“Hey, Pops,” I heard Jason shout to his dad as he climbed out of the truck. I ate my food in silence, just watching as Dylan and Jenny, the mystery girl, climbed out. I felt Sarah slap at my leg, trying to force me to stop obsessing, and reminding me that she had already vetted this girl, and had deemed her meaningless to Reed. I wanted to buy into Sarah’s sales pitch. But everything about Dylan and Jenny was manicured, and expensive, and perfect. She was gorgeous, even more so than I ever thought Tatum was. And she was everything I used to think Reed wanted…but I knew better now. At least, I thought I did?

I slid from the back of the truck to throw my plate in a nearby trash can, purposely walking the long way around to avoid Jason’s attention. I paused afterward for a while, to watch through the windows of the truck as Dylan introduced Buck to Jenny. He smiled at her warmly, bringing her into a friendly hug quickly.

“She’s Dylan’s cousin,” I reminded myself. “And the Nichols are like family. It’s nothing. The hug means nothing.”

I leaned against the truck for a while longer, just wanting a few minutes alone to settle my thoughts, when I was startled.

“So, I suppose you and I should meet,” I heard an unfamiliar voice say from behind me. I jumped a little and turned around to see Jenny’s perfect smile. Damn, she had a nice smile. It was warm and honest, the kind that could charm any man into giving her anything she wanted, and frankly, I was pretty sure I would give her anything, too. She just stretched out her hand, and I shook it, her grip firm but feminine, just like Dylan’s.

“Hi…uh…hi, I’m Nolan,” I said, suddenly wishing I’d stayed home. She just giggled a little at my awkwardness, and I hung my head a bit in shame.

“Yes, I know who you are. Dylan told me about you. You’ve known Reed for a long time, right?” she said, pulling a band from her wrist and twisting her hair into a bun on top of her head.

“Yeah, since high school,” I said, my insides screaming that I was his girlfriend, that we were in love, that we were going to be together forever. But I kept that all in my head, because I wasn’t so sure about any of it anymore.

“Well, it’s really nice to meet you. I’m in the box, with Dylan, so maybe I’ll see you after the game. We’re going to stick around for Reed,” she said with a wink as she walked away.

What the hell did any of that mean? Why was she here? Why was she sticking around for Reed? Was he expecting her?

Sarah’s pep talk to me had suddenly lost all of its power, and I felt flat and discarded. I slumped back over to my friends and remained silent until we got to our stadium seats.

I looked for Dylan and Jenny throughout the game, checking all of the skyboxes, but it was too hard to spot them from our crowded seats near the field. I forgot where I was for a moment with ASU’s fight song starting to play, but remembered quickly enough when the crowd around me began to boo. I stopped my clapping, and put my hands in my pockets, making a funny face at Sarah who had started to scream and cheer, until she realized we were in enemy territory, too.

When the Wildcats took the field, Reed was leading the charge. I had missed a few games since we hadn’t been talking, and watching him run out next to Trig, his body pumped with energy, and his face serious, reminded me of how proud I was of this man. He’d always been a natural. I knew it the first time I saw him lead a team out on a field more than seven years ago, and his presence had only grown stronger. I found myself staring at him, willing him to notice me. But I knew that I was a dot in a sea of faces out here. And whereas a few months ago he knew right where to find me, right where I’d be sitting, today he didn’t have a clue.

Reed marched out to the middle of the field with the other captains, and the Wildcats won the coin toss. Reed wouldn’t be taking the field right away, instead opting to take the opening drive in the second half. I watched him join his team and lean over to talk with his coach before he set his helmet down and walked over to the tables to grab some water. He was all business on that field, his head focused on one goal only—winning. And that was how Reed was when he was dedicated to something. That’s how he was with us. How could I have ever doubted this man? I didn’t trust him not to leave me, I didn’t trust him enough to tell him about the pregnancy, and then I was the one to betray his faith in me. And now all I had done was lose him completely. If he had fallen into Jenny’s arms, well…there was nobody to blame but myself.

I was lost in my thoughts, my eyes not completely focusing, and instead making a blur out of the colors of Reed’s jersey, when I noticed the rapid movement of his arm. He was waving…at me. He’d found me, picked me out of the crowd of 50,000 fans. And he was waving, for everyone to see. Shell-shocked and stunned, I stood motionless, until Sarah leaned into me a bit, in an attempt to get me to react. I just raised a hand and held it up, biting my lip a bit and smiling, hoping. I couldn’t make out his features from this far, but I was pretty sure he was smiling too before he turned back to the game. He’d taken a pause just to find me, something he’d never done on this field.