t imagine what he’d do with other opportunities.”
“Trust me, it won’t happen again.”
“I do trust you,” I say and feel like a weight has lifted off my chest. I hate having to confront my team, especially when they’re my friends, but this is a boundary that needed to be set in stone. If I’m going to move on with my life, I need to limit my interactions with Corey.
He’s in the past. I’m focused on the future, and I’ll do what I can to make sure everyone else around me is as well.